You can’t stay in hotels in Piccadilly London without taking a short stroll to Piccadilly Circus. Built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with Piccadilly, the junction’s name originates from a seventeenth-century fashionable frilled collar called a Piccadil. As many tailors worked in the surrounding area the name was adopted with circus referring to the original roundabout that was on the junction. Today over 100 million visitors walk its pavements.
The area is synonymous with shopping, tailoring and eating with some amazing restaurants near Piccadilly including the world famous Ritz hotel. Other hotels in Piccadilly London offer some of the best restaurants near Piccadilly Circus including the Cavendish’s own Petrichor restaurant, perfect to grab a bite to eat before venturing to the theatre. Famous musicals and plays are regularly performed at the Piccadilly Theatre, with the Criterion theatre located too just a minute away.
Numerous sights greet visitors only a short walk from The Cavendish London. Eros’ famous statue sits amid the bright screens that Piccadilly Circus is renowned for, although Eros was actually created as the Greek god Anteros, Eros’ twin brother. The winged statue is made from aluminium and tops the Shaftsbury Memorial Fountain. Created by sculptor Alfred Gilbert, he chose to reproduce a previous sculpture of Anteros instead of Eros, who he was actually commissioned to create. So, just like we choose to call Elizabeth Tower ‘Big Ben’, we will continue to refer to the statue as Eros.
The screens at Piccadilly Circus are also a tourist attraction with Coca-Cola having had a sign there since 1954. The screen also displays information about delays on the London Underground.
As well as the numerous restaurants near Piccadilly Circus, the junction features the only tube station in London where everything is underground. The station is located directly beneath the road with entrances at every corner and is itself a Grade 2 listed building despite not having any associated buildings above ground.
On the doorstep of Piccadilly Circus is the world famous Lilywhites department store and Fortnum & Masons. It’s then only a short walk to the shops of Regent Street and up to Oxford Street. You can easily walk to Trafalgar Square and Leicester Square and check out the theatre district. You may even want to discover some of the Harry Potter locations!
Nearest tube station – Piccadilly Circus.