Earl's Court is a district of tall Victorian terraces in west London, two stops from the South Kensington museums and directly on the Piccadilly line to Heathrow. It has been the city's budget hotel quarter for more than fifty years. West Brompton, the next station south, is quieter still and sits beside a large Victorian cemetery that is now a Royal Park.
The single most important thing to know is what is not here any more. The Earls Court Exhibition Centre, the huge art deco hall that gave the area its name in guidebooks for eighty years, was demolished between 2014 and 2017. The site is a building project. Any guide that still sends you to a trade show or a concert there is out of date.
What remains is a well-connected, slightly worn, genuinely cheap place to sleep, with one outstanding free thing to see. Nobody comes to Earl's Court for Earl's Court; they come because a room here costs less than the same room in South Kensington and the museums are four minutes away.
Earl's Court and West Brompton at a glance
- Best for
- Cheaper hotels and hostels, fast links to both main airports, a quiet Victorian cemetery
- Earl's Court station
- District and Piccadilly lines; on the Zone 1 and 2 boundary
- West Brompton station
- District line and the Mildmay line of the Overground, Zone 2
- To the museums
- Two stops to South Kensington, or 20 minutes on foot
- To Heathrow
- Direct on the Piccadilly line, no change; £5.90 from Zone 1 at any time
- Brompton Cemetery
- Free; pedestrian gates 7am to 7pm
- Gone
- The Earls Court Exhibition Centre, demolished 2014-2017
Why the transport here is better than the area suggests
Earl's Court is one of the more useful junctions on the Underground. The District line splits here into branches for Wimbledon, Richmond and Ealing Broadway in one direction and Edgware Road in the other, and the Piccadilly line runs through on its way between central London and Heathrow. That means two things for a visitor: you can reach most of west London without changing, and you can get to the airport with your suitcase without ever carrying it up a flight of stairs at an interchange.
The Piccadilly line fare to any Heathrow terminal is £5.90 from Zone 1 at all times, including off-peak, because all Heathrow journeys through Zone 1 are charged at peak rates. It is slow compared with the Elizabeth line, but it is direct and it is by far the cheapest rail option. Our comparison of every route from Heathrow into London sets out the times.
For Gatwick, use West Brompton. The Mildmay line of the Overground runs from there to Clapham Junction in a few minutes, and Gatwick trains leave Clapham Junction frequently. The pay-as-you-go fare to Gatwick on a Southern service is £19.20 at peak times and £10.70 off-peak. Our page on getting between Gatwick and London explains which trains take contactless and where the validity ends.
Because Earl's Court straddles the Zone 1 and 2 boundary, journeys from here are usually charged as Zone 1. Our guides to using the Underground and Travelcards and caps explain when a Travelcard beats the daily cap, which for most visitors it does not.
Staying two stops out can pay for a museum day. A hotel room in Earl's Court is often £40 to £70 a night less than a comparable room in South Kensington, for a four-minute train ride or a 20-minute walk. Over four nights that is more than the cost of the Tower of London for a family of four. Our page on what a London trip costs has the full arithmetic.
Photo: Philafrenzy · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized
Brompton Cemetery
Brompton Cemetery lies between Old Brompton Road and Fulham Road, with an entrance right beside West Brompton station. It opened in 1840 as one of London's seven large commercial cemeteries, and it is the only one owned by the Crown and managed by the Royal Parks.
It was designed as an open-air cathedral: a long central avenue leading to a domed chapel, with curved colonnades either side forming a great circle, and catacombs beneath. The plan is easy to read on the ground, which is unusual, and it makes for a straightforward half-hour walk rather than a scramble.
Among the 200,000 people buried here is Emmeline Pankhurst, leader of the militant campaign for women's suffrage; her grave is marked and signposted. The cemetery is also a designated nature reserve, and it is full of squirrels, jays and wildflowers left to grow between the monuments.
It is free. The pedestrian gates open at 7am and close at 7pm. There is a small café near the north gate. Check current times on the Royal Parks page for Brompton Cemetery, as closing time is adjusted through the year.
The streets, the squares and the police box
The residential grid between Earl's Court Road and Warwick Road was built in the 1860s and 1870s: five-storey terraces with columned porches, arranged around private garden squares such as Nevern Square and Philbeach Gardens. Many were converted into small hotels and bedsits in the twentieth century, and some are still visibly tired, while others have been restored.
Outside the Earl's Court Road exit of the station stands a blue police telephone box. It is not original: it was installed in 1996, in the style of the boxes that once stood on London streets, and it is there because of the television series that made the shape famous. It is the most photographed object in the area, which tells you something about the area.
Earl's Court Road itself has supermarkets, exchange bureaux, pubs and a long run of cheap restaurants. The Troubadour on Old Brompton Road has been a coffee house and music venue since 1954 and has a basement club that has hosted a long list of well-known performers.
