L8 - Vibrant Narrow Street from St Giles to Soho Square (1.2 km)

philip carey
Aug 22, 2022
8 min read

Updated: Dec 22, 2024

Start at Covent Garden Station

Finish at Tottenham Court Road Station

THE EXPERIENCE

This 1.2 Km route takes you into some of the less well-known areas surrounding the West End entertainment district, such as St Giles and the eastern side of Soho up to Tottenham Court Road. Many started lives as places for the wealthy to live but went downhill in time and became notorious areas with poor living conditions and vice versa. Today, they are renewed and safe and offer some of the best places to eat, drink, and be merry. They still hold stories and characters of their earlier days.

It is great for bright lights, narrow streets and alleyways, a great atmosphere, history, iconic sights, entertainment venues, crowds, transport links, shopping, theatres, and lots of places to eat, drink, and be merry.

MUST SEE PLACES

What to See List

1. Long Acre and Floral Street

2. Neal Street – St Giles

3. Neal’s Yard

4. Seven Dials

5. Cambridge Circus & Moor Street

6. Greek Street

7. Soho Square

8. Oxford Street

9. Tottenham Court Road

10. Denmark Street

PLACES TO EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY

Areas to Eat, Drink and Be Merry List

1. Long Acre and Floral Street

2. Neal Street – St Giles

3. Neal’s Yard

4. Seven Dials

5. Cambridge Circus & Moor Street

6. Greek Street

7. Soho Square

8. Oxford Street

9. Tottenham Court Road

10. Denmark 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

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 - Most of the route will be busy during the day.

Evenings - Most of the busy during the evening, especially in Covent Garden and Soho

ROUTE OVERVIEW

This route starts outside Covent Garden Station and heads across Long Acre to the narrow Neal Street entrance that takes you into the heart of St Giles. The third narrow turning on the left is Shorts Gardens, and the small Neal's Yard entrance is 20 m on the right - underneath a barrel sign. This colourful yard exits onto Monmouth Street, where it bears left and heads down to Seven Dials. It then takes the second turning on the right onto Earlham Street that goes to Cambridge Circus opposite the Palace Theatre. Moor Street is directly opposite and to the theatre's right, leading into SOHO. Turning right at the end will take you up Greek Street and into Soho Square. The final section continues around the square and exits onto Oxford Street, turning right and heading down to the finish at Tottenham Court Road Station.

Route at a Glance Video

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Strava Map

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 FACT

Covent Garden and Long Acre Facts

The first historical record of Covent Garden dates back to 1200 when it consisted of fields. The land where the Market Building and the Piazza now stand was called ‘the garden of the Abbey and Convent’, hence its name. In 1828, the architect Charles Fowler was commissioned to design the neo-classical Market Building that we see today. In 1974, the market moved to a new site at Nine Elms, Battersea (called New Covent Garden).

The ‘Market Building’ and the surrounding area offer a wide range of places to shop, eat, drink or get involved in the arts and culture of the area. The Market Building has three levels, two sunken areas, and two markets – Covent Garden’s Apple Market and the East Colonnade Market. This was once an area for fruit and vegetables, but it now offers a range of unique handmade crafts and goods.

Covent Garden Station is at the corner of Long Acre and James Street and is one of the principal meeting points for exploring Covent Garden. The station dates from 1906 and sits between Leicester Square and Holborn on the Piccadilly Line. James Street leads directly into Covent Garden Market and the broader areas, where most eat, drink, and be merry places are situated.

Originally, Long Acre was a street famous for coach building and automobiles, but today, those have been replaced by shops.

Long Acre was named in the early 1600s after the length of the first pathway constructed across the land.

A Long Acre is based on the old standard imperial measurement of an acre 660 feet long, or one furlong or one eight furlongs of a mile. It shorter side equates to 66 feet, which is equivalent to one chain, 22 yards, or four rods, or a hundred links. So it's not that much of a surprise why we embraced metrics with open arms.

St Giles and Seven Dials Facts

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.

Greek Street and Theatres

Greek Street is named after a Greek church that once had its main entrance facing the street in the late 1600s. At the time, this area of Soho had a wide range of immigrants, including French, Italian, Jewish, and Greek.

The street and the surrounding areas have one of the highest concentrations of places to eat, drink and be merry in Soho, with some iconic venues such as The Coach and Horses, Milroy’s and L'Escargot Restaurant. It was also the home of many famous clubs and bars, such as the Gay Hussars, the Pillar of Hercules, and the Entertainment Club.

The Palace 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 and an 18-year run of Les Misérables. Since 2016, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a two-part play, has been staged here.

With Chinatown, Soho and St Giles nearby, there are plenty of places to eat, drink and be merry.

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

Soho Square and Tottenham Court Road

Soho Square

The square has the French Protestant Church of London on the north and St Patrick’s Catholic Church on the east.

The House of St Barnabas on the south side has been a charity since 1862 to help those experiencing homelessness. One of the original functions of the charity was to keep families together when the husband of a family went into a workhouse. It was one of the few institutions in London where men, women, and children from all walks of life could apply for aid without losing self-respect.

The eat, drink and be merry places are generally south of Soho Square and its north and east.

Soho Square was originally called King Square after Charles II, and there has been a statue of Charles II here since 1661 – one year after the restoration of the monarchy. When it was built, Soho Square was one of the most fashionable places in London. However, in the 19th century, the area became run down. This mock Tudor “market cross” building in the centre of the square was installed here in 1926 to hide the above-ground electricity substation.

The square has the French Protestant Church of London on the north side, St Patrick’s Catholic Church on the east side, the charity House of St Barnabas on the south-eastern side, and the 20th Century Fox Film Company on its southwestern side.

Although Soho Square has only a limited number of eating, drinking and being merry places, there is plenty to the north, south and west of the square.

Tottenham Court Road Station and Theatres

Today, the station dates from 1900 and is served by the Central Line, the Elizabeth Line, and the Charing Cross branch of the Northern Line. Until 1933, the next station eastbound on the Central line was the British Museum—it’s now Holborn. The station has had a £500M upgrade for the Elizabeth line, which also caused the nearby London Astoria to be closed and demolished. It was replaced in late 2022 by the Soho Palace Theatre.

There are two other theatres near here. The Dominion Theatre to the north opened in 1929 on the former Horseshoe Brewery site – famous for the beer flood of 1814. The theatre retains its Art Deco architecture and 1930s interior with period light fitting and plasterwork. It became a cinema in the 1930s and reverted back into a theatre in the ‘80s. Previous shows include Grease, We Will Rock You, and The Bodyguard. It’s currently showing Dirty Dancing. The Phoenix Theatre to the south was built in 1930 as a music hall on a former factory's site.

VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE AREA

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

Use the black 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

Please note - These date from before 2018 and have been done in a variety of styles to determine which one works best. They all provide very useful information and we would welcome feedback to help create the new version

SIGHT GUIDES