Attractions near Piccadilly Hotel London

The Piccadilly Hotel London is situated at Piccadilly Circus in Central London. Hotel guests have easy access to famous London attractions such as the popular Big Ben, Notting Hill, the Tower Bridge, the St Paul's Cathedral and Camden Town.

Big Ben

Big Ben is one of London's best- known landmarks in the world. This London attraction looks stunning at night, especially when the clock faces are illuminated and when the light shines above the face of the clock, you know that the Parliament of United Kingdom is having a session.

Big Ben is a nickname of the great bell, the clock at the North-Eastern end of the Palace of Westminster in London. It was named after the first commissioner of works, Sir Benjamin Hall.

Big Ben is the largest four-faced chiming clock and the third tallest free-standing clock tower in the world that celebrated its 150th anniversary in May 2009. During the World War II in 1941, an incendiary bomb destroyed the Common Chamber of the Houses of Parliament but the clock tower remained intact. Big Ben continued to keep time that rarely stops and strike away the hours.

The Tower of Big Ben is not open to general public but those who have special interests, may arrange a visit to the top of the Clock Tower. The unique sound of the Big Ben was broadcast to the nation and around the world, a welcome reassurance of hope to all who heard it.

Tower Bridge

Since the Tower Bridge was constructed in 1894 it became a symbol of London. It got the name Tower Bridge because of its two impressive towers which are London's best known landmarks. The London Tower Bridge is now more than 100 years old and 43 metres high. From the top of the Tower visitors can have a great view over the centre of London.

Travellers also have the possibility to visit the inside of the Tower where they can observe the original mechanism used to raise the bridge. It used to be raised about 50 times a day, but nowadays it is only raised 4 to 5 times a week.

Since 1982 there is a Tower Bridge Exhibition where visitors can learn more about the interesting history of the Tower Bridge. With a visit to the Exhibition hotel guests are offered to take a look at the Victorian Engine Room where they can see the old steam engines.

The price to visit the Exhibition is around £ 7.00, but there is a discount for children (under 16), seniors (over 59) and students.

Opening hours:
April to September: 10:00 to 18:30
October to March: 09:30 to 18:00

The Tower Bridge is the icon of one of the best cities in the world that you must see.

Notting Hill

Piccadilly Hotel London Notting Hill was in the early ages a place of slums and only in 1840 this area became more residential with the construction of the Ladbroke and Norland estates.

At that time Notting Hill was also known as the Potteries (because of the nearby pottery works). But after the World War II the area became even worse due to the massive slums full of multi-occupied houses, crawling with rats and rubbish. It was a bad part of the borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

In 1999 the film Notting Hill with world famous actors such as Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant was released in order to promote and raise the interest of this area.

Now Notting Hill is London's most fashionable area travellers should not miss to visit with its cafes, restaurants, markets, shops, pubs and bars.

Camden Town

The cosmopolitanism is an important part of Camden Towns popularity as a centre of the arts, media, fashion and music.

Camden Town is extremely busy at weekends - every year more than 10 million people visit Camden Town as it is well known for its markets, liberal attitude and associations with popular shops and entertainments.

Camden Town is famous for the four markets: Camden Market, Camden Lock Market, Camden Canal Market and Stables Market- all selling vintage clothing, street fashion, antiques, arts and crafts, plenty of leather wear and body piercing too.

Camden Town is the great place to live, work, shop and play.

St Paul's Cathedral

The majestic St Paul's Cathedral was built by Christopher Wren between 1675 and 1711.

Christopher Wren designed "The great model" for the St Paul's Cathedral like Greek cross with a portico, consisting of Corinthian columns at the entrance. The Cathedral is a symbol of hope, resilience, strength and a lasting monument to the glory of God.

St Paul's Cathedral was destroyed by fires in 962 and 1087 but each time it was rebuilt. Take a look at the beautiful artwork or climb up to the Golden Gallery. Walk the 259 steps and experience why it is called the Whispering Gallery. Whisper something to the wall and let someone else put his ear to the wall.

The admission price for the St Paul's Cathedral is around £ 11.00 with a discount for seniors, students and children. The Cathedral is open from Monday to Saturday between 08:30-16:00 and the galleries between 09:30-16:15.