Ealing is a large suburb about 13 kilometres west of central London, best known for the film studio on its green and for being the place the Elizabeth line made convenient. Around it lie the other western suburbs: Acton, Hanwell, Greenford, Southall and Chiswick's northern edge, with parks, a canal and one of the best concentrations of Punjabi food in Britain.
No visitor should come here for a first day in London. This is where you go on a fifth or sixth day, or where you stay if you are flying from Heathrow, or where you eat if you want food you cannot find in the centre. It is a district of quiet streets, big Victorian houses and good public transport, and it does not pretend otherwise.
The single reason to make the trip is Pitzhanger Manor, a country villa that Sir John Soane designed for himself, now restored and open to the public in a free public park. Everything else here is an addition to that.
Ealing and west London at a glance
- Best for
- A Soane villa, Punjabi food in Southall, big parks, the canal at Hanwell
- Ealing Broadway
- Central line, District line, Elizabeth line and Great Western Railway, Zone 3
- Pitzhanger Manor
- Ealing Green, W5 5EQ; Wednesday to Sunday 10:00-17:00; closed Monday and Tuesday
- First Thursday of the month
- Pitzhanger open until 20:00
- Walpole Park
- Free, surrounds the manor
- Ealing Studios
- A working studio; not open to visitors
- Time needed
- Half a day for Ealing; a full day with Southall or Osterley
What the Elizabeth line changed out here
Ealing has always had a Tube service, but it was the slow kind: the Central line stops everywhere, and the District line's Ealing branch takes half an hour to reach Earl's Court. The Elizabeth line, which serves Ealing Broadway, West Ealing, Hanwell, Southall and Acton Main Line, runs straight through to Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street and on to Canary Wharf without a change.
For a visitor, that means the western suburbs are now a reasonable base and a reasonable day trip. It also means Heathrow is on the same line: Ealing Broadway to the airport needs one change at Hayes and Harlington or a direct service depending on the timetable. Our guides to how the Elizabeth line works and to arriving at Heathrow cover the fares and the terminal split.
All 41 Elizabeth line stations are step-free from street to platform, which is unusual in this part of London and makes a real difference with luggage or a pushchair.
Photo: Ethan Doyle White · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized
Pitzhanger Manor: Soane's other house
Sir John Soane, the architect of the Bank of England, bought a house on Ealing Green in 1800, demolished most of it and rebuilt it as a country villa where he could try out ideas. He sold it twelve years later. After two centuries as a library and municipal building it was restored and reopened, and the interiors are now back to Soane's colours and details: the domed breakfast room, the coloured glass, the mirrors placed to multiply the light.
It is the same architectural imagination as Sir John Soane's Museum in Lincoln's Inn Fields, without the collection of antiquities and without the crowds. If you liked that house, you will like this one, and you will have it more or less to yourself.
It opens Wednesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00, closed Monday and Tuesday, open on bank holidays, and until 20:00 on the first Thursday of each month. There is an admission charge, with free and discounted tickets available, and advance booking is recommended; check the current price on Pitzhanger's own visiting page. A contemporary art gallery adjoins the house and is included.
The manor stands in Walpole Park, which is free and open daily, with a lake, an ornamental garden and a café.
Pitzhanger is shut on Mondays and Tuesdays. That catches out people who have built a west London day around it. If you are here at the start of the week, go to Osterley or Gunnersbury Park instead, or come on the first Thursday of the month, when the house stays open into the evening.
Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios, on the other side of Ealing Green from Pitzhanger, has been making films on the same site since 1902 and describes itself as the oldest continuously working film studio in the world. Its famous period was the late 1940s and early 1950s, when a small permanent team produced the comedies that still carry the studio's name, among them Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Lavender Hill Mob, Passport to Pimlico and The Ladykillers.
It is a working studio and it is not open to the public. There are no tours, no visitor centre and nothing to see beyond the gates and a plaque. Film and television production continues there, and if you want a behind-the-scenes attraction you need the Warner Bros. tour at Leavesden instead.
Ealing's other stage is the Questors Theatre on Mattock Lane, one of the largest amateur theatre companies in Europe, with two auditoriums and a full year-round programme at prices far below the centre. Our guide to West End theatre explains the central booking system; the Questors works nothing like it, and you simply buy a seat on its own website.
Southall and the food
Southall, four stops west on the Elizabeth line, has been the centre of Punjabi London since the 1950s. The Broadway and South Road are lined with sweet shops, sari shops, gold jewellers, vegetarian cafés and restaurants serving food from the Punjab, Gujarat, Kenya and Pakistan. It is cheap, it is busy, and it is not adapted for outsiders, which is the point.
