The Finchley Road, built in the 1820s, was financed by tolls, which were paid at turnpikes.  An inn was constructed in the style of a Swiss house at the relocation of one of these turnpikes and it became a well-known landmark. It was turned into a bus station and then into an underground station. The building was rebuilt as the present Swiss Cottage after the Second World War. The building gave its name to the area.

There are attractive houses from the late Victorian and early Edwardian eras are to be found in Eton Avenue, Provost Road, Fellowes Road, and King Henry’s Road. These are long roads running parallel to Adelaide Road from Swiss Cottage almost to Chalk Farm. A modern development between Fellowes Road and Adelaide Road created town houses and flats. There are attractive houses in Elsworthy Road, which runs by Primrose Hill, and in nearby Wadham Gardens. There are a number of mansion blocks in Swiss Cottage such as North Ways in College Crescent and Regency Lodge in Avenue Road, but also a number of council estates.