Walk through this exciting village area of London’s West End during the day and you will sense a history of shopkeepers, craftspeople, artisans and cosmopolitan street markets. At night you can walk the same streets and experience a past—and present—of theatres, cinemas, pubs, clubs, restaurants and much, much more...

Soho was farmland until 1536, when Henry VIII made it into a royal park for the Palace of Whitehall to the south. It was still largely rural in 1582, when Elizabeth I passed a law forbidding the building of any houses within 3 miles (5km) of the City.  However, by the 17th century many houses had been built here illegally. Somehow this sense of 

being slightly outside the norm became the hallmark of Soho. 

Although there were plans towards the end of the 17th century to make the area as grand and fashionable as neighbouring Bloomsbury and Mayfair, Soho never attained those heights. In the late 1700s, French Protestant Huguenots moved in, thus forming a multicultural pattern that has been repeated over the centuries. In the 1920's and 30's, large numbers of Cypriots settled in the area and these and other nationalities opened what were then seen as ‘exotic’ shops, cafes and restaurants. This cosmopolitan, slightly neglected atmosphere is an essential part of the character of Soho. Long established as the capital’s centre for entertainment, it is filled with theatres, cinemas, night clubs and music venues. 

The harsher criminal worlds of the 19th-century ‘rookeries’ and the gangs of the early 20th century have gone and the area has shed its seedy image and become well known for its restaurants, pubs, bars and fashion shops catering for all tastes. There are also private clubs, for dining, drinking and entertainment, that are often visited 

by famous TV and movie stars.

Soho is a major focus for London’s gay community and the streets are thronged with visitors, workers (mostly from the nearby film, music and media industries) and pleasure-seekers all experiencing 

the ‘buzz’ of this most exciting part of London.