Park Lane, London

Once upon a time on the outskirts of London, there was a quiet country lane running to the northwest of the Thames. As the great city expanded in all directions, that lane become a fashionable area of grassy parks and large mansions. Known today as Park Lane, this now-busy road greets the London visitor with an exciting mix of historical sites and very luxurious Park Lane hotels

Among them is the Park Lane Mews. A townhouse hotel today, the building was erected in 1681. It’s among the five-star hotels that still lend their prestige to the area.

The Grosvenor House Hotel is another Park Lane hotel certain to catch the visitor’s eye. Built in the 1920s on grounds that once held the in-town residence of the Duke of Westminister, the Grosvenor contains one of Europe’s largest ballrooms. As the host of many awards shows and charity events, the room can easily lay claim to the modern-day descriptive phrase "as seen on television."

These two hotels are among the several that have sprung up among the mansions that once overlooked Hyde Park. As the area became a center of wealth and influence, it came to hold many of London’s most interesting historical monuments. The Statue of Achilles is one of them. Unveiled in 1828, the sculpture was decried at the time as being the only statue of a nude male in the entire city. Another, the Marble Arch, stands at the north end of Hyde Park. It was erected in 1828 under the design of the famed London architect John Nash. A third monument, Wellington Arch, stands at the south end of Hyde Park, and was built in 1830 to honor England’s victories during the Napoleonic wars.

Park Lane still displays many of the landmark buildings and monuments marking it as one of the most exclusive addresses in London. That once-quiet lane, however, has evolved into one of the busiest streets in London. Hyde Park is now accessible through, among other entries, an underpass built as Park Lane became busier. In 1971 the pulsating Hard Rock Cafe took over the premises once occupied by a sedate Rolls Royce dealership on Park Lane. The old now exists in joyous harmony with the new. The traveler seeking both historical perspectives and modern attractions will find them side-by-side on Park Lane.