{"id":244,"date":"2022-01-11T14:00:06","date_gmt":"2022-01-11T13:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homesandantiques.com\/?p=25125"},"modified":"2022-01-11T14:20:15","modified_gmt":"2022-01-11T13:20:15","slug":"plan-your-trip-to-marylebone-where-to-shop-eat-stay","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/rss_feed\/plan-your-trip-to-marylebone-where-to-shop-eat-stay\/","title":{"rendered":"Plan your trip to Marylebone: where to shop, eat & stay"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Emma Longstaff\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 11 January 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

O<\/span>xford Street, London\u2019s busiest shopping thoroughfare, is at its most frantic in the festive season. Neighbouring Marylebone feels a world apart. Away from the crowds and the uninspiring chain stores, it offers a much calmer and more elegant Christmas shopping experience, with a distinctive combination of upmarket boutiques, classy restaurants and specialist retailers. <\/span><\/p>\n

Standout examples include the bookseller Daunt Books, with its magnificent galleried premises, and VV Rouleaux, stockist of more than 5,000 luxury ribbons, tassels, and other trimmings.<\/span><\/p>\n

\""What\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Books fill the long oak galleries of Edwardian store Daunt Books.<\/span><\/figcaption> Nathaniel Noir \/ Alamy Stock Photo<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Venture further north and you find yourself in authentic, not-for-tourists London. Wander through the busy market on Church Street, with its stalls selling cheap fruit and veg and knock-off watches, and you might start to think you\u2019re lost. But as the market peters out, you\u2019ll discover antiques-shopping heaven. <\/span><\/p>\n

At the eastern end of Church Street, Alfies Antique Market, a former department store with an Art Deco Egyptian Revival fa\u00e7ade, is home to more than 50 dealers, selling everything from Chinese porcelain to antique jewellery to stylish mid-century furniture. With cheaper rents than ritzier parts of the city, and a community buzz, dealers have spilled out into the neighbouring shops. <\/span>The result is a one-of-a-kind shopping experience in central London. <\/span><\/p>\n

Places to visit in Marylebone<\/span><\/h2>\n

The Wallace Collection<\/span><\/h3>\n
\""What\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
The magnificent medieval boxwood carving of The Adoration of the Magi at The Wallace Collection.<\/span><\/figcaption> The Wallace Collection<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

The Wallace Collection<\/a> comprises the complete personal collection, amassed over several generations, of one family. It was bequeathed to the nation in 1897. Although there are relatively few famous names (and therefore fewer selfie-snapping tourists), the collection is filled with masterpieces of painting, sculpture, furniture, armour and porcelain. Be blown away by the intricate medieval boxwood carving of The Adoration of the Magi<\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Wigmore Hall<\/span><\/h3>\n

Originally built in 1901 by the Bechstein piano company to showcase its instruments, this intimate concert venue<\/a> was designed to have the best acoustics for classical music in all of Europe. Lavishly fitted out in marble and mahogany, the striking Arts and Crafts cupola over the stage depicts the Soul of Music. In December, choral groups perform festive music from across the centuries. <\/span><\/p>\n

Places to shop in Marylebone<\/span><\/h2>\n

Brocantry<\/span><\/h3>\n
\""What\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Rootle for well-priced, posh bric-a-brac at Brocantry.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Brocantry is the Dutch word for junk shop and Nick\u2019s posh bric-a-brac is perfect for a rummage; he sells mainly to dealers, which means prices are low and stock moves fast. On the day H&A<\/i> visited, Nick had shelves of vintage Champagne buckets (\u00a315), which could be filled with flowers to make a glamorous Christmas table centrepiece. <\/span><\/p>\n

At the back of the shop, Gwen\u2019s sparkling cabinets of signed costume jewellery are a draw for collectors. We bought one of the Trifari monogram brooches (\u00a310) \u2013 a perfect stocking filler. <\/span><\/p>\n

The FM Gallery <\/span><\/h3>\n

Francesca Ahose\u2019s flamboyant ceiling lights take centre stage in her shop<\/a> dedicated to Italian 20th-century design. Building on the traditions of Murano glass-blowing and chandelier-making, the exuberant lights are sculpted in extraordinary forms \u2013 the hull of a ship, tangles of translucent spaghetti, an oversized flower head, a spiky sputnik. Rare examples fetch five-figure sums. <\/span><\/p>\n

Beth Adams, Alfies Antique Market <\/span><\/h3>\n

Friendly Beth sells a range of decorative objects (dateline 1850 to 1960) but her passion is for Art Deco design, which she has been selling since the early 1980s. Her sizeable collection, spanning everything from sunny yellow Carlton Ware to rare Clarice Cliff pieces, is attractively priced \u2013 bargain of the day was a Clarice Cliff cowslip teapot in the Bonjour shape, sadly without a lid, for \u00a3350. Beth\u2019s Bakelite animal napkin rings would make a quirky addition to the Christmas table (\u00a320 and up).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Linda Bee, Alfies Antique Market<\/span><\/h3>\n
\""What\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Linda Bee\u2019s pink showroom at Alfies Antique Market<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Oozing showgirl glamour, Linda\u2019s<\/a> bright pink showroom offers a stylish selection of powder compacts, perfume bottles, statement necklaces and earrings, exotic skin handbags, and other fun and flirty vintage accessories.\nWe loved the c1950s tiny gilt microphone (\u00a395), which flips open to reveal a lighter.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tin Tin Collectables, Alfies Antique Market <\/span><\/h3>\n

The last 18 months may have put the kibosh on our travel plans, but Leslie\u2019s<\/a> beautifully restored leather luggage might go some way to satisfying wanderlust. His room is filled floor-to-ceiling with high-quality steamer and motoring trunks, vellum suitcases, hat boxes and attach\u00e9 cases. Prices range from \u00a3700 for a smart leather trunk (which would make an excellent side table), to \u00a380 for a collar box.<\/span><\/p>\n

Horner Antiques, Alfies Antique Market<\/span><\/h3>\n

Michael\u2019s kitsch collection of Soviet and Eastern European Christmas tree decorations encompasses the beautiful and bizarre \u2013 from ice maidens and nesting dolls to pickles and pink elephants. At \u00a34.50 and above, some of the most valuable are characters from Soviet children\u2019s cartoons. For Russians, they\u2019re hugely nostalgic \u2013 visiting oligarchs have been known to clear him out of stock.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

You might also enjoy:<\/h4>\n