For many people, the UK Monopoly board is their first introduction to the geography of London (the board itself is best for playing the game, but a Monopoly umbrella as pictured is handy for keeping off the British rain!)
To be honest, the traditional board is way out of date in terms of some of the geographical locations, but it's still accurate enough for the London novice to work out that Whitechapel and the Old Kent Road are the low rent areas, whilst Mayfair and Park Lane are situated in the expensive end of town.
Mayfair: the Exclusive End of Town
Although today's Mayfair is synonymous with glamour and celebrity, the area's origins were far from glamorous. The May Fair was an annual event which took place in an open space between Berkeley Street and Park Lane from the mid seventeenth century until it was supressed by George lll in 1764.
Today's Mayfair is the area enclosed by Piccadilly to the south, Park Lane to the west, Oxford Street to the north and Regent Street to the East. Piccadilly Circus with the famous Eros statue is a focal point in the West End of London, with Piccadilly itself leading up to the central Circus where Regent Street, the Haymarket and Leicester Square lead off towards other areas of London well known by name.
Mayfair became an exclusive area of London in the late eighteenth century, when many aristocrats built luxurious London homes there, where they could spend the London Season in great comfort before retiring to the country or to Brighton to recover from the excesses of a busy social calendar. The names – Grosvenor, Dorchester, Connaught – now belong to hotels. Facades are all that are left of the glittering Regency era which made Mayfair a name to conjure with.
Exploring the Monopoly Board
For shoppers, Regent Street and Bond Street are still great places for a retail adventure, with Selfridges, Libertys, Hamleys and John Lewis all within easy walking distance of Mayfair. The Harry Potter corner of Hamleys is a delight, usually crammed with would-be wizards and witches taking photos of must-have magic wands, whilst a visit to the gracious black and white Liberty building makes for a unique shopping experience.
The little back streets behind Regent Street and Piccadilly Circus are full of individual boutiques and food shops. If you walk east towards Covent Garden, you will pass through Soho, named after the hunting cry and today, a village within a city, inhabited by the most diverse population imaginable.
Tube Train Adventures or Wonderful Walks
Tube lines from Green Park will take you south (Jubilee Line) to Westminster, the river Thames, the London Eye and the wonders of the South Bank or north (Piccadilly Line) to Leicester Square and Covent Garden. From Westminster, you can change onto the District line, which will take you to Jack the Ripper territory in Whitechapel and the old Jewish east end of London, now transformed into Banglatown, the home of the Bangladeshi community in London.
Just wandering around these evocatively named districts on foot gives glimpses into the past for the determined explorer, but for those more inclined to travel by tube, the Circle line will provide a tour of London by underground. From Westminster, the Tower of London, the Barbican, Baker Street and High Street Kensington can all be visited by tube without changing lines. South Kensington for the museums and Sloane Square for more shopping can also be fitted in before finishing the trip back at Westminster.
Walking north through St. James's Park and Green Park will bring you very close to Buckingham Palace, although you can also take the tube north from Westminster to Green Park.
Whichever way you choose to experience London, many of the memorable names from the Monopoly board are there for you to see and explore for yourselves, whether on foot or by iconic London Underground.
