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Leicester Square is an area of central London north of and including Trafalgar Square, east of and including Piccadilly Circus and west of Charing Cross Road and Covent Garden.

Trafalgar Square is a large public square in London commemorating Lord Horatio Nelson's victory against Napoleon's navy at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

The central monument within the square is a single tall column on which the figure of Nelson stands gazing over London. His monument is surrounded by four colossal lions and a series of large fountains. Much more than just an open plaza, Trafalgar Square is famous as the location of a large number of important buildings and institutions that surround the square and fill the streets surrounding it. Trafalgar Square also marks the northern end of Whitehall, the centre of British government.

London's Chinatown is centrally located in the West End, and is centred along and around Gerrard Street, spreading into Wardour Street at one end and Newport Place at the other. Chinatown is part of London's colourful West End, along with Covent Garden, Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus and other nearby districts. London's Chinatown may not be quite as large as San Francisco or Vancouver's Chinatowns, but it is still a fun place to dine out in the evening, and it definitely is different from anywhere else in London.

[edit] Understand

[edit] Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square has recently (2002-2003) been renovated and expanded to link up directly with the National Gallery on the north side of the square - a great improvement to the traffic which once completely encircled this, the largest public square in London's West End. The early 18th century church of St Martins in the Fields stands at the north-east corner of the square. Just by the church, Charing Cross Road gives access to the fabulous National Portrait Gallery, and leads on further to Leicester Square, Soho and the famous collection of bookstores on the road itself. To the south, Whitehall leads to Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament and 10 Downing Street.

Christmas time sees the erection of a large Christmas Tree within the square, the annual gift of the people of Oslo, capital of Norway, as a token of gratitude for Britain's help in WWII. Trafalgar Square is also traditionally the scene of lively celebrations for Londoners on New Years Eve, though an increasingly heavy police presence has meant that some antics (drunks leaping into the fountains) have all but disappeared. More recently, Trafalgar Square has served as an outdoor venue for concerts and VIP appearances, courtesy of the Mayor of London's Office, which is keen to see Londoners use their public spaces better. Visitors to the square on an ordinary day may also discover small-scale demonstrations and public speakers - the Square is a convenient gathering place near to, but not threatening, the seat of British Government down the road at Westminster.

[edit] Get in

Leicester Square is served by a tube station, actually located just off the north east corner of the Square on Charing Cross Road. The station is on both the Northern and the Piccadilly Lines and acts as a convenient place to start any exploration of London's West End.

The nearest Tube / Rail station to Trafalgar Square is Charing Cross. The tube station is on the Northern and Bakerloo Lines. The rail station serves the South Eastern region.

Chinatown is a short walk from either of two main West End Underground stations:

• Piccadilly Circus (Piccadilly and Bakerloo Lines) - walk east along Shaftesbury Avenue, before turning right at Wardour Street - watch for the ornamental gates.
• Leicester Square (Piccadilly and Northern Lines).

[edit][add listing] See

Relax and unwind in the garden, and gaze at the activity going on all around, while listening to the buskers, street entertainers and preachers performing in the area.

• National Gallery, [1]. Excellent art collection, the vast majority of which is free of charge to visit. The audioguides are very comprehensive, have comments on most of the paintings in the museum, and are free, though this fact is not advertised, and a donation is suggested. In addition to courses, workshops, lectures and other events, the National Gallery has free talks and tours every day.  edit

• Guided tours – every day at 11.30am and 2.30pm.
• Lunchtime talks – Tuesday to Saturday each week at 1pm.
• Ten-Minute Talks – a quick insight into one painting, Monday to Friday at 4pm.
• Picture in Focus – 25-minute talk on one painting, every Wednesday evening at 6pm.
• Painting of the Month – a range of free talks at different times on one painting.
• Art Through Words – session for visitors with a visual impairment, last Saturday of the month, 11.30am.
• British Sign Language-interpreted events take place on the first Saturday of every month Source

• National Portrait Gallery, [2]. Just around the corner from the National gallery; also admission free excepting some exhibitions.  edit

• Edith Cavell Memorial.  edit

• St Martins in the Fields, [3]. A classical church that stands opposite the National Gallery. Since WW1, the homeless have sought shelter from the church, a tradition that continues to this day.  edit

The main sights to see in London's Chinatown are the expressions of Chinese culture and the Eastern ambience, and for a good Chinese meal. There are few souvenir shops for tourists, and no museums or temples. The shops of Chinatown primarily exist to serve the city's Chinese community.

However, the area does incorporate some entertaining combinations of British and Chinese culture - such as the phone booths with pagoda-style sloping roofs. The three ornamental Chinese arches or paifang - at each end of Gerrard Street, and at the entrance to Macclesfield Street - are also worth a look.

[edit][add listing] Do

The square hosts most high-profile London cinema premieres, on which occasions it is fenced and crowded beyond comfort by people desperately trying to take a look at their celebrity of choice.

Leicester Square has many cinemas: the cheapest one is the Prince Charles Cinema [4], not actually on the square but down a side street to the north at 7 Leicester Place (just up from the Häagen-Dazs). They don't screen the latest films but usually have an interesting selection, including foreign and arthouse films and often have theme nights. Quentin Tarantino is a fan of this cinema. Get hold of the program at the door or on the internet and consider buying the discount-granting yearly membership if you plan to come back a few times.

• Somerset House Ice Rink, Strand (tube: Temple, Charing Cross, Holborn, Covent Garden or Blackfriars), [5]. In the courtyard of Somerset House, this has become a Londoner's favorite, although how it will compete with the newcomers remains to be seen. It's preferable to visit at night, when the Christmas tree is lit up.  edit

The Chinese New Year festival in London is worth seeing, though Gerrard Street can get unbelievably crowded, as the dragon dancers pass along the street to collect goodies hung from windows above the shops. In recent years, the festival has expanded south into Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square to try to alleviate the congestion..