The Sri Guru Singh Sabha gurdwara on Havelock Road is one of the largest Sikh temples outside India. Visitors are welcome: cover your head, remove your shoes, and do not take alcohol or tobacco inside. The langar, the free community kitchen, serves anyone who comes.
Our guide to Indian food in London names specific Southall restaurants and explains the regional differences. For a comparable religious building on the other side of west London, the marble and limestone BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir at Neasden is open to visitors most days.
Parks, houses and the canal
| Place | Nearest station | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Walpole Park, Ealing | Ealing Broadway, 10 minutes | Free |
| Gunnersbury Park and Museum | Acton Town | Park and museum free |
| Osterley Park and House | Osterley, Piccadilly line | Park free to walk; house ticketed, National Trust |
| Horsenden Hill, Perivale | Perivale, Central line | Free |
| Hanwell Flight and Three Bridges | Hanwell, Elizabeth line | Free |
The best walk out here is at Hanwell. The Grand Union Canal climbs 16 metres through a flight of six locks beside the old asylum wall, and just below it is Three Bridges, where Brunel carried a railway in a cutting under a road, which itself passes under the canal in an iron trough: three kinds of transport stacked at one point. It was one of Brunel's last works. Our page on London's canals covers the network these locks belong to.
Gunnersbury Park, shared between Ealing and Hounslow, has two mansions once owned by the Rothschilds, a free local museum, a boating lake and sports pitches. Osterley Park, a Robert Adam house in a landscaped park, is a National Trust property with a charge for the house and free access to the grounds.
Shopping and the western edge
Ealing Broadway has two shopping centres and the usual chains, which is enough for anything you have forgotten to pack and no reason to travel. For serious shopping, Westfield London at White City is 15 minutes away on the Central line and is covered in our guide to the Westfield centres.
South of Ealing, across the river, are Kew Gardens and then Richmond, both reachable on the District line. North-east, the Central line runs in towards Notting Hill in about 20 minutes.
There is no major sports venue in Ealing itself. The big stadium tours are elsewhere: the London Stadium in the Olympic Park at the opposite end of the Central line, and the grounds covered in our guide to Premier League football in London.
Ealing is a sensible base for an early Heathrow flight, but check the line, not the map. Hotels here advertise their closeness to the airport, and the Elizabeth line does connect them, but some services need a change at Hayes and Harlington and the first trains are later than you might assume. Look up your actual departure time on TfL's journey planner before booking, not the average journey time.
Is it worth staying here?
Rooms in Ealing and Acton cost noticeably less than in Zone 1, and you get a quiet residential street, a proper high street and a fast line into town. Against that, you are 30 to 40 minutes from Westminster, the last trains are earlier than in the centre, and there is little reason to be outside after 10pm.
It suits families, longer stays, people with an early flight and anyone visiting friends out here. Our page on staying outside central London to save money sets out the arithmetic, and for comparison, Paddington is on the same Elizabeth line but in Zone 1, and Earl's Court is on the same District line branch.
Frequently asked questions
Can you visit Ealing Studios?
No. It is a working film and television studio with no public tours, visitor centre or exhibition, and there is nothing to see beyond the gates. For a studio attraction, the Warner Bros. Studio Tour at Leavesden near Watford is the one to book, and all its tickets must be bought in advance.
When is Pitzhanger Manor open?
Wednesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00, and until 20:00 on the first Thursday of each month. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays but opens on bank holidays. There is an admission charge, and advance booking is recommended.
How long does it take to get to Ealing from central London?
About 15 minutes from Paddington on the Elizabeth line to Ealing Broadway, or 25 to 30 minutes on the Central line from Oxford Circus. Ealing Broadway is in Zone 3, and all Elizabeth line stations are step-free from street to platform.
Is Southall worth a trip for the food?
If you are interested in Punjabi, Gujarati and Pakistani cooking, yes. The Broadway and South Road have dozens of restaurants, sweet shops and vegetarian cafés at low prices, and the area is four stops west of Ealing Broadway on the Elizabeth line.
Can I visit the gurdwara in Southall?
Yes. Visitors are welcome at Sri Guru Singh Sabha on Havelock Road. Cover your head, take off your shoes, and do not bring alcohol or tobacco onto the premises. The free community kitchen serves food to anyone who comes, regardless of religion.
Sources
- Pitzhanger Manor and Gallery - Visiting and opening hours (checked September 2026)
- Transport for London - The Elizabeth line (checked September 2026)
- Ealing Council - Parks and open spaces (checked September 2026)
- National Trust - Osterley Park and House (checked September 2026)
- Transport for London - Journey Planner (checked September 2026)