Soho and the West End

The people's playground of Central London

Noteworthy for: Soho was once the heart of London’s sex industry with a staggering 57 sex shops during the mid-70s.
Tipple of choice: The Dog and Duck pub has been on the same spot since 1734 - when you could go hunting in Leicester Square - and is famed for its selection of British ales.

Soho was once the hub of the aristocratic high-life. Then the royalty moved west and it began its descent into the degradation and debauchery it became famous for. It wasn’t until the 1950s that it was no longer considered a slum, and was slowly resurrected to be hospitable by the artists and musicians that took residence.
It is colourful, cosmopolitan and crazy. Louche media luvvies dine at expensive restaurants, gay clubbers head to the nightspots of Old Compton Street, shell-shocked tourists ogle the sex shops and Cockney geezers prop-up the pubs. Of the thriving immigrant communities here, a walk through the red pagodas of Chinatown is a must, and Covent Garden, Soho's civilised neighbour, is where to go for shopping.

The West End refers to the multiple attractions of this central London area from the theatres of Shaftesbury Avenue – London’s Broadway – to the multiplex cinemas of Leicester Square, or the garish tourist traps of Piccadilly Circus to the sophisticated National Gallery of Trafalgar Square. This really is a cultural playground.