Eating, and where to go instead
This is not a destination for food. The strip along Earl's Court Road is functional: kebab shops, chains, a few reliable Italian and Lebanese places, and pubs doing ordinary food at ordinary prices. It is useful at 11pm when you get back from the theatre, and unremarkable at any other hour.
Two habits make the difference here. Eat breakfast where you are staying, because the cafés on Earl's Court Road charge West End prices for a mediocre one; and do your evening meal somewhere else, on the way back from wherever you have spent the day, rather than arriving hungry at 9pm with nothing open that you want.
Better eating is a short walk in three directions. Old Brompton Road towards South Kensington has bistros and cafés; the King's Road and the streets off it are covered in our guide to the King's Road and Chelsea; and North End Road market in Fulham, 10 minutes west, is a working street market with fruit, vegetables and fish.
What is within walking distance
| Destination | On foot | By Tube |
|---|---|---|
| Natural History Museum and the V&A | 20-25 minutes | 2 stops, about 4 minutes |
| Brompton Cemetery north gate | 10 minutes | 1 stop to West Brompton |
| Stamford Bridge, Chelsea's ground | 15 minutes | 1 stop to Fulham Broadway |
| Holland Park | 25 minutes | Change at Earl's Court for High Street Kensington |
| King's Road, Sloane Square end | 30 minutes | 3 stops on the District line |
The walk to the museums is the one to know. Head east along Old Brompton Road and you arrive at the back of the Natural History Museum in about 20 minutes, through pleasant streets and past Brompton Cemetery's eastern wall. Holland Park and the Kyoto Garden lie north, and Chelsea is due east.
Football at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea's ground is on Fulham Road, about 15 minutes' walk from Earl's Court and five from Fulham Broadway station. On match days the area fills from two hours before kick-off and the pubs on Fulham Road are full. A stadium tour and museum visit costs £34.00 if pre-booked and £38.00 on the day (September 2026).
Chelsea are one of six London clubs in the Premier League in the 2026/27 season, along with Arsenal, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur. Our guides to Premier League football in London and stadium tours explain how to get tickets as a visitor and what each tour includes.
Do not book a hotel here expecting the exhibition centre. Earls Court Exhibition Centre was demolished more than eight years ago and no events take place on the site. If you have tickets for something advertised as being "at Earls Court", check the venue address: it is almost certainly ExCeL in east London or Olympia in Kensington, which are different places.
Is it a good place to stay?
In its favour
- Among the cheapest central rooms in London
- Piccadilly line straight to Heathrow with no change
- Four minutes from the South Kensington museums
- Quiet residential streets once you leave the main road
- Plenty of hostels and family rooms
Against it
- Nothing much to do in the evening
- Some budget hotels are in poor condition; read recent reviews
- Earl's Court Road is noisy and scruffy
- Few lifts in converted Victorian houses, and many stairs
- The nearest good restaurants are a walk away
Our pages on budget hotels in London and hostels list what to check before booking a converted-terrace hotel, particularly about lifts and room size. For similar value elsewhere, compare Paddington and Bayswater to the north, or Wimbledon further out on the same District line.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Earls Court Exhibition Centre still there?
No. It was demolished between 2014 and 2017 and the site is under redevelopment. Events advertised as being at "Earls Court" are now held elsewhere, usually at ExCeL in the Docklands or Olympia in Kensington, so always check the venue address on your ticket.
How long does it take to get to Heathrow from Earl's Court?
The Piccadilly line runs directly to all Heathrow terminals with no change. It is slower than the Elizabeth line from Paddington but avoids any interchange with luggage. The fare is £5.90 at any time of day, because Heathrow journeys through Zone 1 are charged at the peak rate.
Is Brompton Cemetery free to enter?
Yes. It is managed by the Royal Parks and there is no admission charge. Pedestrian gates open at 7am and close at 7pm, with the exact closing time adjusted through the year. Emmeline Pankhurst's grave is signposted from the main avenue.
Can I walk from Earl's Court to the South Kensington museums?
Yes, in about 20 to 25 minutes along Old Brompton Road, which is flat and pleasant. By Underground it is two stops on the District or Piccadilly line, taking about four minutes, so most people walk one way and ride the other.
Is Earl's Court in Zone 1 or Zone 2?
It sits on the boundary and is treated as being in both, so most journeys from it are charged as Zone 1. West Brompton, one stop south, is in Zone 2. Check a specific journey on TfL's single fare finder before assuming a price.
Sources
- The Royal Parks - Brompton Cemetery (checked September 2026)
- Chelsea FC - Stadium tour and museum prices (checked September 2026)
- Transport for London - Single fare finder (checked September 2026)
- Transport for London - Tube and rail fares, including Heathrow (checked September 2026)
- Gatwick Airport - Trains to and from London (checked September 2026)