Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus have always been home to London’s grandest cinemas - this is where premieres take place, Hollywood stars brush shoulders with royalty and the biggest movies play on the biggest screens.
Hollywood's major studios established many of these cinemas and for decades American-inspired picture palaces owned by the likes of MGM, Paramount Pictures, Warner Brothers and 20th Century Fox dominated the West End.
On this tour you’ll be tracing the footsteps of stars like Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin, Harrison Ford and the Beatles. You’ll also see the locations of films including An American Werewolf in London and Last Night in Soho.
Starting with the grand former Empire Music Hall and taking in such landmarks as the Odeon Leicester Square and the London Pavillion, we’ll see architecture that spans from the late 19th century up to the present day and includes some of London’s most striking art deco and modernist gems.
You’ll hear stories about the high-kicking dancers who entertained audiences before films in the silent era, how cinemas coped with the blackout of World War II and about the varied - and often unusual - cinematic firsts that have taken place in these iconic buildings.
The walk lasts about two hours and starts in Leicester Square and finishes at Picturehouse Central in Piccadilly Circus.
