Piccadilly Circus
the bright lights of the west end
London's answer to Times Square, free and always buzzing, where the great curved billboards glow over the famous winged statue everyone calls Eros.
Free to visit · West End · Piccadilly Circus · W1J 9HS
Opening: Always open
Piccadilly Circus is where several of the West End's grandest streets crash together, and it has been one of London's great public crossroads since it was laid out in 1819. Its curved bank of vast illuminated advertising signs has glowed over the junction for more than a century, the city's own miniature Times Square.
At its centre stands the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, topped by a winged archer everyone calls Eros, though the sculptor intended it as his brother Anteros, the god of selfless love, in honour of the philanthropist Lord Shaftesbury. The steps beneath it are one of London's oldest and busiest meeting spots.
It is loud, bright and unapologetically touristy, but it is also free, central and unmistakably London. From here you are minutes from the theatres of Shaftesbury Avenue, the shops of Regent Street and the lights of Soho.
Getting there: Straight up from Piccadilly Circus station, where the West End's big streets all collide.
Best time to go: After dark, when the giant illuminated signs are at their most dazzling. The steps below the statue are the classic meeting spot.
Insider tip: Come after dark for the signs at full blaze, and know your London trivia, the statue everyone calls Eros was actually meant to be Anteros, the god of selfless love. The steps below it have been the city's default meeting point for generations.
Free things to do in London · London Free Guide