Burlington Arcade
regency luxury and top-hatted beadles
Britain's grandest Regency shopping arcade, free to stroll, a glass-roofed avenue of tiny luxury shops off Piccadilly, patrolled by top-hatted beadles since 1819.
Free to visit · Mayfair · Green Park · W1J 0QJ
Opening: Mon–Sat · shops have their own hours
Burlington Arcade opened in 1819 and is the longest and grandest of London's covered Regency shopping arcades, a single elegant avenue of small shops beneath an arched glass roof, running off Piccadilly beside the Royal Academy. Walking through it is free and feels like stepping back two centuries.
It was built, the story goes, so the neighbouring lord would stop people throwing oyster shells and rubbish over his garden wall. To keep order it employed Beadles, uniformed guards in top hats and frock coats, and they are still there, the oldest and smallest private police force in Britain, gently enforcing old rules against running, whistling and singing.
The shops sell jewellery, cashmere and antiques far beyond most budgets, but looking costs nothing, and the real pleasure is the arcade itself, the polished shopfronts, the glass roof and the sense of a perfectly preserved slice of Regency London.
Getting there: Just off Piccadilly between Green Park and Piccadilly Circus, running up the side of the Royal Academy.
Best time to go: A weekday for a quiet stroll, or December when the arcade is decked out for Christmas and looks its most magical.
Insider tip: Look out for the Beadles in their top hats and keep an ear out, technically you are still not meant to run, whistle or sing in the arcade. It links Piccadilly to the smart streets of Mayfair, so use it as a beautiful free shortcut and a free history lesson in one.
Official site: https://burlingtonarcade.com
Free things to do in London · London Free Guide