[edit][add listing] Buy

[edit][add listing] Eat

All sorts of food are available; being so near Chinatown, Chinese food is especially common.

• Brown's, 82-84 St Martin's Lane, ☎ 7497 5050. Always buzzing, this popular restaurant is frequented by hip (often single) clientele, who are served by attentive staff. Meals are good, the braised lamb shank is especially tasty.  edit
• Cork and Bottle Wine Bar, 44-46 Cranbourn St, ☎ 7734 7807. More of a wine bar than a restaurant, the extensive wine list featuring selections from Australia and California. They offer reasonable cuisine to wash down this full bodied wines.  edit
• Café in the Crypt, Trafalgar Square, [6]. In the basement of St Martin-in-the-Fields church is the Café in the Crypt which offers reasonably-priced cafe food that you can eat amongst the brick-vaulted ceilings, pillars and gravestones.  edit
• The Portrait Restaurant, In the National Portrait Gallery, ☎ 7312 2490. Offers spectacular food accompanied by spectacular food on the 5th floor of the National Portrait Gallery. A must do dining experience.  edit
• Gordon Ramsay at Claridges, Brooks ST.  editThe most famous chef in London today delights all with his inventine and scrumptious cusine. Prepare to indulge your taste buds and make it well worth the splurge. Reservations are recommended as far in advance.</eat>

While London's Chinatown boasts some of the city's best Chinese food, quality and value vary enormously between individual restaurants. While some consistently win awards, others seem to be regularly being refurbished following visits from the local Environmental Health department. Unless you're on an extreme budget, it's worth paying a little more for quality food and service. Be careful especially with the common "all you can eat" deals...

• Luxuriance Peking Cuisine, 40 Gerrard Street, tel 020 7734 0262- This family-owned business that started up in 1980 is famous for its freshly cooked crispy aromatic duck, seafood banquet and pork spare ribs. The interior is comfortable, relaxed and modern.

• New World, 1 Gerrard Place, tel 020 7734 0396 - A well-decorated and plush-looking restaurant which serves excellent dim sum on trolleys from midday until around 6pm. Good quality evening food is available thereafter, and the service is very good overall.

• Lee Ho Fook, 15-16 Gerrard Street, tel 020 7492 1200 - The best known restaurant in Chinatown, as immortalised in Warren Zevon's song Werewolves of London. The restaurant plays on this tiny crumb of fame, displaying a much-faded image of the singer in its window. Meals here are relatively costly by local standards, and generally not reported to be outstandingly good.

• The Friendly Inn [7], 47 Gerrard Street, tel 020 7437 4170 - Offers cheaper fare on the southern side of Gerrard Street. The restaurant lives up to its name with very enthusiastic serving staff, but unless you stick to the set menus, the cost of the meal can soon increase.

• China China, 3 Gerrard Street, tel 020 7439 7502 - At the budget end of the scale, China China at the eastern end of the north side of Gerrard Street offers Hong Kong diner style meals of cold meat on hot rice for around £3 to £5 for a generous portion.

• Wong Kei, 41-43 Wardour Street (opposite the western end of Gerrard Street), tel 020 7437 3071 - A popular choice for visitors and possibly the best value Chinese restaurant in the area. Spread across four floors, this restaurant is infamous for its surly, abrupt service. Depending on how drunk you look, the higher up the building you will be sent. Chinese tea is complimentary, though somewhat bland. Set meals present excellent value for money, most being under �5 - the sweet and sour pork is remarkably good.

• If you don't want Chinese food, but still yearn for something oriental, Tokyo Diner, 2 Newport Place (at the eastern end of Lisle Street, near the Prince Charles Cinema), offers excellent and well-priced Japanese food - around �7-�9 for a main course. It's open 12-12 365 days a year. Zipangu, 8 Little Newport Street, is another Japanese restaurant, serving good sushi and sashimi, just around the corner from the Tokyo Diner; it's quite small, so you might want to book if you're going in a large group, but the little nooks on the ground floor are great for an intimate dinner.

[edit][add listing] Drink

There are relatively few places to drink in Chinatown itself. Visitors would do better to head north, further into Soho, for a better selection of bars and pubs. However, if your legs are weary, there are a number of convenient drinking places:

• brb. In the centre of the south side of Gerrard Street, which is generally busy with trendy wannabes, and is reportedly slow to serve.

• Waxy's O'Connor's on Wardour Street, is an Irish themed pub with a fibreglass tree inside it. It is almost invariably unbearably crowded. The smaller Waxy's Little Sister opposite it, however, is generally quieter and more relaxed.

• De Hems on Macclesfield Street (leads north from halfway along Gerrard Street) is a Dutch-themed pub with an excellent selection of beers. It is often crowded, but has a good atmosphere and a comedy club.

• 1997 at 19 Wardour Street is a cosy place to visit if you're not feeling in an alcoholic mood. They provide a good selection of iced and "pearl" tapioca teas which are often hard to come by outside of Hong Kong.

[edit][add listing] Sleep

• Radisson Edwardian Leicester Square Hotel, St Martins St, ☎ 7930 8641. Small, boutique hotel furnished in a sleek, contemporary design.  edit
• Thistle Picadilly, Coventry St, Picadilly. Affordable and centrally located.  edit
• The Trafalgar, 2 Spring Gardens, Trafalgar Square, ☎ 774 1500. Hilton's first boutique hotel in London, the Trafalgar impresses with rooftop bar views and elegant furnishings.  edit

[edit] Contact

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