London

London Was Somewhere In Between

For Old Hollywood, London was rarely home and rarely just work — it was somewhere in between. Cary Grant, born English, passed through on his way to America with the Pender Troupe in 1920 and returned only occasionally for premieres and social engagements; as the deck puts it, Bristol was home, Hollywood was work, and London was somewhere in between. Frank Sinatra performed here many times, most famously at the London Palladium with Ava Gardner watching from the front row. Elizabeth Taylor was actually born here, in Hampstead, to American parents.

And Ava Gardner, after the noise and chaos of Madrid, chose London as the place to disappear into. She moved here in the late 1960s and lived in Knightsbridge for the last 22 years of her life — far longer than she lived anywhere else as an adult. Between them, these four anchor a city of art deco grande dames, ancient cocktail bars, and blue plaques marking the doors the stars walked through.

Mayfair & Claridge's

Claridge's, the art deco grande dame on Brook Street, has been hosting Hollywood visitors since the talkies era. Cary Grant stayed here whenever he was in London — it was his hotel of choice in the UK throughout his career. Ava Gardner and the rest of the Pandora and the Flying Dutchman cast were put up here during filming, and she hosted a press conference in the hotel's Banquet Room; she remained a regular during her years living in Knightsbridge. Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn maintained a discreet suite arrangement. The hotel's combination of supreme discretion and impeccable service made it the obvious choice for stars who wanted privacy without sacrificing luxury.

The Foyer serves one of London's best afternoon teas, and the hotel bar has the kind of hushed, wood-panelled atmosphere where you can imagine Grant ordering a very dry martini and making it look like the most natural thing in the world. Open year-round. Rooms from around £500 per night. Brook Street, Mayfair, London W1.

" Cary Grant stayed here whenever he was in London. Ava Gardner was a regular during her years living in Knightsbridge. Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn maintained a discreet suite arrangement.

The Dorchester, Park Lane

The grande dame of Park Lane has been hosting Hollywood since it opened in 1931, and it was, without question, Elizabeth Taylor's favourite place to stay in London. She usually booked the Harlequin Suite. The pink bathroom in that suite was originally installed just for her, and it's still there today; legend has it there's even graffiti on the wall reading "RB xxx ET."

Taylor's relationship with the hotel produced one of the best anecdotes in these guides. In the penthouse suite, after she and Burton were married, she decided it would be funny to hammer a nail into the wall above the fireplace to hang a Van Gogh she had bought for Richard at Sotheby's earlier that day. (In another telling, she struck the painting with a hairbrush during an argument; the hotel sent her the bill for the damage, which she paid without complaint — the most Elizabeth Taylor response imaginable.) While filming The VIPs, the not-yet-married Burtons stayed in adjoining rooftop garden suites.

In 1967 the couple chose the Dorchester for a memorable and somewhat raucous celebration of the UK release of The Taming of the Shrew, taxiing in Richard's Welsh friends and family by green Rolls-Royce and putting them up in 14 suites. And in 2000, Taylor attended a dinner in her honour here when she was made a Dame. Years earlier, Marlene Dietrich had lived at the Dorchester through the London Blitz, refusing to leave despite the bombing — when asked why she stayed, she reportedly said the hotel had the best bomb shelter in London. Open year-round. Rooms from around £700 per night. 53 Park Lane, Mayfair, London W1.

The Savoy & the Strand

London's most famous hotel opened on the Strand in 1889 and has hosted virtually every major Hollywood star who has crossed the Atlantic. It was Frank Sinatra's hotel of choice in the English capital — it was at the Savoy, Mia Farrow once revealed at lunch, that she and Frank had been watching The Saint in bed. Ava Gardner stayed here in 1956 while working with a speech coach for her role in Bhowani Junction, and dined at the Savoy Grill during her London years; Noël Coward practically lived in the Grill Room. Marilyn Monroe held a press conference here in 1956 during the filming of The Prince and the Showgirl, wearing a dress so tight the assembled journalists reportedly forgot every question they had prepared. Charlie Chaplin stayed on his controversial return visits to England after his exile from America.

The American Bar, which opened in the 1890s, claims to be the oldest surviving cocktail bar in the world. Its head bartenders have included some of the most influential mixologists in history, and the art deco interior is a masterclass in how a bar should look and feel — a fitting place to raise a glass to Ava. Open year-round. Rooms from around £400 per night. Strand, London WC2.

Ava's Knightsbridge

After Madrid, London offered Ava Gardner something she had never really had: privacy. She was rarely recognised on the streets of Knightsbridge, which suited her perfectly. She had kept a flat in Regent's Park in the early 1950s during her marriage to Sinatra, but she settled permanently at 34 Ennismore Gardens, a luxury flat in Knightsbridge, from 1972 until her death in 1990 at the age of 67. She enjoyed walking the neighbourhood's many parks and gardens with the latest of her beloved Pembroke Welsh Corgis.

Today you'll find an English Heritage blue plaque on the wall outside number 34, commemorating that the great Hollywood legend lived here. It's a remarkably peaceful spot for a woman who spent most of her life causing chaos — a quiet, leafy square just a five-minute walk from Harrods.

Where the Stars Ate & Drank

Rules on Maiden Lane in Covent Garden, one of London's oldest restaurants (founded 1798), is one place where Ava Gardner is known to have eaten and that is still very much alive and kicking. The menu has barely changed in decades — game, pies, and traditional British dishes served in an interior that looks like a Victorian hunting lodge crossed with a gentleman's club, its walls lined with portraits and cartoons of the VIPs who have passed through. Mains from around £25.

Elizabeth Taylor's favourite London haunts included the Cafe Royal on Regent Street, Langan's Brasserie in Mayfair (once co-owned by Michael Caine), and the sausages from Fortnum & Mason on Piccadilly, which also does an excellent afternoon tea fit for a Hollywood goddess (from around £65). Frank Sinatra lunched with Roger Moore at the exclusive club Annabel's in Berkeley Square. And just outside London, in Shepperton, the Anchor Hotel was a favourite drinking haunt of Taylor and Burton while he was filming Becket with Peter O'Toole — two of the finest drinkers in the history of British cinema, propping up the bar of a quiet Surrey pub.

On Stage & On the Blue Plaque Trail

The London Palladium on Argyll Street still hosts performances and is worth a visit for its interior alone, even if the current line-up is unlikely to feature anyone as compelling as 1951-era Sinatra — who performed here for the first time that year, with Ava Gardner watching from the front row.

For the dedicated, London is a city of blue plaques. Ava Gardner's is at 34 Ennismore Gardens in Knightsbridge. Elizabeth Taylor's marks her birthplace at Heathwood, 8 Wildwood Road, Hampstead Garden Suburb. Together they trace a quietly remarkable map of where Old Hollywood lived between the premieres and the films.