Pertinent Information about Leicester Square Tube Station

Located right in the heart of West End, Leicester Square is surrounded by Trafalgar Square to the south, China Town to the north, Piccadilly Circus to the west and Covent Garden to the east. It is the most pulsating core of British cinema being the venue for most European premieres and witnessing surging crowds waiting anxiously for their favourite film stars outside the ultra-modern cinemas that abound in the square.

A short distance from Leicester Square on Charing Cross Road, you can find Leicester Square Underground station which is on the Northern line between Charing Cross and Tottenham Court Road stations. It is also on the Piccadilly line between Piccadilly Circus and Covent Garden. The station is in Travelcard Zone 1. The bus routes that serve the station are 14, 19, 24, 29, 38 and 176 whereas the night routes are N5, N20, N29, N38, N47 and N279.

The red terracotta station building of Leicester Square tube station has offices on the east side of Charing Cross Road which were once occupied by the Northern line management staff but now also serve other purposes such as Piccadilly line management and other support functions such as a training centre on the first floor. Once known as Transad House, the building used to be occupied by the publishers of the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanac in its early years. You can see an image of cricket stumps above a door way.

The Underground station has four platforms, all of which have film sprockets painted down the entire length and also on the top and bottom of the display area with blue colour on Piccadilly line platforms and black colour on the Northern line platforms, because of the four premiere cinemas in Leicester Square. In the introductory video sequence of the 2009 film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, there is a brief appearance of the station. There is a small garden in the middle with plenty of benches. Statues of Shakespeare and Charlie Chaplin also feature here. Commuters find this place to be ideal for taking rest or for having a packed lunch. The nearby St James’ Park is however better.

Being in the heart of Theatreland of the West End, the station is ideal to disembark for going to theatres and venues which include St Martin’s Theatre, Prince Edward Theatre, Donmar Warehouse, Tristan Bates Theatre, Wyndham’s Theatre, Palace Theatre, Ambassadors Theatre, Duke of York Theatre, Leicester Square Theatre and Noel Coward Theatre. The London Transport Museum is also located close by, as is the National Portrait Gallery. The landmarks near the station include Leicester Square and St Martin in the Fields.

The station is in Soho district and the cinemas located close by include Curzon Soho, ODEON Covent Garden, ODEON Leicester Square, ODEON West End, The OTHER Cinema, Prince Charles Cinema, Empire Leicester Square and Vue Cinemas West End.

Visitors to London who wish to stay in the Piccadilly area since it is the hub of all activities and is close to most attractions can find plenty of suitable accommodation in the area. They can avail of Piccadilly hotel special offer to be able to stay in a luxury hotel at an affordable cost.

Soho at Night offers exotic nightlife activities. The area within 1 mile of the station is the hub of events that take place in large numbers throughout the year including exhibitions, comedy, food, walks & tours, art, theatre, club & bar nights, pop up, sales & retail and around town. Some of the events may not be open on bank holidays and Sundays. The various events taking place currently include the following.

Exhibitions

Public and Private Winston Churchill in Photographs at the National Portrait Gallery from 27th October 2015 to 5th June 2016.

Arts Council Funded Artwork Turning Ages at Westminster reference Library from 30th November 2015 to 30th January 2016.

TINTIN Herge’s Masterpiece at Somerset House from 12th November 2015 to 31st January 2016.

Big Bang Data at Somerset House from 3rd December 2015 to 28th February 2016.

Allen Jones Colour Matters at Marlborough Fine Art from 25th November 2015 to 23rd January 2016.

Winter Exhibition at Erskine Hall & Coe from 4th December 2015 to 28th January 2016.

Gerhard Richter ‘Colour Charts’ at Dominique Levy from 13th October 2015 to 21st February 2016 at Dominique Levy Gallery

Art

Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize at National Portrait Gallery from 12th November 2015 to 21st February 2016.

German Renaissance Colour Prints at The British Museum from 25th October 2015 to 27th January 2016.

Peter Blake: Portraits and People at Waddington Custot Galleries from 24th November 2015 to 30th January 2016.

Power of One Woman at Gallery of African Art from 10th December 2015 to 6th February 2016.

Comedy

Sofie Hagen: Bubblewrap at Soho Theatre from 10th December 2015 to 6th January 2016.

Food

Hotel Chocolat Chocolate Tasting Adventure at Hotel Chocolat from 2nd July 2014 to 2nd July 2018.

Hotel Chocolat, Bean to Bar Experience at Hotel Chocolat from 2nd July 2014 to 2nd July 2018.

Walks & Tours

Great Crime Tour of London at Queen’s Walk, Hungerford Bridge from 28th November 2015 to 28th November 2016.

Great Crime Tour of London at Queen’s Walk, Hungerford Bridge from 19th October 2015 to 10th October 2016.

Theatre

The Wasp at Trafalgar Studios from 8th December 2015 to 9th January 2016.

Club & Bar Nights

Anthem Party Rock at The Roxy on 4th January 2016.

Around Town

Skate at Somerset House from 18th November 2015 to 10th January 2016 at Somerset House.

The Winter Festival at Southbank Centre from 20th November 2015 to 17th January 2016.

Pop Up

Bump Rollerdisco at Bump at Southbank Centre (Under Hungerford Bridge) from 20th November 2015 to 17th January 2016.

Rekordelig Winter Cider Lodge at Entrance off Southbank Centre’s Queen’s Walk from 20th November 2015 to 17th January 2016.