Charing Cross Road
WC2
Nearest Tube: Leicester Square
Charing Cross Road runs from Oxford Street at its northern end, to Trafalgar Square in the south.
It dates from the 1870s when, like Shaftesbury Avenue, it was built as a thoroughfare between the districts of Piccadilly and Bloomsbury. The name is derived from the Charing Cross that once stood at the site.
Today Charing Cross Road is probably best known for its bookshops, notably Foyles at number 119, which claims to be the biggest bookshop in the world. As well as mainstream bookshops, such as Waterstone's and Books Etc, there are also lots of specialist bookshops along the road. Examples include Silver Moon for feminist books, Murder One for crime, fantasy and horror, and Sportspages for sports books.
Towards the Trafalgar Square end of the street is Cecil Court, a small pedestrian area literally cluttered with second hand bookshops selling first editions and antique prints.
The other thing that Charing Cross Road is famous for is theatres, for this street rivals Shaftesbury Avenue as the heart of London's West End theatre land. The most famous theatre on Charing Cross Road is probably the Garrick Theatre, but others include the Phoenix Theatre and Wyndhams Theatre.
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