Piccadilly Circus

London's West End is the richest part of the city, and its heart is Piccadilly Circus. This is London's theaterland, and at night it is bright with electric signs. Under the Circus lies one of the busiest stations of London's underground railway network.

In the centre of the Circus stands the bronze statue of Eros on a high pedestal above the fountain. It was erected by architect Alfred Gilbert in 1892.

North of the Circus, the streets shade off into Soho and to Oxford Street and the Telecom Tower. South of the Circus, in Haymarket, there is the colonnaded Theatre Royal, founded in 1720. West of the Circus, is the Royal Academy of Arts. The West End also covers Mayfair and Marble Arch, the shopping centres of Oxford Street and Bond Street. (from Поликарпова 1994).

(from Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture 2002).