R11 - Green Park to Oxford Circus - - 1.5 km - Across London Visual Marathon (Part 11/14)
- philip carey
- Jan 26, 2023
- 6 min read
Updated: Dec 22, 2024
Start at Green Park Station
Finish at Oxford Circus Station
THE EXPERIENCE
A fashionable shopping tour across the West End
This 1.5 Km route takes you from Green Park to Oxford Circus through some of London’s most famous and historical shopping areas. It starts on Piccadilly, an area that has always catered to the needs of a gentleman, before heading up Old and New Bond Street, designed in the 1700s for the high-class luxury shopper. It then makes its way to Regent Street and Carnaby Street, which have been associated with fashion and trendy shopping since the early 1800s, before finishing off at Oxford Street with shops and departmental stores to suit everyone.
Great for luxury and trendy shopping, hotels, history, iconic sights, crowds, transport links, parks, art galleries, theatres, afternoon tea, and lots of places to eat, drink and be merry.
MUST SEE PLACES
What to See List
1 Piccadilly and the Ritz
2 St James’s and Jermyn Street
3 The Royal Academy of Arts
4 Shepherd Market
5 Old Bond Street
6 Galleries and Auction Houses
7 Savile Row - home of men's tailoring
8 Regent Street Shopping
9 Carnaby Street Shopping
10 New Bond Street
11 Oxford Street – Department Store Shopping
12 Oxford Circus and Argyle Street
Areas to Eat, Drink and Be Merry
Although there are not many places to eat and drink along this route. There are plenty nearby. At the start, you have Shepherd Market, Piccadilly, and around the southern end of Berkeley Square. In the middle section, several places around Hanover Square and Moxon Street offer a good selection of places to eat and drink. In Carnaby Street, you have Kingly Street and Kingly Court, which provide a wide range of eating and drinking establishments, and there are several more towards the end near Oxford Circus.
BEST TIME
Morning—This is usually busy along most of the route. The best time to do this route is on weekends in the early morning when the lighting is at its best and few people are around.
Day - This route can be crowded most of the day.
Evenings - Quieter in most places,
ROUTE OVERVIEW
This 1.5 Km route starts outside Green Park Station and turns onto Piccadilly by the Ritz Hotel until it reaches Old Bond Street. The route then travels along the length of Old Bond Street and into New Bond Street, past many of the world’s most luxurious shops. Halfway along New Bond Street, it turns onto Conduit Street and then makes its way across Regent Street into Carnaby Street before finishing off at Oxford Circus.
These links open in a new page
DESCRIPTIVE PHOTO GALLERY
This gallery provides a descriptive and visual reference to many sights along this route. Use the Google Map above to find their location. Double-click to see the image in full size.
VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE AREA
Click on the picture below to go on a 360 virtual tour of the shopping areas and look around.
Use the route to explore this location by looking around in 360, taking in the sights and sounds, listening to an audio recording about the area and going on a virtual tour.
HISTORY & INTERESTING FACTS
Piccadilly and Green Park
Green Park
Green Park is one of the Royal Parks, and its station is the closest to Buckingham Palace and the south side of Mayfair. In the 17th century, King Charles II’s wife demanded that all the flowers be removed from Green Park after she caught him picking flowers for one of his mistresses. The park still has no formal flowerbeds apart from daffodils in the spring.
Piccadilly
An urban legend has grown up that the word Piccadilly comes from prostitution, but I’m sorry to provide a far less seedy backstory. In 1612 a man named Robert Baker built a mansion house just to the north of what is now Piccadilly Circus. He made his wealth from the sale of Piccadills, a stiff collars worn by the fashionable gents in court. Locals derisively called his mansion Piccadill Hall, so the name Piccadilly stuck.
Diana Fountain
The Diana Fountain, also known as Diana of the Treetops, was created by Estcourt J Clack and installed here in 2011. Diana is a Roman god of the countryside, hunters, crossroads, and the Moon. She sits atop a drinking fountain, releasing her whippet for the hunt. This is not to be confused with the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park by the Serpentine.
