Piccadilly Circus

What to expect

Piccadilly Circus is a busy road junction in the West End, built in 1819 as part of John Nash's plan to link Regent Street with Piccadilly. Several streets meet here, including Shaftesbury Avenue and the Haymarket, and the tube station lies beneath it. The name comes from the 1880s, when it replaced the earlier Regent Circus South.

There is nothing to enter, and the attraction is the atmosphere. On the northern corner, big illuminated advertising screens have lit the area for decades, merged in 2017 into one large curved display. On the south-west side the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, topped by the statue everyone calls Eros, is where people sit and meet. Allow 15 minutes, then walk on to Soho, Chinatown or Leicester Square.

Don't miss

• The big illuminated screens
• The Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain statue
• The curved line of Regent Street
• The London Pavilion and Criterion Theatre
• Crowds at the foot of the steps

Tips for your visit

• Come after dark, when the screens are at their best.
• Take a seat by the fountain to watch the crowds.
• Walk up Regent Street for shops, or along Shaftesbury Avenue to the theatres.
• Allow 15 to 30 minutes; it is a place to pass through rather than stay.