Piccadilly Circus- Regent St, Piccadilly, Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain ("Eros")
Piccadilly Circus is one of London's most famous and most busy places and the center of the West End entertainment district. It is a busy intersection, where many double deckers pass. In the middle stands the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, incorrectly nicknamed "Eros". It was erected in 1893 and the winged statue of Anteros stands on top of it. Piccadilly Circus is known for its many theaters, casinos, bars, night clubs and large display screens, mounted on the corner of a building, and neon lights. It is always crowded with people and is especially vibrant after dark with is partying people, live musicians, taxi bikes with speakers and moving neon lights. The place is a bit similar to Times Square in New York, but with no surrounding highrise buildings. Piccadilly Circus is part of the West End in the City of Westminster. The Circus connects Piccadilly, Regent Street, Shaftesbury Avenue, the Haymarket, Coventry Street (onwards to Leicester Square) and Glasshouse Street. London Pavilion and Criterion are situated along the circus, and the busy Piccadilly Circus underground staion underneath. It was much busier during my visit in 2022 then in 2006, something you can see in the pictures below. Many celebrities are around in the area. A funny occasion is that when we walked by the Piccadilly Theatre in 2006, Evan McGregor suddenly appeared and wrote autographs! |