L6 - Chinatown, Soho, St Giles and Covent Garden (1.9 km)

philip carey
Aug 14, 2022
7 min read

Updated: Dec 22, 2024

Start at Piccadilly Circus Station

Finish at Covent Garden Station

THE EXPERIENCE

'In London, everyone is different, and that means anyone can fit in' - Paddington Bear. You can find them all along this route.

This theatre land and entertainment zone explorers experience takes you through the various entertainment areas of the West End of London, including Piccadilly Circus, Theatre Land, Chinatown, Soho, St Giles, and Covent Garden—each with its own character, delights, and history.

Great for bright lights, great atmosphere, history, iconic sights, entertainment venues, crowds, transport links, shops, cinemas, theatres, opera, museums, and lots of places to eat, drink and be merry

Young Dancer by Enzo Plazzotta by the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden

MUST SEE PLACES

What to See List

1. Piccadilly Circus and Regent Street

2. Shaftesbury Avenue

3. Chinatown

4. South Soho

5. Cambridge Circus & Moor Street

6. Seven Dials

7. Garrick Street & Long Acre

8. King Street and New Row

9. Covent Garden Piazza

10. The Royal Opera House

PLACES TO EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY

Areas to Eat, Drink and Be Merry List

1. To the North of Piccadilly Circus

2. Chinatown

3. Along Wardour Street

4. Along Frith and Old Compton Street

5. Along Dean Street and Greek Street

6. Around Cambridge Circus

7. Around Seven Dials and Neal’s Yard

8. Around Henrietta and King Street

9. Around Maiden Lane

10. Along Covent Garden & Russel Street

Links to nearby Eat, Drink and Be Merry Routes.

Covent Garden – Start at Covent Garden and finish at Leicester Square

https://www.photoruns.com/post/covent-garden-shopping-eat-drink-and-be-merry-photorun

Leicester Square – Start at Piccadilly Circus and finish at Leicester Square

https://www.photoruns.com/post/leicester-square-entertainment-area-eat-drink-and-be-merry-photorun

Chinatown – Start and End at Leicester Square

https://www.photoruns.com/post/chinatown-entertainment-area-eat-drink-and-be-merry-photorun

St Giles - Start at Leicester Square and end at Covent Garden

https://www.photoruns.com/post/st-giles-entertainment-area-eat-drink-and-be-merry-photorun

Soho – Start at Tottenham Court Road and finish at Piccadilly Circus

https://www.photoruns.com/post/covent-garden-entertainment-area-eat-drink-and-be-merry-photorun

BEST TIME

Morning - The best time to do this route is on weekends in the early morning when it is quiet and free from crowds and heavy traffic.

Day - Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus will be busy during the day.

Evenings - Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus will be busy during the evening.

ROUTE OVERVIEW

Set in the heart of Theatre-land, this route begins with the neon lights of Piccadilly Circus, heads up Shaftesbury Avenue with its many theatres, and then diverts first to Chinatown and then into Soho. It then heads into Seven Dials and down towards Covent Garden via Garrick Street and King Street. The final section heads towards the Royal Opera House before ending at Covent Garden.

Route at a Glance Video.

These links open in a new tab

Strava Link

My Google Map Link

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 its full size.

INTERESTING FACTS

Piccadilly Circus and Shaftesbury Avenue Facts

Chinatown Facts Facts

Soho Facts

The French House

The lower end of Dean Street has the famous French House. The pub was opened in 1891 by a German and then taken over by a Belgian when World War One was declared, and named the York Minster. During World War II, it became the unofficial headquarters of the Free French forces, headed up by Charles de Gaulle, from whence it got its name, the French House. It has some special rules like no mobile phones, and beer is only served in half pints, except on April 1st.

Old Compton Street was initially named Compton Street after Henry Compton, who funded Soho’s parish Church - St Anne’s – in 1686, and built both this street and Dean Street. The area became the home of Huguenots – French Protestant refugees who were given asylum in England by Charles II in 1681. Since the 1970s, the road has attracted London’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities.

