Oxford Circus, London, Guida per visitatori e cosa fare nei dintorni

Oxford Circus is the crossroads in London's West End where Oxford Street meets Regent Street. It began as part of John Nash's Regent Street scheme in the early 19th century, and today it is one of the city's best known shopping junctions and a major Underground interchange.

The story behind it

Regent Street was planned by the architect John Nash in the 1810s as a grand route linking the West End with the area around Regent's Park. Where it crossed the old road of Oxford Street, Nash designed a circus: a round open space with matching curved corners, so the junction looked deliberate rather than accidental. Oxford Street itself is far older and follows an ancient route westward out of the city, which is where its name comes from.

Nash's original buildings along Regent Street were later replaced, mostly in the early 20th century, so the stone frontages you see today are a later generation that kept his street plan. The Underground station opened in 1900, and the crossing has stayed one of the busiest spots in central London ever since. In 2009 a diagonal pedestrian crossing was added, letting people cross in every direction at once.

What to look for

• The four curved corners of the circus, where the buildings sweep around to follow Nash's original idea of a round junction.
• The diagonal crossing, best watched from the pavement as the lights change and the crowd moves in all directions at once.
• The long, gently curving line of Regent Street, with its uniform stone frontages, stretching away from the junction.
• The spire of All Souls Church at Langham Place, another Nash building, which closes the view when you look north up Regent Street.

Tips for your visit

• Allow ten to fifteen minutes for the junction itself, longer if you want to browse the shops that line both streets.
• Go early in the morning for more room to look up at the buildings, as the pavements fill quickly later in the day.
• In the weeks before Christmas the streets are strung with lights, which is a lovely time to come, though it is also very crowded.
• Carnaby Street, Liberty and Broadcasting House are all a short walk away, so the circus works well as the start of a longer stroll. Check current opening hours for any shop you plan to enter.

See it on a quest

Oxford Circus is the starting point of London's lights: Explore Monopoly - Oxford Circus to Trafalgar Square, a self-guided walk that leads you on foot from here toward Trafalgar Square. Rather than just crossing the junction and moving on, you get the story of each place as you reach it on your phone and solve a puzzle in what is in front of you. The Monopoly theme suits the area, since Oxford Street, Regent Street and Trafalgar Square all appear on the classic London board. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group. You can start whenever you like, with no guide and no group to join.