Gentlemen’s Shops in Piccadilly and Jermyn Street (1 Km)

philip carey
Aug 24, 2022
5 min read

Updated: Aug 16, 2024

Start at Green Park Station

Finish at Piccadilly Circus Station

THE EXPERIENCE

This 1 Km gentleman’s haute cuisine and haute couture shopping route takes you along a section of London’s famous Piccadilly - the road from Green Park Station to Piccadilly Circus Station. It is renowned for its iconic places such as The Royal Academy, the Ritz Hotel, Fortnum and Mason and Piccadilly Circus. The route also follows a section of Jermyn Street, which is famous for its gentlemen's shopping.

Great for gentleman’s shopping, bright lights, history, entertainment venues, iconic sights, hotels, art galleries, museums, and lots of places to eat, drink and be merry.

MUST SEE PLACES

What to See List

1. Green Park

2. St James's Palace

3. St James’s Park

4. Royal Academy of Arts

5. St James’s Square

6. Burlington Arcade

7. Fortnum and Mason

8. St James’s Church

9. Piccadilly Circus

10. Regent Street

PLACES TO EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY

Areas to Eat, Drink and Be Merry List

1. Shepherd Market

2. Lower Berkeley Square

3. Piccadilly near Green Park

4. Around Dover Street

5. Around St James’s Street

6. Around Jermyn Street

7. Along Swallow Street

8. Heddon Street

9. Around Piccadilly Circus

10. Along Brewer Street

Links to nearby Eat, Drink and Be Merry Routes.

The following Eat, Drink and Be Merry Routes are nearby

St James Piccadilly - Starting from Piccadilly Circus to Green Park

https://www.photoruns.com/post/st-james-piccadilly-shopping-eat-drink-and-be-merry-photorun

South Mayfair - Starting at Green park Station and ending up at Hyde Park Corner

https://www.photoruns.com/post/south-mayfair-shopping-eat-drink-and-be-merry-photorun

BEST TIME

Morning - The best time to do this route is on weekends in the early morning when it is quiet and free from crowds and heavy traffic.

Day - Piccadilly and Piccadilly Circus will be busy during the day.

Evenings - Quieter in Piccadilly - busy around Piccadilly Circus

ROUTE OVERVIEW

The 0.9 Km route starts at Green Park Station in the Park, turns right onto Piccadilly, and heads past the Ritz Hotel. It turns right down St James Street and immediately left onto Jermyn Street by the Beretta store. It follows Jermyn Street past all the gentleman's outfitters until it gets to Fortnum and Mason on Duke, where it turns left up to Piccadilly exiting at the Royal Academy. It then bears right and goes to its finishing point at Piccadilly Circus, passing in front of the Royal Academy, Fortnum and Mason, Hatchards, Princes Arcade, St James's Church, and the Dilly,

Route at a Glance Video.

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Stava Map

My Google Map Link

DESCRIPTIVE PHOTO GALLERY

This gallery provides a descriptive and visual reference to many sights along this route. Use the Google Map above to find their location. Double-click to see its full size.

INTERESTING FACTS

Piccadilly Facts

Piccadilly Circus was built as part of the Regent Street development in 1816. It’s called a circus because it was a turning circle for horses and carriages on their way down to Piccadilly or toward St James’s Palace. The two landmarks here are the Shaftsbury Memorial Fountain and the ‘neon’ lights – Britain’s version of Times Square in New York. They were installed in 1908 and used to go all around Piccadilly Circus.

The Royal Arcade is a historic Victorian-era shopping arcade that runs from 12 Albemarle Street to 28 Old Bond Street and was completed in 1880.

With its saddled glass roof, richly decorated stucco arches, curved glass shop fronts and ionic columns, the arcade has changed little in the intervening years. It retains all its original features, making it a rare example of an original Victorian arcade.

Hatchards at 187 Piccadilly is still one of the world's most famous bookshops and has existed since 1797. It has a Royal Warrant from George III, and its customers have included Byron, Wellington, Oscar Wilde and Rudyard Kipling. Its founder, John Hatchard, was part of the anti-slavery movement, and he and William Wilberforce used to hold meetings in his shop.

Waterstones bookshop was originally Simpson of Piccadilly, London’s largest menswear department, built in 1932. It was also the first steel-welded building in London. Waterstones in Piccadilly took the store over in 1999 and is also one of the biggest bookshops in Europe, with seven floors, a cafe, a bar and a restaurant.

Fortnum and Mason is the King’s Grocer. It was formed in 1707 by William Fortnum, a footman to Queen Anne, and his landlord, Hugh Mason. These two gentlemen met every hour by the clock at the front of the building. They gave food to the soldiers during the Peninsular War (1808-1814) and tea to Florence Nightingale during the Crimean War (1852-56). It was the first shop in Europe to sell Heinz canned food in 1886.

Jermyn Street Facts

In 1661 Henry Jermyn, Earl of St. Albans and former Ambassador to Paris and The Hague obtained a grant of Crown land from Charles II to develop a residential neighbourhood in the area known as St James’s Field.

In its 300-year history Jermyn Street has always retained its distinctive character. In its early days Jermyn Street was more residential than commercial. It was a bustling scene of houses, lodgings, hotels, taverns and schools, which was dominated by the beautiful Church of St. James’s designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

Green Park Facts

Green Park is one of the Royal Parks, and its station is the closest to Buckingham Palace and the south side of Mayfair. In the 17th century, King Charles II’s wife demanded that all the flowers be removed from Green Park after she caught Charles II picking flowers for one of his mistresses. The park still has no formal flowerbeds apart from daffodils in the spring.

The Diana Fountain, also known as Diana of the Treetops, was created by Estcourt J Clack and installed here in 2011. Diana is a Roman god of the countryside, hunters, crossroads, and the Moon. She sits atop a drinking fountain, releasing her whippet for the hunt.

This is not to be confused with the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park by the Serpentine

VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE AREA

Click on the picture below to go on a 360 virtual tour of the shopping areas and have a look around.

Use the green route to explore this location by looking around in 360, taking in the sights and sounds, listening to an audio recording about the area and going on a virtual tour.

HISTORY & GUIDES VIDEO LIBRARY

Please note - These date from before 2018 and have been done in a variety of styles to determine which one works best. They all provide very useful information and we would welcome feedback to help create the new versions

This short (4:08 minute) video gives you a quick guided tour of some of the sites on this route.