Paddington Bear in London: where to find the famous bear?

If you're visiting London and want to see Paddington Bearyou need to find out where it is.

Today, I'm taking you on a tour of London's iconic Paddington bear locations.

Paddington Bear in London: article summary

How was Paddington Bear born?

Paddington Bear is the famous teddy bear from Michael Bonds' books. Michael came up with the idea for Paddington on Christmas Eve, when he was doing some shopping in London.

He saw a teddy bear on a shelf at Selfridges and took pity on it. He took it home as a present for his wife. They decided he would be called Paddington, because the couple lived near London station at the time Paddington.

Michael Bond went on to write his first book about the famous bear and the Brown family.

Paddington bear statue at Paddington station

The first stop is Paddington station. If you're heading for the station, you should visit the Paddington bear statue and a Paddington bear bench topped by a plaque.

The life-size bronze statue of Paddington can be found here with his little suitcase. To find the exact location of the Paddington statue, head for Platform 1 at Paddington station. The bear sits here in the main concourse. next to the station, cast in bronze, with his suitcase and hat.

He has a tag around his neck that says "please take care of this bear, thank you". The statue was designed by sculptor Marcus Cornish and unveiled by Michael Bond on February 24, 2000.

Paddington bear plaque

Next to the bronze statue of Paddington Bear is a bench painted with bear scenes. Paddington's painted scenes make it a great place to take a photo.

Paddington is sitting on the bench, eating his marmalade sandwiches. Above the bench is a plaque telling the story of the bear's arrival at the station in the book.

The store at Paddington station

The Paddington Bear store at Paddington station is just around the corner from other restaurants and the Bear Pub.

The establishment sells a whole range of Paddington bear souvenirs, such as :

• Tea cups
• Bears
• Toys
• Some books
• Memories of London

Paddington Bear's café in London

You can expect a full Paddington experience at the café with his iconic bear head carefully engraved on every table.

Fair-trade Peruvian coffee is available here. Excellent sandwiches are also available to take away. It's the perfect place to grab a snack before a meal. to discover London.

Peggy Fortnum's original Paddington illustration, first published in 1958, has been reproduced as wall art on the Café's red bricks.

Finding Paddington Bear in Notting Hill

You can also find Paddington Bear on the set of Paddington in Notting Hil. In the first film, Paddington meets the antique dealer Mr. Gruber, who owns an antique store on Portobello Road.

You can actually go to the antique store in Notting Hill even if the interior doesn't resemble the one shown in the film.

Outside the antique store you'll also find an old Paddington bear statue. Further afield, in Notting Hill, where Paddington flies around on a skateboard trying to return a lost wallet, you may find him in one of the local cookie stores.

Paddington fans rejoice: there are plenty of places in London where you can find references to the bear. You'll be able to experience a real treasure hunt and follow in the footsteps of the famous teddy bear who has become the mascot of Londoners.

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