London/Paddington-Maida Vale

Paddington-Maida Vale is a district of northwest central London, around the vast Paddington Station of Paddington Bear fame. This inner London district is somewhat bereft of attractions but it does have a large range of budget and mid-priced accommodation. That, combined with the convenient central London location and transport links, makes it a popular area with visitors.

Understand
Paddington and the areas between it and Hyde Park - Bayswater and Lancaster Gate - consist largely of Victorian houses, some of them rather grand, which have been converted into either small residential flats or hotels. Maida Vale to the north is similar but almost entirely residential and is most notable for canalside streets and the houseboats of Little Venice. St John's Wood is distinctly upscale and leafy and includes the home of world cricket at Lord's and some of the most sought-after real estate in London.

The area has a number of connections to music. The BBC Maida Vale studios have been used for recording live music since 1934 including the John Peel Sessions. Abbey Road Studios, and the famous pedestrian crossing pictured in the Beatles' Abbey Road album are in St John's Wood.

By tube
The district is served by the following tube stations, in Zones 1 or 2.

Paddington is on the Wimbledon–Edgware Road branch of the District line – so you may need to change at Earl's Court:


 * Paddington (Zone 1) – (District, Circle, Hammersmith & City, Bakerloo and Elizabeth lines)
 * Bayswater (Zone 1) – (District and Circle lines)
 * Queensway (Zone 1) – (Central line)
 * Lancaster Gate (Zone 1) – (Central line)
 * Maida Vale (Zone 2) – (Bakerloo line)
 * Warwick Avenue (Zone 2) – (Bakerloo line)
 * Edgware Road (Zone 1) – (District, Circle, Hammersmith & City and Bakerloo lines)
 * Royal Oak (Zone 2) – (Hammersmith & City line)
 * St John's Wood(Zone 2) – (Jubilee Line)

By train


London Paddington is served by:


 * Great Western Railway (GWR) trains from southwest England (Swindon, Plymouth, Exeter, Bristol, Bath and Penzance. Also for trains from Worcester, Cheltenham and Gloucester)
 * Great Western Railway (GWR) trains from southeast England (Maidenhead, Slough, Reading, Didcot and Oxford)
 * Great Western Railway (GWR) trains from South Wales (Swansea, Cardiff and Newport)
 * Heathrow Express has 4 tph to Heathrow Airport (Terminal 5) which takes 21 minutes – the train stops en-route at Terminals 2&3 with a free shuttle to Terminal 4.
 * Elizabeth line (Crossrail) services to Reading and Heathrow Airport depart from Platform A.
 * Elizabeth line (Crossrail) services to Abbey Wood and Shenfield via London Liverpool St depart from platform B.

By bus
Various bus routes go to and through Paddington. Visit the Transport for London website for details. Use of a Hop-On Hop-Off sightseeing bus is also a possibility.



By boat
A Waterbus runs from Camden Lock through the Regent's canal to Browning's Pool, Little Venice.

By bicycle

 * See also: Cycling in London

For bicycles, there is a traffic-free local cycle route tracks alongside the Grand Union Canal from around Northolt to Paddington Basin. The route is not part of the national cycle network.

See
While there is not a great deal to see in the way of traditional visitor attractions, Paddington makes a convenient base for exploring other parts of the city.





Eat
Good value eats abound in this area. The Bayswater/Queensway area has many excellent Middle Eastern, Indian and Chinese options. Edgware Rd is another good bet for Middle Eastern and the area around Paddington Station itself is a hive of small cafes. Warwick Avenue and Maida Vale are home to some good, stylish mid-market restaurants.

Sleep
This district has probably the greatest range of budget and mid-price accommodation in central London.

A lot of the hotels here are converted Victorian houses which makes for a charming stay but can also mean dodgy plumbing and poor heating systems. And check if the property has a lift if this is important to you.

A good option for the value-conscious is to check the large range of service apartments available. The standard of accommodation at these is often much better than you would get in an equivalently priced traditional hotel.