One of London's most-visited entertainment centres houses a variety of attractions and a large multiplex cinema. High street shops compliment the many restaurants and attractions, and here you will also find Funland which is billed as the world's leading indoor entertainment centre. Funland brings state of the art entertainment and end of the pier fun to London, including rides, modern simulators, high tech video games, old style dodgems and a ten-pin bowling alley.

Our stop in Haymarket is ideally situated for you to explore the area around Leicester Square. Linking Pall Mall to Piccadilly Circus , the Haymarket is at the centre of London’s theatreland and has two grand theatres - Her Majesty's and one of London’s two Theatre Royals (the other is in Drury Lane). Her Majesty's has been on the Haymarket (originally an actual hay market) since 1897, and is the fourth theatre to occupy the site. It has a fine post war tradition of staging some of London’s greatest musicals and is currently presenting Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera.

There has been a theatre on the site of the Theatre Royal since the early 18th century. The current building, with its impressive Corinthian Portico was designed by influential Georgian architect John Nash. He was also responsible for Brighton's Royal Pavilion, the Marble Arch and many of the beautiful buildings to be found in and around Regent’s Park.

The Theatre Royal  where many of Oscar Wilde’s plays were premiered in Victorian London.

In the early 1600s, the 2nd Earl of Leicester, Robert Sidney, built Leicester House, a grand mansion erected on land formerly known as St Martin’s fields. In doing so, Sidney deprived the parishioners of nearby St Martin in the fields church of free access. The parishioners appealed to the King who ordered the Privy Council to act as arbiters between the parishioners and Sidney. A compromise was reached and Sidney was ordered to keep some of the land open to the public, this became known as Leicester fields.

The next 200 years saw the house occupied by a succession of Earls of Leicester as well as ambassadors and royalty. During this time the area around Leicester fields developed as London grew. Bars, restaurants and places of entertainment slowly enveloped the fields and it was in the 18th century that the area became known as Leicester Square.

Leicester Square also has a prominent place in British film as it was at the Empire theatre that the Lumiere brothers staged their early moving picture shows.

The first Royal film premiere took place at the Odeon Leicester Square in 1946, when the young Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II), came as a teenager to watch David Niven star in 'A Matter of Life and Death'.

From those early days Leicester Square became the centre of film entertainment in this country, with the Odeon Leicester Square taking pride of place as the most important cinema in the capital. Attracting huge crowds keen to catch a glimpse of Hollywood stars and A list celebrities, the red carpet is frequently rolled out as the Odeon hosts its many film premieres.

Charlie Chaplin, the world’s first movie superstar, has a statue in the square and many star names have had their handprints cast in the capital’s own walk of fame.

Today Leicester Square is one of London's most popular areas and here you will find London’s Planet Hollywood restaurant, TKTS, the half price ticket booth and many nightclubs and bars. 

Leicester Square is pedestrian area and therefore not accessible via our London bus tour, so you would have to hop off at this stop and visit on foot.