Planning your next vacation in London? Do not forget to set aside some time for Soho because there are various things to do there.
Places like the iconic Jazz Club of Ronnie Scott (remember the jazz greats like Ella Fitzgerald and Miles David?), underground stations, London’s oldest markets, cocktail bars, musical theatres, and Harry Potter attractions are simply waiting to jump into your things to do in Soho list.
1. All About Soho
Soho, the heart of London’s West End, is the eclectic mix of fascinating history and modern excitement. Today, Soho covers around one square mile (2.6 square kilometres) and is bordered by Oxford Street, Regent Street, Chinatown, and Charing Cross Road.
Other interesting London areas that are within walking distance of Soho include Leicester Square, Covent Garden, Piccadilly Circus, and Mayfair. You can also take a short bus trip to Trafalgar Square from Soho or visit London’s famous Oxford Circus, lying on the corner of Bloomsbury.
There are numerous fun and unusual things to do in Soho, as it is one of the best places in London to find live music and entertainment, interesting food, and pulsating nightlife.
You can relax in the Soho Square, visit the boutique shops, or enjoy a West End Show, admire the street art, watch the street performers, and treat yourself to some good food, rounding it off with enjoyable cocktail bars.
It has also been the centre of London’s LGBTQ+ community, igniting gay and lesbian bars across Old Compton Street. You can also visit Carnaby Street – Soho’s place of fashion and music that led the way to the Swinging Sixties.
2. 10 Fun Things To Do In Soho
There is a never-ending list of the best fun and unusual things to do in Soho. One can never get enough of the exciting and pulsating life of Soho, so if you are planning to visit Soho during the holidays, be prepared to get distracted from the strict schedule you have planned!
2.1. Visit the Amazing House of Minalima
If you love Harry Potter, then visiting the House of Minalima deserves a topmost place on your list.
If you go through the beautiful pink entryway, you will find three big floors of an amazing gallery cum shopping space. It is fascinated with art from the graphic artists Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima.
You will find all kinds of artwork in the store itself and gallery, but given the duo’s important role in designing the film, you will come across an emphasis on the movie Harry Potter and the Fantastic Beasts series. There are also some of the pieces taken from the movie Warner Bros Studios in Leavesden.
The House of Minalima is open from Monday to Sunday (that is, on a daily basis) from 12 pm to 7 pm. It is one of the out-of-the-box things to do during the daytime. Weekends can get pretty crowded, however, and you might have to stand in long queues on weekends.
2.2. Watch Shows at The Soho Theatre
Focused primarily on the West End, watching the theatre shows in London is one of the best things. You can pick your favourite from the incredible lineup of shows that take place throughout the day (or simply watch all of them).
You can watch a spell-bounding performance of Harry Potter and The Cursed Child at the Palace Theatre on Cambridge Circus.
Visiting Soho Theatres like the Prince Edward Theatre and the Prince of Wales Theatre should be on the top of your bucket list. They have been entertaining visitors for quite a long time with big-budget musicals, classical plays, quirky cabarets, and stand-up comedies. The Mary Poppins show at Prince Edward Theatre is simply a spoonful of sugar.
Pop in some snacks between the long-running show Les Misérables at the Sondheim Theatre and the comedies, cabarets, theatres, and other writer events at the Soho Theatre on Dean Street.
2.3. Find The Seven Noses Of Soho
Yes, you heard it right- Seven noses of Soho. The appearance of these noses like hidden gems all around the city was quite a mystery.
In the mid-1990s, with all the craze of finding these noses, no one knew how these noses got stuck all over central London, but there are only seven noses to be found in Soho (Hint: one is in Endell Street in Covent Garden). The notoriously difficult nose to find is the one in D’Arblay Street.
As the theories of how these noses appeared got weirder and weirder, artist and actor Rick Buckley took the initiative and accepted that he was after these noses. He had created moulds in the shape of his own and put them near Soho as a protest against the increase in the number of CCTV cameras that came into use in surveillance for safety purposes.
After more than 20 years, only seven noses remain, and they have truly acquired a place in the beauty of the environment of Soho!
