Soho

Soho sits right in the centre of the West End of London. Soho covers an area of about one mile. You can walk through Soho from Oxford Street which is one of Soho’s original boundaries.

Soho was once famous for its sex shops and sex industry which had been running in the area for the past 200 years! But since the 1980s Soho underwent a complete transformation and instead of a no go area for most visitors to London, Soho is now the place to be seen and is a fashionable and upmarket area. In the West of Soho there is a small remnant of times past and a few sex shops still operate. Soho has been famous since the nineteen forties for its music scene starting with Club Eleven on Windmill Street and Cy Laurie jazz club. Soho was also the setting for the famous song Mack The Knife which was sung by Louis Armstrong in the nineteen fifties. Soho can also claim fame to being home to the first skiffle club in London which was on the first floor of the Roundhouse pub, Wardour Street. More and more clubs and theatres started to open in Soho including the famous Windmill theatre, The Raymond Revue bar and Ronnie Scotts jazz club in Frith Street. The list can go on because Soho was also home to the legendary Marquee club in Wardour Street. The club opened in the late fifties and it was here that the Rolling Stones first performed in 1962. Soho is a super area of London to wander through and it has a unique character all of its own. Book your hotel close to Soho and you will find yourself right in the centre of all the fun and action. Vinyl junkies should head to the areas around Berwick Street where famous shops such as Vinyl junkies and Blackmarket records sell the latest releases and merchandise. Despite its small size, Soho has everything, pubs, bars, restaurants, late night snack bars, a hare Krisna temple close to Soho Square a small Mosque on Berwick Street, Chinatown in Gerrard Street, and even a primary school for local children! There are many hotels close to Soho and these are undoubtedly very popular. One thing to remember when you book your London hotel is that most London hotels are converted Victorian townhouses so guest rooms are small and may come as a shock to visitors from some countries. Whenever you visit London and its famous and historical area of Soho, one thing is for sure....You will get to see London life as it really it, mulcicultural and anything goes! Enjoy Soho and enjoy your London hotel.

Fast facts for Soho

Carnaby Street was in the 1960s the fashion centre of ‘Swinging London’ these days Carnaby Street is a popular shopping area

Berwick Street is home to record shops and a small street market

Gerrard Street is the centre of Chinatown

Wardour was home to the legendary Marquee club

Soho is the centre of the gay scene in London