It's not surprising that there are numerous eat, drink and be merry locations in the area

The Prince Edward Theatre is on the eastern side of Old Compton Street, close to the Palace Theatre. It opened in 1930 and was named after Prince Edward (at the time Prince of Wales, briefly Edward VIII and later Duke of Windsor). It became a dance and cabaret hall in 1935 and then a ‘Cinerama’ in the ‘50s before returning as a theatre in 1978 with the world première of the musical Evita. Old Compton Street is named after Henry Compton, who funded Soho’s parish church – St Anne’s – in 1686. Today, it’s one of London’s main LGBT+ hubs

Palace Theatre

This theatre was commissioned by the impresario Richard D’Oyly Carte and opened as the Royal English Opera House in January 1891. It became the Palace Theatre in 1911 and was known for its orchestra and the dancing Palace Girls. In the 1970s, it ran 3,358 performances of Jesus Christ Superstar, as well as an 18-year run of Les Misérables. Since 2016, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a two-part play, has been staged here.s

Seven Dials Area

Charing Cross Road

Charing Cross Road goes from Trafalgar Square northwards towards Tottenham Court Road and is known for its bookshops. There are several theatres in this location, as well as casinos and cinemas. Food and drink can be found nearby in Leicester Square, St Martin’s Lane, and towards Chinatown and Soho.

Seven Dials

This unusual street design creates seven streets that merge onto this column/roundabout at Seven (sun) Dials; the column has six sundials at its top, and the column itself acts as the gnomon for the seventh sundial. This area was the heart of St Giles, which in the 18th and 19th centuries was classed as a notorious rookery (or slum), with a pub at every corner. Today, it has been gentrified, so it is now a safe and pleasant area to walk around, with venues such as the Cambridge Theatre close by and good places to eat and drink at nearby pubs, bars, restaurants, and top-quality hotels.

Ivy and Theatres

The original restaurant was opened by Abel Giandolini in 1917 and is known for being popular with actors and celebrities. This was partly due to its proximity to the West End theatres, exclusivity, and late closing time. It became popular with Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, Marlene Dietrich, John Gielgud, and many others. The Club at The Ivy is a private members' club with a hidden entrance via an adjacent flower shop.

There are two theatres close by. St Martin’s Theatre was designed by W. G. R. Sprague as one of a pair of theatres, along with the Ambassadors Theatre, on West Street. It opened in 1916 and was delayed by the outbreak of the First World War. The theatre still belongs to Lord Willoughby de Broke. The Mousetrap is a murder mystery play by Agatha Christie, dating from 1952, and ran continuously until 2020, when it was temporarily discontinued during the COVID-19 pandemic

Covent Garden Area

King Street

King Street connected Garrick Street with Covent Garden and was named in honour of Charles I in the 1630s. It was built as a wide residential street, and in the 18th century, it became popular with actors and MPs. In the 19th century, the Garrick club was founded here in 1831, as was the Communist Party of Great Britain and the National Sporting Club.

Royal Opera House and NoMad Hotel - Bow Street

The Royal Opera House is often referred to as Theatre Royal Covent Garden as this was the name when Charles II founded it in 1662. It is renowned for its traditional opera performance and for commissioning new works by today’s leading opera composers. This is the third theatre on the site and dates from 1858 and became the Royal Opera House in 1892. It briefly became a dance hall during World War II before returning to opera and ballet.

The Royal Opera House stretches from Russell Street to Floral Street along Bow Street. The arched entrance near Russell Street is the revamped Paul Hamlyn Hall, called the Floral Hall, and was built in 1860. The new Linbury Theatre has been made at the lower level by Russell Street with a new restaurant, bar, and terrace at the amphitheatre level, giving visitors spectacular views over Covent Garden. Bow Street Magistrates’ Court was established in 1740 and is famous for the creation of the Bow Street Runner – a private police force that cleaned up the area n the Gin Craze in 1748 – and the Bow Street Magistrates’ Court was used to bring quick prosecutions to those arrested and housed the local police force. This current building dates from 1879 and was used by the Metropolitan Police Station until 1992. Today, the building is a NoMad Hotel, with the Bow Street Police Museum on its southern edge

VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE AREA

Click on the picture below to take a 360-degree virtual tour of the area.

Use the green 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 & GUIDES VIDEO LIBRARY

SIGHT GUIDES

These four short videos give you a guided tour of some sights on this route.

The first two parts go from Piccadilly Circus to Leicester Square, and the third and fourth go from Leicester Square to Covent Garden. Note These are due to be updated based on a route change via St Giles.