Seven Dials, London, Guide du visiteur et quoi faire à proximité

Seven Dials is a road junction in London's Covent Garden where seven streets meet around a sundial column. Laid out in the 1690s as a smart residential development, it fell into poverty and notoriety before becoming the lively area of independent shops, bars and restaurants that it is today. It is a short, free stop that tells a lot about how London's fortunes can change.

The story behind it

The junction was planned in the 1690s by the developer Thomas Neale. He cut seven streets to meet at one point, which created wedge-shaped building plots, and he hoped they would attract wealthy residents. They did not come. Within a century the neighbourhood had become overcrowded and poor, known for gin shops, crime and cramped housing. Charles Dickens described the squalor of Seven Dials in the 1830s, in his Sketches by Boz.

The original column was removed in 1773, reportedly because of a rumour that treasure was buried beneath it. The column you see now is a recreation put up in 1989. It carries six sundial faces, and the column itself is usually counted as the seventh dial, which explains the name.

What to look for

• Look up at the top of the pillar to find the six sundial faces, then work out why people call the column itself the seventh.
• Stand beside the column and count the streets that radiate from it, noticing how the buildings between them narrow into wedges.
• Notice the mix of shopfronts, cafes and old brick buildings along Earlham Street and Neal Street, which hint at the area's changing character.
• Pause to picture the crowded, noisy streets Dickens described, in contrast to the relaxed shopping crowd around you today.

Tips for your visit

• The junction is in the open street, so you can see it at any time. Ten to twenty minutes is enough for the column, longer if you browse the shops.
• Mornings are calmer for photos, while evenings are livelier when the bars and restaurants fill up.
• Covent Garden Market, Neal's Yard, Soho and Leicester Square are all a short walk away, so it fits easily into a wider stroll.
• There is nothing to go inside, but the surrounding venues have their own hours, so check current opening hours before planning a meal or a shopping stop.

See it on a quest

The Wizard's Mystery: Unveil London’s Dark Secrets Escape Game brings you to Seven Dials on foot as one stop of a longer route through central London. The app tells you about each place as you arrive and sets a puzzle based on what is in front of you, so you look at the streets more closely. One ticket covers the whole group.

London LGBTQ: Detective Mystery also passes through this part of the city, and has you solve a puzzle on the spot at each place. It is a good way to see Seven Dials alongside the nearby streets, with the story of each stop told as you get there. One ticket covers the whole group.