Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Until just a couple of years ago, this was a famously busy traffic circle, with cars and
big red buses spinning around the tipsy-but-perfectly balanced Eros statue in the center.
Now—though still busy with cars—it's also a packed people zone. At night, when neon
pulses, the 20-foot-high video ads paint the classic Georgian facades in a rainbow of col-
ors. Black cabs honk, tourists crowd the attractions, and Piccadilly shows off big-city Lon-
don at its glitziest.
Piccadilly Circus is where common tastes steamroll the elegance of Regent Street.
Lillywhites
(at the bottom of the square, near the Eros fountain) is a sports store popular
as a place to buy the jersey of your favorite football (soccer) team. Farther left (at the start
of Coventry Street) is
Cool Britannia,
a tacky palace of English kitsch and a Union Jack
fantasy for anyone needing to buy a Brit-themed gift.
• For some more characteristic London shops—and a chance for a tea break—we'll do a
little loop to the west. From Piccadilly Circus, turn right and wander down the busy...
Piccadilly Street
After a block on your left (at #203), escape from the frenzy of Piccadilly into the quiet
of
Waterstones,
Europe's largest bookshop and the flagship store of its widespread chain.
Page through seven orderly floors. The fifth floor offers a hip bar with minimalist furniture
Next you'll pass Christopher Wren's
St. James's Church
(with free lunchtime con-
certs several days a week at 13:10—see
here
) and a tiny all-day flea market (antiques
Tue 10:00-18:00, crafts Wed-Sat 11:00-18:00, closed Sun-Mon). One block farther (on
the left, at #181) is the
Fortnum & Mason
department store, which eschews the glitz of
bigger stores and revels in understated, old-school elegance. At the top of the hour the
fancy clock on the facade is the scene of a low-key spectacle, as the venerable store's
founders—Fortnum and Mason—come out and bow to each other (best viewed from
across the street). This reminds shoppers of the store's humble beginnings 300 years ago,
when it was started by these two footmen of Queen Anne. With rich displays and deep red
carpet, Fortnum's feels classier and more relaxed than Harrods. The Queen, Camilla, and
Kate—three generations of royalty—enjoyed tea here together in 2012.
Across the street from Fortnum & Mason is the delightful covered shopping street of
Burlington Arcade
(at #51, just beyond the entrance to Burlington House).
