Piccadilly Circus

Facts and information

Address:: Piccadilly Circus,
London W1
Buses:: 3 6 9 12 13 14 15 19 222324 29 38 88 94 139 159 177 453
Trains:: Charing Cross BK NR, Green Park JB PC VC, Leicester Square NR PC, Oxford Circus BK CN VC, Piccadilly Circus BK PC, Tottenham Court Road CN NRNote: The nearest station to Piccadilly Circus is Piccadilly Circus. We can help plan your journey from Waterloo, King’s Cross and many other stations
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^{Eros statue, Piccadilly Circus} The Piccadilly Circus fountain

^{Piccadilly Circus fountain} London’s Piccadilly Circus at night

^{London’s Piccadilly Circus}

Black-and-white photo of Piccadilly Circus, circa 1896

^{Piccadilly Circus, c.1896} The Eros statue in Piccadilly Circus, circa 1896

^{The Eros statue, c.1896}

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Piccadilly Circus is one of London’s major thoroughfares. It was built in 1819 when John Nash mapped Regent Street. Its circular nature (the circus) was lost when work began on Shaftesbury Avenue in the 1880s.

The bright lights that dominate the square were added in the early 20th-century, and have become a favourite photo call of tourists.

The Eros statue

Ask any Londoner, and they’ll happily tell you that the Eros statue at the centre of Piccadilly Circus represents the Greek god of Love – but they’re wrong! It actually represents the Angel of Christian Charity.

It was erected in 1892 to commemorate Anthony Cooper, the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, whose tireless work for the poor and mentally ill led to calls for a memorial.

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exile – “you call them neon lights You should get on a plane to Times Square and see what a proper set of neon advertisng lights is like I went to Japan once and they had the whole side of buildings lit up with computer LCD TV screens picc…”

Drummerboy’s blog – Piccadilly Circus

Drummerboy – “I got to Piccadilly Circus nice and early in the morning today, before all the tourists come flocking. I think they must have it written on their plane ticket that they have to descend on the place as soon as they land. There are bazillions of them, all sitting on the steps waiting for something to happen. The Eros Statue is what everyone comes to see. I heard Stephen Fry say on QI once that the bow is supposed to point down Shaftesbury Avenue, to “bury the shaft” up the avenue (geddit?), but it doesn’t. It turns out that is a fib, because he’s actually pointing his bow towards Regent Street… continued.”