Bloomsbury is a walkable, intellectual rich destination in London
By : J. David Chapman/June 5, 2025
For the past eleven years, I’ve led groups of University of Central Oklahoma students on a research and study tour of London. And from that very first trip, one neighborhood has served as our home base: Bloomsbury.
Tucked in the heart of central London, Bloomsbury is more than just a place to sleep between research, lectures, and site visits. It’s a historic district that pulses with academic energy, literary legacy, and a uniquely livable urban rhythm. Our first stays were at the charming Crescent Hotel — a row of historic Georgian townhomes circling Cartwright Gardens. Eventually, our group grew too large for the Crescent, and we moved to the Royal National Hotel just around the corner. At 1,630 rooms, it’s the largest hotel in the United Kingdom — yet somehow, in classic Bloomsbury fashion, it manages to feel tucked away in a quiet corner of a bustling city.
What I love about Bloomsbury is that it offers students the best of London within a walkable, intellectually rich environment. Several of London’s universities — University College London, SOAS, and Birkbeck among them — call it home, as do major hospitals and research centers. There’s a sense of purpose and curiosity in the air. You feel it when you walk by the students huddled over coffee on Marchmont Street or pass through Russell Square with its park benches and public art.
Of course, Bloomsbury’s most famous resident might be the British Museum, one of the greatest repositories of human history and culture. But the neighborhood has long attracted thinkers, writers, and reformers. Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group helped shape modern literature from just a few blocks away. Even now, the area continues to balance tradition and innovation in a way that few places can.
From a real estate perspective, Bloomsbury is fascinating. Though surrounded by some of the most expensive property in London, it remains surprisingly accessible and community-minded. Its garden squares and preserved townhouses hint at the importance of planning and public investment in creating a place that works for residents, students, and tourists alike.
I’ve visited dozens of London neighborhoods over the years, but Bloomsbury always pulls me back. It’s a district with soul — a neighborhood that proves you can be both historic and forward-looking, cosmopolitan and comfortable. For eleven years, it’s been our London home—and I can’t imagine a better one.
J. David Chapman, Ph.D., is Chair of Finance & professor of real estate at The University of Central Oklahoma (jchapman7@uco.edu).