2.4. Enjoy Cocktails at Soho
One of the best things to do in Soho is undoubtedly to visit the quirky cocktail bars because Soho, in combination with cocktails, forms the best vacation.
Keeping this equation in mind, visit the underground speakeasies as well as the rooftop bars with brilliant cocktails in beautiful settings. However, they do tend to get crowded, so you might need to book ahead for some.
2.4.1. The Blind Pig
Located above the chic Social Eating House at 58 Pollen Street, the Blind Pig cocktail bar has a seriously quirky, curious, and inventive cocktail list.
The menu changes with the season, and one of their funniest drinks is the tequila-based 5-A-Day, complete with added jellyworms.
2.4.2. Disrepute
Disrepute is the grand belle of the Soho cocktail scene. The interior gives a lasting first impression. It is a meeting of plush jewel-coloured armchairs, tinted mirrors, golden metals, and a few other extra-luxe touches sure to take your breath away.
The menu gives a sense of story revolving around each cocktail that evokes the mystery of a well-woven plot. Some of the cocktails are even accompanied by some performance, like Jon’s Holy Smoke, which is released from a bell jar of smoke when it is brought to the table.
2.5. Relax at the Soho Square
Another on the list of the best things in London is that regardless of where you reside or are enjoying, there will always be a spot for the viewers to relax.
Even though it is rarely ever empty, Soho Square, a small place, is where the water around helps you to calm away from the busy streets of Soho. You can go for coffee and some delicious snacks and rest in the warm Soho sunshine.
Not only is Soho Square very alluring, but also it is historically important. It signifies the time of the late and crucial 17th century. There is even a magnificent black and white Tudor House standing towards the centre of the Square.
2.6. See the Birthplace of William Blake
Soho is the place where another of Britain’s world-famous poets, William Blake, was born. This fact attracts masses of literature enthusiasts from all over the world to Soho.
This celebrated writer started life on the street called Broadwick Street, known as Broad Street, in the year 1757 and lived there for a long time till he got married in 1782. In reality, this address was also one of William Blake’s first areas for exhibition.
The real house with a terrace where William Blake was born no longer exists, but the spot is known for a plaque to pay tribute to him. The biggest difference between the eighteenth century and the modern area is that around the time of William Blake’s years, Soho was exactly on the outskirts of London, with wide and open fields around.
It is difficult to imagine what the place might have looked like then as you stand in the middle of the present concrete jungle. However, the old homes near this place can give you a subtle feel of the 18th century Soho.
2.7. See the Place Where Karl Marx Spent His Life
After he immigrated to London in 1849, Soho became the creative home of another celebrated historical figure, Karl Marx.
Nearly destitute, he lived in two rented rooms on the upstairs of an infrastructure at 28 Dean Street with his wife and children. After the gap of five years of living on Dean Street, Marx moved away, grateful to an inheritance, and the building turned into the great Quo Vadis restaurant.
Did you know Karl Marx was exceptionally described as the historically significant figure connected with Soho? People like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Charles Dickens, and Admiral Nelson are a few of the other world-famous people with strong connections with the city.
2.8. Stop by The Photographer’s Gallery
The Photographer’s Gallery opened its doors in 1971 and was one of the first public photography galleries in London. This six-storey building on Ramillies Street proudly worked to increase the profile of photography as an art form and features works from local as well as international photographers. Along with its large gallery spaces, it also boasts a bookstore and a cafe.
The Photographer’s Gallery also organizes frequent lectures and classes for photography pros as well as amateurs. One of the most prestigious prizes in Europe, the Deutsche Bӧrse Photography Foundation Prize, is the highlight of their annual calendar.
2.9. Shop At The Bookstore In Foyles
Going book shopping in Foyles is one of the coolest things to do for bookworms. Not far from the Soho Theatre is the flagship store of the bookseller Foyles. Push through the iconic red doors of the store and find yourself in a book lover’s playground.
The Foyles has been one of the greatest and most attractive bookstores for over 100 years. It is thought to be London’s first purpose-built bookstore, and it used to hold the Guinness World Record for being the world’s biggest bookshop.
This bookstore on Charing Cross Road has an astonishing collection of 200,000 books spread out along four miles of shelves. You can basically call it the book lovers’ dreamland.
