Piccadilly Circus underground station, London (exit 4, Eros exit – between the world-famous Eros statue and the Criterion Restaurant canopy)
Guided by Adam or Caroline or Claire or Karen or Simon W.
Adult: £20 · Students & Seniors: £15 · Children: £5
| Day | Walk Type | Start Time | End Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Weekly | 2.30 pm | 4.30 pm | Winter Summer | Reserve Online |
Short read: “like a silver thread in heavy clay”
Long read: The great West End walk. Beautiful places, beautiful things flow past like blossoms on slow water. Some village. Realm’s more like it. The realm of riches, rank and those who rule. In its irresistible goody bag: elegant arcades, secret doorways and peekaboo views; Gentlemen’s clubs; Burlington House and the Albany; London’s best shopping street; tea and royal chocolates; Nelson’s perfumier (more gratis sampling); the world’s smallest – and toniest – privately funded police force; mad, bad and dangerous to know Byron; Brummel to Brando; Jermyn to Marilyn; exclusive, eccentric, best-dressed, old money London; magnet for artists, writers, royals, scientists, dreamers and dandies; Darwin to James Bond; the Prince Regent to Prince Harry; venerable to voopular; the greatest act of literary vandalism ever. It’s Georgian. It’s Regency. It’s Victorian. It’s Edwardian. It’s Parisian. It’s parfait. It’s part Wonderland, part Arabian Nights. It’s stories that tilt the light and print the stones. Plaited together by gifted guides Karen, Adam, Simon W., Claire and Caroline. Dream of a walk. Hmmmmm. Some dream. A dream that leaves you feeling completely, even exuberantly, in the pink! N.B. the walk ends at Green Park, a few seconds’ walk from Green Park Tube Station.
Meet your guide. Here’s Karen’s podcast about her Village in Piccadilly Tour.
A Village in Piccadilly takes place at 2.30 pm every* Monday. The meeting point is Piccadilly Circus Tube. Meet just outside exit 4 – the Eros exit, near the Criterion Theatre. N.B. the walk ends at Green Park, a few seconds’ walk from Green Park Tube Station. *Except in January and February
“The original and best – there are several companies offering walking tours of London but London Walks (London’s oldest) is easily the pick of the bunch” London, Cadogan Guide
“Without a doubt the best walking tour company currently operating in London” Stardust
“London’s best city tours” The Telegraph
“I would just like to pass onto the lovely people at London Walks, that the walk we did this afternoon (A Village in Piccadilly) with Adam, was the best walk we have done In five years of taking London Walks. His knowledge, wit and friendliness was wonderful. We enjoyed it immensely. Thank you Adam. Kind regards, Laurie J. (Australia)




If you can’t make the regularly scheduled, just-turn-up, public Village in Piccadilly walk do think about booking it as a private tour. If you go private you can have A Village in Piccadilly – or any other London Walk – on a day and at a time that suits your convenience. We’ll tailor it to your requirements. Ring Fiona or Niamh or Peter on 020 7624 3978 or email us at [email protected] and we’ll set it up and make it happen for you. Perfect for a class, club or office outing.
A private London Walk makes a very special, thoughtful, unusual gift. Be it a birthday or anniversary or Christmas present or whatever. Merchandise schmerchandise (gift wrapped or not) – but giving someone an experience, now that’s special. Memories make us rich.
“If this were a golf tournament every name on the Leader Board would be a London Walks guide”
Sarah Conway –
Karen was our delightfully funny and knowledgable guide. She bought everything to life, was easy to hear and went at a comfortable pace. I highly recommend Karen’s walk around the gems of Piccadilly.
Linda Nissim –
A big thank you to Claire, our Guide, for a most magnificent walking tour around Piccadilly Circus. She guided us with real finesse and charm
I’m delighted to say we weren’t overwhelmed with dates or heavy detail; instead, at every turn, she revealed a small gem here and a nugget there delivered in such an eloquent, compelling and humorous way
Having lived near this part of London for a long time, it was striking to discover how much had been hiding in plain sight all along
An added delight was the unexpected sensory dimension which I won’t disclose here other than to say there was a subtle ‘whiff’ AND a kind of ‘magic’ on the palate which gave the whole experience an unexpectedly memorable finish
My next task is to find ‘another’ walk guided by Claire
Alison Hook –
Caroline was my guide for this walk today and she was terrific. This walk has everything , wonderful architecture, centuries old shops, elegant arcades , squares , town houses and of course Gentlemen’s clubs. There’s a story on every corner ! Caroline was warm, friendly , articulate and even the rain could not dampen her enthusiasm. The walk and the guide are both highly recommended. Thank you for a splendid afternoon.
Viv Pyner –
Claire is an excellent guide and this walk was as good as any I have been on. I have been on several walks guided by her and I know that it will always be enjoyable with lots of information to be imparted. Many thanks Claire, and I look forward to our next meeting, whenever that may be.
Jayne Saunders –
I recently did this tour with Claire on a very hot sunny day and it was extremely enjoyable and very interesting. This was my second tour with Claire and looking forward to the next one. Thank you Claire.
Dave Nuscher –
We’ve done nearly 20 tours with London Walks over the years and it’s hard to recall any guide as delightful or knowledgeable as Caroline. Gentle-humored, very attentive to her group (to the point of making a real effort to learn everyone’s names), and incredibly kind… the best of what this wonderful company has to offer.
Claudia –
I went on this walk with Karen and it was, like all the other London Walks I’ve done, fantastic. I know London relatively well and I thought I knew Picadilly but within 15 minutes of starting the walk, we were in places I’d never been, learning stories I never knew. The two hours flew by (helped by chocolate sampling, of course) and after the walk, I had to retrace my steps and revisit some of the places I’d just learned about. I will most certainly have to spend a bit longer in the perfume shop, it was wonderful in there and so great to get to go in and learn about their history. I think this walk is probably even better at Christmas when it is possible to not just see Picadilly but see it all dressed up for the holidays. Highly recommended and Karen was an amazing, knowledgeable, professional and entertaining guide.
Roger B –
I can’t recall our guides name, but even though there were only 6 of us at the start (3 left at various points), some of us struggled to hear her over the traffic noise.
That being said, the guide gave information on a part of London I’d visited several times but realised I knew nothing about.
Caroline Mary Mongan –
I had such fun on Peter’s tour of Piccadilly today! His comic timing is genius and he made the tour interesting and informative. I really learnt a lot. Such a lovely group of people too on this fab walk. Would highly recommend. Thank you Peter!
Richard Bogart –
My wife and I went on the Piccadilly tour with Adam and we had a great time! Adam is a fun and knowledgeable guide and we really enjoyed the information and perspectives that he shared with us. Thanks Adam!