Paddington Bear

If you want to visit London and you are planning to stay in some of the hotels in Paddington, let me tell you some curious information about the Paddington district and its symbols.

Paddington is a borough situated on the territory of the City of Westminster, in Central London. The region is famous with its landmarks, one of which is the Paddington railway station or also known as London Paddington. The station is a central railway terminus and is a main connection between London and the west part of England. On the other hand, there are many others attractions that you could see during your stay in Paddington, such as Alexander Fleming Museum, Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Hyde Park Gardens, Kingdom Hall of Jehovah, Little Venice, Oxford Square Gardens, Paddington Library, etc. However, there is one Paddington symbol that you can not go to see or visit, because it is an imaginary attraction, but still one of the most famous landmarks of the district.

Paddington Bear is a famous teddy bear and fictional character in children's literature. The story of that adorable immigrant bear with an old hat, torn suitcase and duffel coat started in 1958. However, it became more popular in 2008, when he was included in several books, written by Michael Bond and depicted by Peggy Fortnum. After he was exposed to the children's audience in England, Bond's books were translated into more than thirty languages and were sold over thirty million copies all around the world. An interesting story is how the idea of the Paddington bear was born. On Christmas Eve of 1956, Bond was in a London store, where he saw on a shelf one lonely teddy bear and bought it as a Christmas present for his wife.

So, you can book in advance some of the hotels in Paddington and then you can go to see the Bronze statue of Paddington Bear, placed in the Paddington station.