Where to stay in London: the best neighbourhoods and hotels

If you only have a long weekend, base yourself here. Covent Garden's piazza is pure theatre, with street performers working the crowds under the old market hall's glass roof, the Royal Opera House on one side and the West End's playhouses in every direction. Walk ten minutes and you're at Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery or the Thames.

The hotels are some of the most storied in town. The Savoy sits between the Strand and the river, still pouring cocktails after more than a century; NoMad has turned the old Bow Street Magistrates' Court into a hotel with a glass atrium restaurant and a library for guests; ME London brings sleek design to the Strand; and One Aldwych has a spa and an indoor pool.

It is busy, central and seldom cheap, but you will barely need the Tube.

Soho packs more bars, restaurants and characters into its narrow streets than anywhere else in London. Once the city's racy back room, it is now where Londoners go for dinner and drinks: dim sum in Chinatown, natural wine in tiny bistros, cocktails in basements. Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus pull the crowds, and Shaftesbury Avenue's theatres are on the doorstep.

Hotels here are stylish and sociable. The Soho Hotel and Ham Yard are both playful, design-led boltholes with spas, tucked just off the busiest streets. The Londoner on Leicester Square bills itself as an urban resort over 16 floors, and Courthouse London puts Oxford Street, Bond Street and Liberty within easy reach. Light sleepers should ask for a room at the back.

Mayfair is London's poshest postcode, a grid of Georgian squares, art galleries and private clubs between Oxford Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. Bond Street does the designer shopping, Savile Row does the tailoring, and Hyde Park and Green Park are where you go to walk it all off.

Nowhere in London has more famous hotels. The Dorchester has looked over Hyde Park from Park Lane for generations; its sleek neighbour 45 Park Lane has a steakhouse and an indoor pool; the Four Seasons hides on a quiet street with some fireplace suites; and The May Fair, open since 1927, sits a few steps from Green Park station. The London Hilton on Park Lane, the first Hilton in the UK, is about a 15-minute walk from Buckingham Palace.

It's elegant and calm after dark, so night owls may prefer Soho, a short walk east.

This is the London of postcards: the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben on the river, Westminster Abbey, the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace and the pelicans of St James's Park. Whitehall runs between them, lined with government buildings, and the whole area is wonderfully walkable.

Several of those grand old buildings are now hotels. Raffles London occupies the Old War Office on Whitehall; Great Scotland Yard, behind its Portland stone and green doors, has history going back to the 16th century; and The Royal Horseguards looks out over the Thames towards the London Eye. The Conrad, steps from St James's Park, runs a family programme in the school holidays.

Evenings are quiet once the office workers go home, which suits families and anyone up early for the sights.

Cross any bridge from the West End and you land on the South Bank, a riverside promenade that runs from the London Eye past the Southbank Centre, Tate Modern and Shakespeare's Globe to Borough Market and Tower Bridge. It is one long, glorious walk, with the whole skyline across the water.

Rooms come with a view. The London Marriott County Hall sits beside Westminster Bridge facing Big Ben, with an indoor pool; Shangri-La occupies the upper floors of the Shard, a short walk from Borough Market and HMS Belfast; and on Bankside, an Autograph Collection hotel puts Tate Modern and the Globe a stroll away.

Knightsbridge is where London shops seriously. Harrods and Harvey Nichols anchor Brompton Road, the boutiques of Sloane Street run south towards Chelsea, and Hyde Park is right there when you need air. The V&A and the South Kensington museums are a short walk west.

Its hotels are polished and pampering. The Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park backs straight onto the park, with a spa and indoor pool; The Berkeley has both indoor and outdoor pools and a Cédric Grolet café; The Capital, one of London's first boutique hotels, is a stone's throw from Harrods; and the Park Tower Knightsbridge looks out over Hyde Park.

