Pretty Little London's Guide to London

How did Pretty Little London come to be?

We moved to London in August 2014 from Italy, to study at university. After a year, Andrea found an internship as a Project Manager at a translation company on Oxford Street, with long hours and very little pay. In the meantime, he was working on weekends and writing his dissertation for his master’s degree. Not the most inspiring of times, to the point that after leaving the office once again at 8.30pm, life in London had started to feel unsustainable. I was on my summer break from uni and would often wait for him after work in Oxford Street, but one day I had enough of seeing him with that miserable face, so we went straight to John Lewis to buy our first Nikon, a D3200.  We started to go on long walks after work and exploring areas that we had never heard of. We looked for inspiration on Instagram and all we could find were architecture shots and photos of London’s landmarks, but we were starting to realise that London was much more. We found pretty pastel houses, cobbled streets, hidden mews, quirky cafes and vintage markets. We started to wonder how many other people were in our same position? Something had to be done, and that is when Pretty Little London was born. It was an instant success. People related to our story and started to tag us in every pretty photo they took in hopes of being re-posted. In less than six months, Pretty Little London became a community of over 100,000 followers that inspired Londoners to explore their beautiful city and create their own content. Since then, we have come a long way and dedicate every day to trying to get Londoners out of their comfort zone and finding like-minded brands to partner with on beautiful and inspirational content.

What are your favourite Autumn activities in the city?

During autumn there is nothing better than long, crispy morning walks and finding beautiful red and golden leaves around the city (of course with a hot coffee in hand to keep us warm). We also love trying autumnal dishes and seeing how creative restaurants can get with seasonal ingredients. Also, a visit to a pumpkin patch is a must! This might be the year we finally learn how to properly carve one…

If you were showing someone London for the first time, what would be the first three sites you took them to see?

As it’s their first time, we would take them for a walk along the Southbank starting from Westminster Bridge to Tower Bridge, so they can see all the iconic landmarks and maybe stop at Borough Market for some incredible street food. We would then take them to Notting Hill to check out the famous pastel houses, the market and of course the sites from the movie. To finish, a stroll through Covent Garden, Soho, Carnaby and St James, is a must and we will finish off the afternoon with a traditional Afternoon Tea at Fortnum & Mason.

You’re exploring London for the day. What are your on-the-go travel essentials?

Our camera, in case we come across a picture perfect London scene. Then definitely layers as we all know there could be four seasons in a day in London! A power bank in London is basically our office and we always seem to end up with a flat battery. Very practical, I know! 

Did you have a Treehouse growing up, or what’s your favourite childhood memory?

Sara: I wish! That would have been fantastic, and actually my grandad was very crafty and creative so I am sure he could have made the perfect one (Thinking about it now, I’m pretty sure me and my cousin had insisted on one at some point). We were only missing the right robust tree in the garden I guess! Treehouse made me feel as if I was in one, so I definitely got an idea of how amazing it would have been. 

Andrea: Sadly, I didn’t either! I really wanted my dad to build me one on our cherry tree, but he wisely told me that it would have probably been too heavy. Would it be that bad if I built one for myself once I have my own house and garden?!