48 Hours in Belgravia London: How to Do It Properly (Starting from The Eccleston)

48 hours in Belgravia London is enough to understand why this part of SW1W rewards staying rather than passing through. From The Eccleston on Eccleston Place, almost everything in this itinerary is a walk rather than a tube journey — royal parks, world-class art, Chelsea’s best street, and some of the finest restaurants in central London, all within twenty minutes on foot.

Day One: Elizabeth Street, the Parks, and Westminster

Morning

Start with breakfast at The Açai Girls, two minutes from The Eccleston on Eccleston Street — a healthy plant-based café run by sisters Megan and Georgina, with açaí bowls made from fair-trade berries, avocado toast, smoothies, and some of the best pastries in Belgravia. Then walk the length of Elizabeth Street itself, and continue along Eccleston Street — lined with landmark restaurants, popular bakeries and cafés, and independent boutiques just moments from Victoria station. Between these two streets, you have the most concentrated and characterful morning walk in Belgravia London.

For a longer brunch, Morena in Eccleston Yards — nine minutes from The Eccleston — is the all-day Latin American restaurant created by Colombian sisters Juliana and Valentina, with tiramisu French toast, breakfast burritos, mango pancakes, and coffee roasted on-site. Sunny, welcoming, and the kind of morning that runs longer than planned.

Late Morning

Walk fifteen minutes to Buckingham Palace and into Green Park, continuing through to St James’s Park without leaving the grass. The walk from Green Park to Westminster along the park takes around forty minutes — one of the best free morning walks in London, and one of the things that makes 48 hours in Belgravia London feel genuinely different to staying anywhere else in the city.

Afternoon

Lunch at La Poule au Pot on Ebury Street, six minutes from The Eccleston — a candlelit, unchanged French bistro that has been getting Belgravia London lunch right since 1964. Allow two hours.

For a livelier lunch, Chucs on Eccleston Street — two minutes from The Eccleston — serves Italian Riviera classics from 8am in a stylish room with a wrap-around terrace. Chicken milanese, pasta, pizza, and the kind of aperitivo menu that turns a lunch into an afternoon. Open daily.

Late Afternoon

Walk to the Saatchi Gallery on Duke of York Square (twelve minutes) for free, well-programmed contemporary art — then continue down the King’s Road if the afternoon calls for it.

Evening

Dinner at The Thomas Cubitt on Elizabeth Street — the handsome gastro pub named after the man who built most of the Belgravia London streets around it. The upstairs dining room handles a proper evening meal without the formality of its Chelsea neighbours. Two minutes from the front door.

Day Two: Tate Britain, Chelsea, and a Special Occasion

Morning

Walk twenty minutes along the river via Pimlico to Tate Britain — the world’s greatest collection of British art, free to enter, and one of the things that makes spending 48 hours in Belgravia London rather than a more obviously central postcode worthwhile. Turner, Hockney, Hogarth, Bacon, Freud: allow the full morning.

Afternoon

Lunch at Colbert on Sloane Square (twelve minutes from The Eccleston) — a grand, all-day Parisian brasserie and one of the most reliably excellent lunch stops in Belgravia London. Then walk through the Duke of York Square market if it’s a Wednesday or Saturday

Late Afternoon

Head into Chelsea: the King’s Road (eighteen minutes) for independent shops, or further to Knightsbridge and Harrods (also eighteen minutes) for the grandest department store in London. Either way, you’re back at The Eccleston in twenty minutes.

Evening

For the special occasion during your 48 hours in Belgravia London: Gordon Ramsay Restaurant on Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea (twenty minutes on foot) — three Michelin stars since 2001 and one of the finest dining rooms in London. Book well ahead, months if possible.

For a more relaxed close: La Poule au Pot by candlelight (six minutes), or a nightcap at The Thomas Cubitt before the two-minute walk home.

For something closer and equally special, Amaya in the Halkin Arcade off Motcomb Street — twelve minutes from The Eccleston — has held its Michelin star since 2006, making it one of London’s longest-running starred Indian restaurants. A theatrical open-grill kitchen, three Indian grilling techniques (tandoor, sigri, tawa), and a sharing-plate format that earns its reputation every night.

Pétrus by Gordon Ramsay, on Kinnerton Street just around the corner from Motcomb Street — twelve minutes from The Eccleston — is the second Michelin-starred option in this cluster, named after the famous Pomerol estate in Bordeaux. A glass-walled wine store at the heart of the dining room, 700+ bins, and modern French cuisine from head chef Orson Vergnaud. Tue–Sat only; book well ahead.

Getting There and Away from Belgravia London

Victoria Station is five minutes from The Eccleston — direct trains to Gatwick Airport approximately every fifteen minutes, journey time around 30 minutes. The Victoria line provides fast connections to King’s Cross, Oxford Circus, and the City without changing. Sloane Square station (District and Circle lines) is twelve minutes on foot. Westminster, Chelsea, and Knightsbridge are all walkable from Eccleston Place — one of the practical advantages of spending 48 hours in Belgravia London rather than a noisier, more crowded postcode.

Two days, almost everything on foot, and a quiet Belgravia London street to come back to in between.

Plan your stay: view The Eccleston’s apartments. For more on the area, read An Honest Guide to Belgravia SW1W and Where to Eat Near Victoria London.