5th View

The West End


The views of Westminster from the top floor of Waterstones bookshop on Piccadilly are worth the stairs (okay, there's a lift too). Add a relaxed dining room and you have a bit of a secret spot for a meal and escape from the bustle on the streets below. Afternoon tea (one/two people £16/30) is served from 3pm to 6pm Monday to Saturday and noon to 5pm Sunday.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby The West End attractions

1. St James’s Piccadilly

0.04 MILES

The only church (1684) Christopher Wren built from scratch and one of a handful established on a new site (most of the other London churches are…

2. Eros Statue

0.09 MILES

At the centre of Piccadilly Circus stands the famous statue (Alfred Gilbert, 1893) called Eros but actually modelled on Anteros, his twin brother. To add…

3. Piccadilly Circus

0.1 MILES

Architect John Nash had originally designed Regent St and Piccadilly in the 1820s to be the two most elegant streets in London but, restrained by city…

4. Royal Academy of Arts

0.13 MILES

Britain’s oldest society devoted to fine arts was founded in 1768 and moved here to Burlington House a century later. For its 250th birthday in 2018, the…

5. Burlington Arcade

0.15 MILES

Flanking Burlington House, which is home to the Royal Academy of Arts, is this delightful arcade, built in 1819. Today it is a shopping precinct for the…

6. Regent Street

0.18 MILES

The handsome border dividing the trainer-clad clubbers of Soho from the Gucci-heeled hedge-fund managers of Mayfair, Regent St was designed by John Nash…

7. Royal Arcade

0.22 MILES

Running perpendicular to Burlington Arcade between Old Bond and Albermarle Sts is this more recent arcade dating from 1880.

8. Chinatown Gate

0.23 MILES

Northwest of Leicester Sq but a world away in atmosphere, this grand tile-roofed and red-pillared gate marks the entrance into Chinatown. Although not as…