Chelsea resists the tourist circuit because it offers nothing spectacular, only quality. The Chelsea Physic Garden is the best-kept secret on the Embankment: four acres of medicinal and economic plants, the oldest rock garden in Britain, and an entrance fee that is some of the best value in London.
Cheyne Walk is the walk's other half: the river-facing terrace of Georgian houses where Turner had his studio at number 118, where George Eliot died at number 4, and where Rossetti kept a menagerie of exotic animals that alarmed the neighbourhood. The Royal Hospital grounds are always open; the Chelsea Pensioners in their scarlet coats are usually visible.
