48 Hours in Mayfair: How to Do London Properly (Starting from Kings Yard)

Two days is enough to understand why staying in Mayfair — and specifically behind the private gate at Two Three Kings Yard — is a different kind of London experience to staying anywhere else. Here’s an itinerary built around what’s genuinely within walking distance of Davies Street W1K: three Michelin-starred restaurants, two of London’s finest galleries, and a covered arcade that has been operating under the same rules since 1819.

Day One: Davies Street, Bond Street, and an Exceptional Dinner

Morning

Start with breakfast at The Foyer at Claridge’s, one minute from the Kings Yard gate — one of the most beautiful hotel dining rooms in London, and close enough that you’re back at the apartment before the rest of Mayfair has woken up. Then walk the length of Davies Street itself: the Gagosian Gallery, Grays Antique Market, Cipriani’s shopfront — the kind of morning that doesn’t need a plan.

Late Morning

Two to three minutes from the courtyard gate, Bond Street begins. The full stretch of luxury boutiques — Chanel, Cartier, Dior, Tiffany — is either exactly what you came for or a backdrop for the walk towards Burlington Arcade (five minutes). The Arcade is worth the stop regardless: 40+ independent boutiques under a covered walkway built in 1819, policed by Beadles who still enforce the original rule that no one may run, sing, or open an umbrella inside.

Afternoon

Lunch at Cipriani (two minutes, book ahead) for Northern Italian classics in Mayfair’s most reliably discreet room. Then walk to the Royal Academy of Arts (six to seven minutes) for the afternoon — one of London’s finest institutions and considerably less crowded than the national museums further east.

Evening

Dinner at Murano on Queen Street, ten minutes on foot — Angela Hartnett’s one-Michelin-starred restaurant and one of the best pasta menus in London. The right balance of exceptional and unhurried for a first evening. Book ahead.

Day Two: Grosvenor Square, Hyde Park, and a Three-Starred Dinner

Morning

Walk one to two minutes to Grosvenor Square for the morning — 2.5 hectares of managed gardens in the centre of the postcode, and one of the most underused green spaces in central London on a weekday morning. Continue to Mount Street Gardens (eight minutes), the secluded garden square that most Mayfair visitors never find.

Late Morning

Walk eight minutes to Mount Street itself — one of Mayfair’s most beautiful streets, with Audley’s pub on one corner and some of the neighbourhood’s finest independent boutiques running the full length. Jamavar on Mount Street is the right lunch if you didn’t make it there on Day One — Michelin-starred Indian cooking at a set lunch price that represents some of the best value in W1K.

Afternoon

Walk to Hyde Park via Park Lane (seven to eight minutes) for the afternoon. The Serpentine Gallery runs free contemporary art exhibitions; the lake provides the walk; and the park itself is large enough to feel genuinely removed from the Mayfair postcode you came from. Savile Row on the way back (five minutes from Kings Yard) is worth a pass for the shopfronts and the history even without an appointment.

Evening

The special occasion: Hélène Darroze at The Connaught, ten minutes on foot — three Michelin stars, one of London’s finest dining rooms, and a modern French menu that justifies every word written about it. Book well ahead, months if possible. If you’d prefer the more casual close: Sketch on Conduit Street (eight minutes) has the three-Michelin-starred Lecture Room and the more relaxed Gallery space — the Gallery needs less advance notice and is one of the most visually distinctive dining rooms in London.

Getting Around from Mayfair W1K

Bond Street station — Central, Jubilee, and Elizabeth lines — is three minutes from the Kings Yard gate. Oxford Circus, Paddington, and Heathrow are all directly accessible. Green Park (Jubilee, Piccadilly, Victoria lines) and Marble Arch (Central line) are equally close, adding further connections without adding journey time. In practice, 48 hours in Mayfair gives you very little reason to use any of them — the West End, Knightsbridge, and Marylebone are all within comfortable walking distance and every route takes you past something worth seeing.

Two days, almost everything on foot, and a private gated courtyard to come back to in between.

Plan your stay: view Kings Yard’s apartments. For more on the area, read The Kings Yard Edit: An Honest Guide to Mayfair W1K and Where to Eat in Mayfair.