Rent a Central London Flat – where is Central?

Central London - Zone 1

Central London is a very sought after area to rent a flat – but it is also an area without definition. Central London to me means the West End (perverse definition I know!) Soho, Marylebone, Knightsbridge, East Chelsea, Pimlico, Mayfair, Belgravia. Notting Hill & Kensington don’t make it for me, but for others they would. There are several areas south of the river which are geographically central london (Battersea, Lambeth, Vauxhall, Stockwell), but don’t qualify on socio-economic grounds (polite words for – they are grim to live in).

When reading advertisements you need to be able to decode the geography – if the flat is in a desirable area, then the location will say “Pimlico” or “the Pimlico Grid”, it will identify the desirable area. If the flat is in a less popular area the Ad. will pick on the closest desirable area which is geographically and technically correct. This may be a Postcode “SW1″ or wider generic description.

Finally an often used term is “Zone 1″ referring to London Transport’s charging system. London is split into six approximately concentric zones for the purpose of determining the cost of single fares and Travelcards. The boundary of zone 1 roughly corresponds to the route of the Underground’s Circle Line and thus stations within the zone cover the West End, the Holborn district, Kensington, Paddington and the City of London. Old Street, Angel, Pimlico, Tower Gateway, Aldgate East and Euston, Vauxhall, Elephant & Castle, Borough, London Bridge, Earl’s Court, Marylebone, Edgware Road, Lambeth North and Waterloo are in zone 1 but not in or on the Circle Line. Every London Underground line has stations in zone 1. It includes all of London’s principal railway terminals. It is a useful definition of Central London because it defines an area of cheap transport within London.