London Cities
How to experience the real Mayfair through a Bridgerton lens
Brown’s Hotel
From Grosvenor Square and Hyde Park to Brown’s Hotel, Fortnum & Mason and Mayfair’s historic arcades, these addresses reveal how Regency glamour still echoes through one of London’s most refined neighbourhoods
Season 4 of the beloved Regency-era TV series Bridgerton strongly emphasises the story’s setting in Mayfair, London. Known to most of us as the dark blue – and most expensive – corner of the Monopoly board, Mayfair may have lost the village atmosphere depicted in Bridgerton, but it still epitomises the pinnacle of London luxury and refinement.
A quadrilateral bounded by Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane, Mayfair covers just 1.3 square kilometres and is easy to walk around. You can get to know the whole area with these seven, highly accessible Bridgerton-inspired activities – just catch the Underground to Green Park or Bond Street and start exploring.
Take up (temporary) residence at Grosvenor Square
Although exterior shots for the TV series were filmed elsewhere (in Greenwich), the address of Bridgerton House is Grosvenor Square, Mayfair. It’s certainly fitting that the most prestigious family of ‘the ton’ should live at one of London’s most elite residential locations. Designed in the eighteenth century as an aristocratic haven at the heart of the capital, the development grouped opulent townhouses and apartments around a 2.5-hectare park.
Although properties here command stratospheric prices, the park is freely open to all, making Grosvenor Square a lovely place for a summer picnic. Even better, after being redeveloped several times during its 200-year history, the Square is now being returned to the ‘wilderness’ vision of its original design with new woodland and meadow plantings – making it, according to the current Duke of Westminster, “a treasured green space for everyone to enjoy”.
Stroll in Hyde Park
The most centrally located of London’s eight Royal Parks, Hyde Park sits on the western edge of Mayfair beside Park Lane, another blue-ribbon Monopoly address. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the 140-hectare park was the most popular outdoor venue for London’s high society to take the air, display its wealth in the form of expensive clothes and carriages, and generally keep up with the latest gossip and fashions.
A special focus was the wide tree-lined path known as Rotten Row, which runs west from Hyde Park Corner. (Benedict Bridgerton searches for his mystery lady here in the second episode of Season 2.) Come as you are or, for the true Bridgerton note, put on your most fashionable outfit and make sure to get some pictures of yourself to post on social media, the 21st century’s surest way to ‘see and be seen’.
Take tea at Brown’s Hotel
There are many fine places for afternoon tea in London, but none is as Bridgertonian as Brown’s Hotel in Albemarle Street. Established in 1837, London’s oldest hotel dates from just after the Regency period, and its public areas fully embody the Bridgerton aesthetic of oh-so-pretty elegance.
Entering the front hall with its blue wisteria-painted walls, you’ll feel as if you’re inside the Bridgerton mansion or are visiting Lady Danbury. And if Lady Danbury wanted to go out for tea in modern London, where would she go? To Brown’s red velvet-clad Drawing Room, of course, where tiered stands of sumptuous savouries, tarts and cakes are served with a choice of 28 tea blends, from homely English Breakfast to exotic Malawi White Peony. Plump pink peonies often grace the tables too, nestled beside the sparkling silverware and champagne flutes.
Find the perfect bouquet at Ellie Hartley Flowers
Big bunches of beautiful flowers are a Bridgerton trademark. You can channel that floral exuberance with a visit to Ellie Hartley Flowers in Dover Street, right behind Brown’s Hotel. It’s a treat for the senses to spend time admiring the shop’s truly exquisite floral displays, but why stop there? Having a gorgeous bouquet of your choice delivered to your hotel room will elevate your London stay to a whole new level of luxury.
Make an impression with Mount Street Printers
In the world of Bridgerton, the pen is far mightier than the sword. Equip yourself for the battle of wits – or just acquire some lovely desk accessories – at Mount Street Printers in the heart of Mayfair. Behind the quaint shopfront, unique notebooks and luxury stationery are on delightful display and you can also order your own bespoke printing jobs. Was that Penelope Featherington I just saw leaving?
Shop fine comestibles at Fortnum & Mason on Piccadilly
Colourful confectionery, extravagant cakes and towering pyramids of fruit – the food in Bridgerton is as fun and extravagant as the hairstyles and fashions. For the finest of food frivolities, you need look no further than the venerable institution of Fortnum and Mason. Their flagship Piccadilly store, on the southern boundary of Mayfair, has been catering to discerning palettes for more than 300 years, while also perfecting the art of visual merchandising. Insider tip: to avoid the crowds at the main Piccadilly door, use the more discreet entrance around the corner on Duke Street.
Find Bridgerton-worthy gentlemen’s attire in Mayfair’s shopping arcades
The spirit of the Regency dandy is alive and well in modern Mayfair. The area is home to three historic shopping arcades that specialise in luxury men’s attire and accessories. The oldest, the Burlington Arcade, opened in 1819 and is the most elegant architecturally; its shops epitomise conservative quality and refinement in British tailoring and accoutrements. A more playful atmosphere reigns in the Piccadilly and Princes Arcades, which date from 1909 and 1883.
Here you’ll find sumptuous velvet jackets, silk dressing gowns, handmade slippers and elaborately decorated smoking caps (yes, that’s a thing) – everything from the flamboyant to the downright eccentric. Don’t miss the statue of Beau Brummel, the man who invented dandyism, at the far end of the Piccadilly Arcade.
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