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Picadilly Circus can be compared to Times Square in New York, and the West End is next to it.
Piccadilly Circus
At the junction of Regent Street and Shaftesbury Avenue lies a trapezoidal area near London's West End known to the world as Piccadilly Circus.
It's an odd name, since there's no circus there, but even odder is that "circus" usually denotes a round city area where several streets meet in a circle. After the Roman plan. But that eccentricity fits Piccadilly, since this area of the great British capital attracts the most diverse set of people in an already diverse town.
The first half of the name comes from a 17th-century frilly collar called a picadil. The name is a perfect description, for here are the frills of London. Here are pubs, monuments, shops and nearby theater in the West End.
Akin to New York's Times Square, it's filled with traffic, crowds and, at night, neon lights befitting its role as a major tourist attraction.
The Evening Standard uses a graphic of the nude statue on its masthead.
Known already by 1743 by its current name, the junction was created in 1819 and its history shows. There's the bronze Shaftesbury memorial fountain, erected in 1893, topped by a statue of Anteros, the Angel of Christian Charity.
Technologically innovative at the time, it was the first sculpture to be cast in aluminum. In the late 1980s, the fountain was moved from the center to its present location at the south west corner of the intersection.
Not far from the center, is the off-center -the literal translation of eccentric a Greek word- Reduced Shakespeare Company, who have performed at the Criterion Theater since 1995.
Well, something that draws inspiration from 37 of the plays, anyway.
Their specialty is the rapid, highly improvised, presentation of the complete works of Shakespeare in 97 minutes. The 600-seat theater regularly sells out, so plan ahead.
The surrealistic show fits in well with the ambiance of the area, but for those interested in more traditional forms of theater the London West End shows are only a few minutes walk. Here you can see the best of British theater - shows which often are later imported to Broadway.
On the northeastern side, is the London Pavilion. First erected in 1859 as a music hall, Shaftesbury Avenue bisected the site in 1885. A new building for the purpose was built and by 1923 was even lit with electric billboards. Rebuilt in 1986, the original 1885 facade was preserved and the area converted to a shopping arcade. Later it was connected to the neighboring Trocadero Centre.
Virgin Megastore has a shop here, along with rival HMV. Lillywhites, a major sporting good retailer is nearby, having been there since 1925. Under the complex is the tube station.
There are also pubs galore, but be selective. Some are nothing but tourists, some are very tourist-unfriendly. While you're doing touristy things, don't miss the newly installed, giant, curved TV screen. Not even Times Square can compete with this one.
The West End
For the London traveler looking for variety, the West End is the place to be. Piccadilly Circus is next door, where antique book shops mix with the latest restaurants and Covent Garden is not far. And, then of course, there's the world-renowned theater - the rival -some would say tutor- of Broadway.
Soho is a short walk away. For those interested in the red-light district in the home of the Puritans, that's here - and has been for over a century.
But Soho is much more than strip bars and prostitutes. As the area, along with many parts of London, undergoes a rejuvenation, there are also expensive restaurants and shops to enjoy. Soho Square has places to sit and watch the city go buy in safety and comfort.
Leicester Square has cinemas for the movie-goer and street performers for live, impromptu entertainment. And, as expected, there are crowds of people and distinctive architecture for those who just want to take in the spontaneous sights that uniquely define any metropolis.
To see ground zero of "mod" 60s fashions, visit Carnaby Street where you can still pick up an Austin Powers-style vest or a pair of bell-bottomed jeans.
Shopping galore can be found along Oxford Street, which stretches 1.8 miles (3km) through the West end. At one end is the Marble Arch -relocated from Buckingham Palace in the 19th century- to Tottenham Court Road.
The street's origins date back to Roman times, but now holds over 300 shops with five million square feet of shopping space. There's everything from large department stores to little specialty shops for that unique gift to take back home. Where else can you get a genuine British Army Officer's swagger stick than James Smith & Sons?
Selfridge's -founded in 1909 by the American Henry Gordon Selfridge- is alone worth a visit. It has an elaborate, ornate facade and features a clock known as the Queen of Time.
While you're in the neighborhood, check out another interesting clock: the Liberty Clock, just outside the Liberty store. Very popular with the tourists, there are figures of St. George and the Dragon on the lower part. Close to Regents Street and Great Malborough Street. Exit at the Oxford Circus tube stop.
But, the piece de resistance has to be the theaters.
The Palace Theater, for example, is a sight to see even from the outside. An ornate terracotta building, first opened as an opera house, it stands at Cambridge Circus and is still a venue for musicals 80 years later. The Roman columns in the black marble foyer will draw you in and up the arched stairway.
With over a dozen major musicals and plays being performed at any time, there's a wide array of choices. Not least of which is the flagship Royal National Theatre with three auditoriums.
There's also the re-created Globe Theatre, a favorite since the time of Shakespeare. Open to the elements, with no stage lighting or microphones used, it sits near its original Bankside location.
Be prepared for all sorts of weather and all kinds of people. You'll see both in London's West End.
Where to go from here? There are many options: Explore British food, get familiar with British pubs, travel to another city of the world, taste food in Europe, discover wine in Europe, or return to World Food and Wine home page and seek a new adventure.