The Wolseley
The Wolseley was originally the Wolseley Motors Limited who commissioned William Curtis Green to design a prestigious car showroom on the site in 1921. In 1927, it was converted into a bank, and in 2003, it became London’s first Grand Café. Today's spectacular interior, classic food and seamless service have earned it a reputation as one of London’s most respected all-day café restaurants.
Bond Street
Burlington Arcade was built in 1818 for George Cavendish, 1st Earl of Burlington. It was made “for the sale of jewellery and fancy articles of fashionable demand”, so the Lord’s wife could shop safely amongst other genteel ladies and gentlemen away from London's busy, dirty, and crime-ridden streets. The arcade is still patrolled by beadles in traditional uniforms, including top hats and frock coats, whose job is maintaining order.
Cartier was founded in Paris in 1847 by Louis-François Cartier and chose London for its first international outpost in 1902. King Edward VII ordered 27 tiaras for his coronation, referring to Cartier as “the jeweller of kings and the king of jewellers”. The Cartier flagship store is in New Bond Street – it also has one on Old Bond Street. Both offer jewellery and watches, as well as leather goods and fragrances.
Churchill and Roosevelt Allies Sculpture on New Bond Street Is called Allies and was created by the artist Lawrence Holofcener.
This bronze sculpture celebrates the relationship between Franklin D Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. It was a gift from The Bond Street Association members to the City of Westminster and the people of London to commemorate 50 years of peace. It is on the pedestrian section of New Bond Street at the junction with Grafton Street.
Louis Vuitton is known as the inventor of the “Art of Travel” through luggage, bags and accessories. It now includes ready-to-wear, shoes, accessories, watches, jewellery, and fragrances. The flagship London store by Clifford Street was completed in 2014 and refurbished again in 2019. The store also includes several artworks and galleries.
Salvatore Ferragamo's origins date back to 1927, when he was a novice Italian shoe designer. In 1938, he opened a store in Old Bond Street. Today, Ferragamo specialises in creating, producing, and selling shoes, leather goods, clothing, silk products, and other accessories, as well as women’s and men’s perfumes. Vincent Harris designed the building, which is a Grade II listed building.
Regent Street
The Apple Store
The Apple Store opened on Regent Street on 20 November 2004. At the time, this was the first such store in Europe. However, the building dates back to 1898, when it was the studio of the Victorian Mosaic Salvietti of Venice. He did a number of mosaics in St. Paul's cathedrals, as well as the Houses of Parliament and the Albert Memorial. Look for the four coats of arms and two lions above the arches.
No tall buildings
As you look around, you will notice that there are not many tall buildings in this area. That is because Regent Street is a conservation area, and you need to maintain strategic views across the whole length of the street because the place is affected by Primrose Hill to the Palace of Westminster strategic view line.
Regent Street
Named after the Prince Regent, Regent Street’s layout was completed in 1825 and was an early example of town planning. It replaced earlier roads and slums, including part of Swallow Street. John Nash’s street layout has survived, although all the original buildings have been replaced following reconstruction in the late 19th century, apart from All Souls Church at Portland Place. Regent Street was designed for high fashion and to compete with Bond Street. It retains this reputation today.
Hamleys
Hamleys is London’s oldest and largest toy shop. It stretches over seven floors and has over 50,000 lines of toys. It receives around five million visitors a year. It was founded by William Hamleys as “Noah’s Ark” in High Holborn in 1760 and moved to its current site on Regent Street in 1881. In 1938, Queen Mary, consort of King George V, gave Hamleys a royal warrant, and in 1955, Queen Elizabeth II granted the company a second royal warrant as a “toys and sports merchant. It was bombed five times during the Second World War.
Carnaby Street
The street dates from the 17th century and takes its name from Karnaby House, which was built there in 1683. Carnaby Street was close to the site of a serious cholera outbreak in 1854, which John Snow, an English physician, traced to a nearby water pump in Broad Street. Carnaby Street is most famous for London’s fashion, and the area is synonymous with the Swinging Sixties. Exclusive boutiques sold the latest Mod looks from the top designers, and groups such as The Rolling Stones and The Beatles shopped there. Today, it is still home to fashionable independent boutiques.
This video gives you a short introduction to how the Central London shopping area grew during the Tudors (1560) and the Victorians (1860)
7:26 mins
Comments