Regent Street
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This article is about the Regent Street in London. For other Regent Streets see Regent Street (disambiguation).
Regent Street is a major shopping street and thoroughfare in London's West End. It was named after the Prince Regent and formed part of the 1811 town plan prepared by John Nash to develop an area previously known as Marylebone Park - the master-plan also included Regent's Park.
Starting as Lower Regent's Street at its intersection with Charles II Street and Waterloo Place, it runs north to Piccadilly Circus then becomes Regent's Street by turning westward, and curves around in a quarter-circle until it is heading north once more. It then continues past Oxford Circus becoming Upper Regent's Street and ends at its intersection with Langham Place, Cavendish Place and Mortimer Street. It is part of the Crown Estate.
Hamleys toy shop can be found 100 yards south of Oxford Circus on the east side of the road. Until the 1990s it was the world's largest toy store, with six floors devoted to playthings. The ground floor is always decked out with a variety of soft toys, from small puppets to life-sized giraffes.
Other notable stores include Liberty's. There is a yearly Regent Street Festival.
On 6th July 2004, half a million people crowded into Regent Street and the surrounding streets to watch a parade of Formula 1 cars. The success of this event has lead to speculation regarding the possibility of a London Grand Prix.
The Apple retail store opens on Regent Street at 10am on 20 November 2003, it is the first store in Europe, and only the third outside the United States (the other two are in Japan).
Nearest tube stations
