The West End of London takes in Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Regent Street, Covent Gardens, Strand and Oxford Street.
Regent Street is predominantly a shopping street. It was home to a large Dickens and Jones department store until January 2006 when it closed as it was reported to be making losses. Liberty an upmarket department store is also in Regent Street and famous for its Liberty prints (floral fabrics) as is Hamleys London’s top toy shop selling everything from jigsaws to children sized motorised 4x4’s and caravans.
Leicester Square is the cinema centre of London with several large cinemas which host some world class premieres. There are also several nightclubs and plenty of buskers. In the middle of the square is a small park with a statue of William Shakespeare surrounded by dolphins. It is also home to GCap Media headquarters from where some of the top radio stations are broadcast including Capital Radio, Classic FM and Capital Gold.
Trafalgar Square is famous for celebrations. Every year thousands congregate to see in the New Year and would jump in and out of the fountains thought this has largely been stopped and the fountains boarded up at this time of year. The V.E. celebrations took place here in 1945. It is of course famous for the 43.5ft Nelsons Column erected in 1843 to commemorate Lord Nelson’s victories. Every Christmas since 1947 has stood in the square a large Christmas tree presented by Oslo the capital of Norway for our support in WWII.
Pigeons were the trademark of Trafalgar Square. Birdseed could be purchased and the almost tame birds would eat out of the hands of the hundreds of people willing to feed them. The pigeons made a lot of mess in the square and on the surrounding buildings and in 2003 Ken Livingstone banned the feeding of the birds on health and safety grounds. Hardly any pigeons are to be seen in the square nowadays.
Just over the road is the National Gallery that houses over 2300 paintings from 1250-1900.
Strand is London’s theatre street with theatres including Adelphi, Savoy, Vauderville and the Lyceum. Also in the Strand is Australia House, the Royal Courts of Justice and the Savoy Hotel which is due to close in December 2007 until sometime in 2009 for refurbishment.
Covent Gardens is well known for its street entertainers, stalls, souvenir shops and chain restaurants. Neal Street has specialist shops housed in converted warehouses.
It is home to the Royal Opera House where major productions of operas and ballet are performed. In what was once the Victorian Flower Market is the London Transport Museum with buses and trains on display. This museum is great for the children as they can sit in the cab seats and become ‘drivers’ of trains and buses.
Oxford Street is a shopper’s paradise. It is full of shops on both sides of this long road, from the smaller High Street shops to large music shops such as Virgin Megastores and HMV to Topshop Oxford Street said to be the world’s largest fashion store. Department stores include John Lewis and Selfridges that has a fantastic food hall and the largest cosmetic department in Europe.
Piccadilly Circus is the junction of several busy roads that include, Regent Street, Piccadilly, Haymarket and Shaftesbury Avenue. In the centre is a bronze fountain and the aluminium statue of Eros, the winged God of Love. It is known for the huge neon lit adverts that adorn the surrounding buildings.
The Ritz Hotel erected in 1906 is popular for afternoon teas and also sports a casino.
Burlington House is home of the Royal Academy and the summer Exhibition of
contemporary art which has been held annually since 1769.
As far back as the late 16th century the area has been renowned for its tailors and shirt makers and the tradition still is carried by such names as Barons, Howes & Curtis and T M Levin. Some of the shops in the area are Waterford Wedgewood selling crystal glass and china and Fortnum and Masons department store that has been trading here for the past 300 years.
Rental properties are available and have costs around £285pw for a studio flat, £350-£400pw for a l bed flat and £400-£750pw for a 2 bed flat.
|
