The 12-, 24- and 48-hour Travel Guides to Knightsbridge

Don’t be fooled by Knightsbridge’s diminutive size. Stretching from Hyde Park Corner to Exhibition Row, this taste-making quarter still packs in the crème de la crème of museums, shops, hotels and chefs – everyone from Björn Frantzén to Tom Kerridge. Then, beyond its main streets, come classical London lanes and several lovely, leafy garden squares. Here’s what to see and do if you’re visiting…  

With only a few hours to spare, you’ll need to choose between three of London’s premier cultural spaces. From dinosaur skulls to earthquake simulators, the Natural History Museum and Science Museum offer captivating permanent exhibition spaces. Next door’s V&A — or Victoria & Albert Museum – opened its handsome, Renaissance-style premises in 1852 and now unites some two million art and design pieces. Queen Victoria’s sapphire and diamond coronet is a glittering standout. Now for fresh air and a feed. Saunter along Hyde Park’s handsome southern fringes before entering Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park London. Inside here awaits Heston Blumenthal’s lone London restaurant. Inspired by extensively researched Victorian and Middle Ages recipes, the maverick chef’s two-Michelin-starred menus involve such scrumptious, enthralling plates as “Meat Fruit” – chicken liver parfait playfully disguised as a mandarin. Book months in advance.

Having devoted the morning to those A-list museums, head to Feya for lunch. Donating a tenth of its profits to the income-boosting Young Women’s Trust charity, and dreamily decked out in florals, pastels and pinks, this large café does a fine line in toasties, plus rainbow smoothie bowls. Its coffee is top-notch, too. Rejuvenated? Good – because it’s time to go shopping. Mostly along or just off Brompton Road, Knightsbridge has an exceptional bounty of luxury goods stores, with Burberry, Tommy Hilfiger and Seiko all operating standalone boutiques here. Its two heavyweights, however, are Harrods and Harvey Nichols, those large, legendary department stores. The latter does a particularly fine line in designer fashion, while Harrods sells everything from fridges to fragrances and throws in its central, sculpture-lined Egyptian Escalator for good, extravagant measure. 

Having exercised heroic restraint amid the Art-Nouveau Food Hall, conclude your Harrods visit by dining at Studio Frantzén. In this buzzy top-floor perch, which opened early last year, ex-professional footballer Björn Frantzén – a fixture on the annual World’s 50 Best list — gives Nordic cuisine an Asian makeover across seasonal à la carte menus. Bravura, signature cocktails are also available in two adjacent bars, letting you toast the perfect day trip. If the weather is on your side, make sure to book a spot on the terrace for the best sunset views in town.

Weekenders can do all the above while fitting in more pleasure. During your retail therapy, there will now be time for a leisurely brunch at Harvey Nichols’ rooftop-gazing Fifth Floor Bar, with the mimosas a must, as well as for afternoon tea below an 18-foot chandelier in The Park Tower’s Knightsbridge Lounge. The hotel is still serving its Royal Afternoon Tea, which was launched last spring in honour of the King’s coronation, and has become a fixture for those seeking a regal treat.  

On Sunday, join 3,000 attendees at the London Oratory for mass services, listening to celebrated choirs sing so hauntingly that your neck hairs will stand up. Afterwards, stroll east from Ennismore Street to Trevor Square via Montpelier Walk, pausing a million times to photograph cutely-coloured doors, cobbled mews and Georgian townhouses. Should some pampering be called for, wellness possibilities also abound. Non-guests are welcome at the sleek Bulgari Hotel’s award-winning subterranean spa, sprawling alongside an inviting, low-lit swimming pool and offering extensive, expert treatment menus.  

Bed down at The Lanesborough. Looking onto Hyde Park, this long-standing establishment is a byword for finery. On-call butlers stand ready whenever required, and breakfasts are devoured in the beautiful, glass-domed Grill room. As with Knightsbridge as a whole, visiting here is a sybaritic experience that you’ll remember for a long time. 

Richard Mellor is a travel writer who regularly writes for the Metro, The Times and The Mail on Sunday