For families, this is London's sweet spot. South Kensington's Natural History Museum, Science Museum and V&A are all free, Kensington Palace sits at the end of Kensington Gardens, and the Royal Albert Hall faces the park. To the north, Bayswater's white stucco terraces line the far side of Hyde Park, with Paddington station close by.

Many places to stay here are apartments, ideal for families. Cheval Thorney Court is moments from the Royal Albert Hall and Kensington Palace; Queens Gate 130 offers studios up to four-bedroom penthouses; and Fountain House faces Hyde Park near Lancaster Gate, a few minutes from the Heathrow Express at Paddington. Prefer a hotel? The Royal Garden overlooks Kensington Palace, and the Royal Lancaster stands right on the edge of Hyde Park.

Bloomsbury is London's literary quarter, all garden squares and Georgian terraces around the British Museum and the university. To the north, the old railway lands of King's Cross have been reborn with canalside restaurants and shops, and St Pancras International is where the Eurostar comes in. Fitzrovia, to the west, is a creative, foodie pocket just north of Oxford Street.

The star is the St. Pancras London hotel, set in the Gothic station building itself, with a spa, an indoor pool and the Booking Office 1869 restaurant. The Kimpton Fitzroy, a palatial 19th-century landmark, fills a whole block on Russell Square; The Newman and The London Edition, home to Berners Tavern, bring style to Fitzrovia. For a simpler stay, the small Russell Square Hotel is a short walk from the British Museum.

The City, London's original Square Mile, is a mix of Roman walls, Wren churches and glass towers, with St Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London as its bookends. On weekdays it is all suits; at weekends it empties out, which can mean good-value rooms in very smart hotels. Next door, Shoreditch is the opposite: street art, vintage shops, Brick Lane curry houses and bars that stay busy late.

The Hyatt Regency Blackfriars stands on the site of Henry VIII's Bridewell Palace, near St Paul's and across the river from Tate Modern. Pan Pacific London, with a spa and indoor pool, is handy for the Tower and Tower Bridge. In Shoreditch, Virgin Hotels puts East London's boldest cocktails right outside your door, and the Courthouse Hotel brings a dash of history to the neighbourhood.

East London's docklands have been rebuilt as a forest of skyscrapers at Canary Wharf, with the Thames curling around it. Across the water, the Greenwich Peninsula has the O2 arena, while historic Greenwich itself, with the Cutty Sark and the Royal Observatory, is a short hop away. Further north, Stratford grew up around the Olympic Park.

Hotels here are modern, spacious and often better value than the centre, especially at weekends. Canary Riverside Plaza and the London Marriott Canary Wharf both sit by the water; the InterContinental London The O2 has a spa, an indoor pool and a sky bar looking back at the towers; and The Gantry in Stratford has the highest rooftop bar in the area. The Elizabeth line and the Jubilee line put the West End within easy reach.

Richmond feels like a prosperous country town that happens to be in London. The Thames is wide and green here, lined with pubs and boatyards, Richmond Park's herds of deer roam beneath ancient oaks, and the glasshouses of Kew Gardens are next door. Twickenham Stadium is just across the river.

Stays are smaller and more personal: The Petersham, with garden and terrace views and a fine-dining restaurant; Bingham Riverhouse, with its riverside restaurant and garden; and Kew Rooms, a friendly bed and breakfast in Kew. Trains and the District line reach central London in around half an hour.

For a dawn departure, Sofitel London Heathrow is linked to Terminal 5 by a covered walkway of about five minutes, and trains reach central London in around 20 minutes. Hilton London Syon Park, a short drive away, blends a contemporary hotel with the grounds of an English country estate, with a pool open to adults for a fee.

Hilton London Gatwick Airport is right next to the South Terminal, with a free monorail to the North; the Crowne Plaza is about five minutes' drive away. For something with more character, Langshott Manor in nearby Horley is a 16th-century house a few minutes from the runway. The Gatwick Express reaches central London in around 30 minutes, and Brighton makes an easy day out.