If shopping is high on your list of priorities then step right out of Sloane Square Underground Station and into Peter Jones' department store. Right alongside it you'll find Neal's and Habitat which specialise in interior design, but for something exquisitely hand-crafted visit the Queen's nephew, David Linley's store in nearby Pimlico Road. Moving towards the King's Road, look out for Emma Hope's ultra-feminine footwear in Sloane Square and Lulu Guinness handbags on Ellis Street, then while away a couple of hours browsing antiques in Antiquarius or the Chelsea Antique Market. The perfect place for lunch is the Bluebird Café, part of a Conran complex of gourmet food and homewear.
Up on Chelsea Embankment you'll find Chelsea Physic Garden, founded over 300 years ago to investigate the medicinal properties of plants. It is open twice a week in summer as well as throughout Chelsea Flower Show week in May. Catch a glimpse of a former age in elegant Cheyne Row, where historian Thomas Carlyle lived in one of the fine Queen Anne period townhouses.