Bloomsbury Area Guide

Bloomsbury sits at the eastern edge of the West End, between the City and Fitzrovia, with King’s Cross to the north and Covent Garden to the south. It is a very desirable central London residential and business district, home to many prestigious cultural and educational institutions such as The British Museum and the University College London (UCL). It has long been an intellectual and literary hub, famed as much for the Bloomsbury Set as for its many gracious Georgian townhouses and garden squares.

The neighbourhood is characterised by grand Georgian properties, alongside mews houses and Edwardian mansion blocks. The area has a homogeneous feel, partly because much of it has been developed, owned and managed by The Bedford Estates who have been the largest landowner in the area since the 17th century. Modern developments include the brutalist Grade II Brunswick Centre built in the 1960s and 70s. More recently the area around Tottenham Court Road has seen significant gentrification, with exciting new developments adding to the mix of conversions and new build developments across the district.

Surprisingly, given its central London location, Bloomsbury is a pedestrian’s paradise, with a multitude of garden squares and quiet back streets to explore. Bookshops, cafes, shops and restaurants abound, as do charming shopping parades such as Marchmont Street, close to the heart of the neighbourhood.

Russell Square tube station lies at the heart of Bloomsbury, and with a further fourteen stations within a mile of this central point, including the major transport hubs of Euston and King’s Cross and Crossrail to come at Tottenham Court Road, Bloomsbury is super-connected.