They may look identical from the outside but inside you may find a chain Best Western or a cheap Paddington Bed and Breakfast. Sussex Gardens is a wide avenue just 200m from Paddington Station which is lined with these types of hotels. These hotels are typically 5 or 6 storeys and the cheaper hotels will not have lifts, so check carefully what you need before booking. Hotels around the station are usually found in terraced buildings, these tend to be budget types, but you can find the odd four-star hotel in these buildings. For example, within 50 yards of the hustle and bustle of Praed Street, you can find Norfolk Square, a beautiful and quiet place to relax and recharge. Throughout the area, you can find many garden squares. Once you leave the immediate vicinity of the station you'll find the area rapidly becomes more elegant and residential. You will also find a few independent fish and chip and sandwich shops. Most multinational fast food and coffee chains are represented here (McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC and Starbucks).

Most of the outlets are biased towards ‘on the go’ style offering, reflecting the demands of railways travellers passing through. You won't find any large department stores for leisure shopping around the station, the shops here are all focussed on feeding people transitioning through the railway station. Pavements here are quite narrow and the shops and restaurants mostly small.

The shops continue down Spring Street and London Street opposite the station as far as Sussex Gardens. The area facing the Hilton is the main commercial part of Paddington. The Hilton Hotel Paddington is the original old railway station hotel, standing at the front of the station facing Praed Street. Click the link to find out more about Paddington Station. The station is the terminus for a wide range of train services including Heathrow Airport, West London commuter lines and long-distance services to Wales and South West England.

The centre of the Paddington area is, of course, the railway station.

London city airport to paddington