Piccadilly Circus

Why go

At Piccadilly Circus, the curved screens, Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain and converging streets create one of London's clearest big-city junctions. It works best as a short visual stop linking Soho, Regent Street, Leicester Square and the West End, especially when the displays light the junction after dark.

What to look for

• Coca-Cola has had a sign at Piccadilly Circus since 1954.
• Sculptor Paul McCarthy also has a 320-page two-volume edition of video stills by the name of Piccadilly Circus.
• Bob Marley mentioned Piccadilly Circus in his song "Kinky Reggae", on the Catch a Fire album from 1973.

The full story

In this context, a circus, from the Latin word meaning "circle", is a round open space at a street junction. Piccadilly now links directly to the theatres on Shaftesbury Avenue, as well as the Haymarket, Coventry Street , and Glasshouse Street. The Circus is close to major shopping and entertainment areas in the West End. Its status as a major traffic junction has made Piccadilly Circus a busy meeting place and a tourist attraction in its own right. The Circus is particularly known for its video display and neon signs mounted on the corner building on the northern side, as well as the Shaftesbury memorial fountain and statue which is popularly, though mistakenly, believed to be of Eros. Directly underneath the plaza is Piccadilly Circus tube station, part of the London Underground system.

Your next visit

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