Cost:
Adult: Free
Child: Free
Senior: Free
|
|
|
Overview Inside Tips
First laid out in 1670 as one of London’s more stylish neighborhoods, Leicester Square is now one of the premier entertainment locations in the city. The square is home to the highest concentration of cinemas in London and is located in the heart of the bustling West End.
Leicester Square may fittingly be the first place to go on a London visit. After unpacking, rush down to the well-known 'half-price' ticket stand for the night's theater tickets, or simply scope
out the most expensive movie theaters in town or some of the largest dance clubs, all the while trying to avoid some of the least appealing food in London.
Weekend nights at Leicester Square are mobbed, fun and frantic. Charlie Chaplin, whose statue stands in the square, would feel right at home among the clowns, street entertainers and cartoonists who punctuate the body-pierced, tattooed and often flabbergasted
mix of locals and tourists strolling about.
Incidentally, the square offers quite a bit of interesting history. For Instance, famous scientist Isaac Newton once lived here, as did painter Joshua Reynolds. During the Victorian period, a number of London’s popular music halls were established. Additionally, many major films had and continue to have their UK debut in one of the square’s cinemas.
As you stroll through the square, keep in mind that bustling Chinatown is just two blocks toward Shaftesbury Avenue. The bookstores of Charring Cross Avenue are nearby and located a mile or so west down Coventry Street is Piccadilly Circus.
Travel another block south and visit the National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square.
|
