Piccadilly Circus

About Piccadilly Circus

Road junction and public place in London, England, UK

Piccadilly Circus is one of London's most famous public spaces, a road junction in the West End in the City of Westminster; a "circus", from the Latin for circle, is a round open space at a street junction. It was built in 1819 to connect the new Regent Street with Piccadilly, and today five major roads meet here, Piccadilly, Regent Street, Shaftesbury Avenue, the Haymarket and Coventry Street leading on to Leicester Square, together with Glasshouse Street. Its position at this crossroads, surrounded by cafes, shops, theatres and cinemas, has made it a busy meeting place and a tourist attraction in its own right. The Circus is known for the huge video display and electric advertisements mounted on the corner building on the northern side, which light up the square at night and include Britain's largest illuminated display, and for the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain topped by the famous winged aluminium statue popularly but mistakenly known as Eros, which in fact represents his brother Anteros, the god of requited love, in honour of the philanthropist Earl of Shaftesbury; it is one of the most photographed spots in London. Notable buildings surround it, including the London Pavilion, the Criterion Theatre and the Trocadero centre, and beneath the plaza lies Piccadilly Circus Underground station. The Circus is the gateway to the West End's entertainment and shopping districts: Regent Street, Piccadilly and the Royal Academy of Arts to the west, the theatres of Shaftesbury Avenue, Soho and Chinatown to the north, and Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square to the east.

Where:

London, United Kingdom