Leicester Square

About Leicester Square

Leicester Square is London's cinema centre and regularly hosts the UK's film premieres, often attracting Hollywood stars. The four main cinemas in Leicester Square are the Odeon Leicester Square, the Empire, the Odeon West End and Vue (formerly Warner Brothers Village).

The square is bounded by Lisle Street, to the north; Charing Cross Road, to the east; Orange Street, to the south; and Whitcomb Street, to the west. It dates from 1635, when the first house was built by Robert Sydney, Earl of Leicester.

Notable former residents include: Sir Joshua Reynolds at No. 47; Hogarth, who spent some of the best years of his life on the opposite side, where the Alhambra stood before its demolition in 1936; John Hunter and Sir Isaac Newton were also former residents.