Mayfair is an area in the City of Westminster London, named after the fortnight-long May Fair that took place there from 1686 until it was banned in that location in 1764. Prior to 1686, the May Fair was held in The Haymarket, and after 1764, it moved to Fair Field in Bow.

Mayfair is roughly bordered by Hyde Park to the west, Oxford Street to the north, Green Park to the south and Regent Street to the east. Most of the area was first developed between the mid 17th century and the mid 18th century as a fashionable residential district, by a number of landlords, the most important of them the Grosvenor family. The freehold of a large section of Mayfair still belongs to the current Duke of Westminster.

The district is now mainly commercial, with many offices in new builings and converted houses, including major corporate headquarters and a concentration of hedge funds. Rents are among the highest in London and the world. There is still a substantial amount of residential property, as well as some exclusive shopping, London's largest concentration of luxury hotels and many fine restaurants. Buildings in Mayfair include the United States embassy on Grosvenor Square near the Roosevelt Memorial , the Royal Academy of Arts, the Grosvenor House Hotel and Claridge's.

Mayfair is the most expensive property on a British Monopoly set.

Nearest places:

• Soho
• Charing Cross
• Bloomsbury
• Holborn
• Marylebone

Nearest tube stations:

• Bond Street tube station
• Green Park tube station
• Hyde Park Corner tube station
• Marble Arch tube station
• St. James's Park tube station
• Victoria tube station

Nearest railway station:

• Victoria station

See also

• A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square
• Mount Street Gardens

External links

• Map of Mayfair and surrounding areas
• BBC News story: Reviving the Mayfair May Fair
• The mayhem that marred May Day