Strand

Once famous for its riverside mansions, and later its music halls, the Strand – the main road connecting Westminster to the City – is a shadow of its former self. One of the few vestiges of glamour is The Savoy, London’s grandest hotel, built in 1889 on the site of the medieval Savoy Palace on the south side of the street. As its name suggests, the Strand once lay along the riverbank until the Victorians shored up the banks of the Thames to create the Embankment.