About Notting Hill Notting Hill has long been famous for the mile-long Portobello Road street market and the colourful Notting Hill Carnival, held annually in August. In recent years, the area has risen to become one of the most desirable and expensive in London. Gentrification during the Nineties has seen wealthy buyers moving into imposing homes set around communal gardens and tall Victorian townhouses that were once multi-occupied. There are a plethora exciting new shops, cafés, restaurants, bars and clubs in the area although much of the old neighbourhood atmosphere prevails around Ladbroke Grove, All Saints Road, Notting Hill Gate, Westbourne Grove and Portobello Road.