Chelsea: London

Notoriously one of the most affluent areas in London, Chelsea still retains this title, with the King's Road and Sloane Street dominated by high-end shops such as Chanel and Dolce & Gabbana. It is all too common to walk by an elegantly dressed woman, Hermes Birkin bag on arm, with a small dog's face peering out (think Paris Hilton and her chihuahuas). It is hard to imagine that during the 1960s the King's Road was the centre of the Swinging Sixties, drawing in rock stars, models and hippies alike.

The Saatchi Gallery, a contemporary art gallery founded by the eponymous art collector Charles Saatchi twenty-five years ago, opened up it's new headquarters on the King's Road in 2008, lending a new credibility to the perceived superficiality of the wealth of the area. Masterpiece Art Fair, an annual art and antiques fair launched in 2010, is housed on the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea grounds, just down the road from the galleries and contemporary design shops of Pimlico Road, furthering Chelsea's reputation as a center for art and antiques.
© NileGuide