Books are not the only thing that this place offers. There is a superb cafe, a big gallery space, and an auditorium that is responsible for holding various events throughout the year.
2.10. Dig Into Soho’s Past
Visiting a place is never complete without knowing its true past and how it came to be what it is today. Did you know that Soho used to be a very “naughty” place? Parents used to ask their children to stay away from it, and frail ladies used to gasp on hearing its name.
Soho’s positive popularity had degraded in the mid-1800s due to many different disease outbreaks during which the people moved out of the city. Slowly, the place was preoccupied with struggling musicians, poets, and artists on the one hand, and women, interesting shows, clubs, and unusual on the other hand.
Ahead 200 years, the place used to be London’s gritty mixed with its well-known neon sign lighting up the words “World Hub of Erotic Entertainment.” Though the neon sign has been removed and a maximum of the debaucherous industry has closed, Soho exists indifferently, unashamed of its past.
Perhaps that is what makes the city so unusual. While you are there, visit the several well-known as well as unheard-of museums in Soho to dig further into the city’s intriguing past.
3. Find A Nice Soho Hotel To Stay In
If you want to spend your vacation indulging in the best things to do in Soho, you will need a comfortable place to stay in the city. Do not worry; Soho, London, has some of the best hotels, starting from luxury hotels and boutique hotels to budget hotels.
3.1. Ham Yard Hotel
With a 9/10 Telegraph expert rating, Ham Yard Hotel is an artsy boutique hotel with stylish interiors fashioned by the designer Kit Kemp, buzzy bars, aromatic restaurants, a bowling alley, spa, cinema, and a snug rooftop terrace.
It is tucked away in a small courtyard behind Piccadilly, with Underground Piccadilly Circus just three minutes away.
3.2. Kettner’s Townhouse
With its 33 upstairs bedrooms, champagne bar, piano bar, and restaurants, Kettner’s Townhouse is situated at the corner of Romilly Street and Frith Street.
It is a part of the Soho scene and is close to the Covent Garden, Piccadilly Circus, and the theatres of Shaftesbury Avenue.
As of old, a pianist plays almost all day and night in the piano bar. Ice is given to each room around 7 pm every day for the readymade cocktails found in the mini-fridge (these are included in the room price), and bottles are set out on drink trays. Along with the champagne bar, there is also a small private seating area for the hotel guests residing there.
3.3. The London Edition
With an 8/10 rating, the London Edition is the perfect balance between edgy and elegant. With its minimalist rooms appealing to lovers of modern luxury, its sultry Punch Room bar, as well as the magnificent Jason Atherton restaurant with its glorious 19th-century ceiling, this hotel is an ode to modern history.
It is located on Berner Street, near the shopper’s paradise and charming boutiques of Oxford Street and Soho.
3.4. Dean Street Townhouse
The Dean Street Townhouse is a little country house with an 8/10 expert rating. It is where the post-work-tired soul retires for a cool drink and a delicious warm steak. Climb upstairs to your serene rooms with the freestanding bathtubs and four-poster beds and get a deep sleep in the beating heart of the buzzing Soho.
Its location is very efficient for you to complete your things to do in the Soho list with a bang.
3.5. The Soho Hotel
The Soho Hotel has a deserving 8/10 expert rating and is decked with the notorious flair of the designer Kit Kemp. Her designs are full of colours and individualism and are a hive for fun and entertainment.
It is situated on a silent street between Dean and Wardour Street and boasts an unrivalled Soho location.
The hotel has nothing short of bars, a library, an on-site spa, a well-equipped gym, and two impressive screening rooms with 100-person capacities, cowhide, and Italian chairs. The hotel runs frequent film club evenings with soft drinks, popcorn, and ice creams.
4. Final Note
So, what do you think? Isn’t the list of things to do in Soho just amazing and overwhelming?
Visit Chinatown, watch unmissable shows at the theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue, celebrate London’s LGBTQ+ sites, press the golden button asking for “more champagne” in Bob Bob Ricard, go vinyl shopping in Soho’s cool record shops, eat at Heritage Restaurant and Cocktail Bar. Thereby, the list does not end.
Soho is really one of the most fun places to visit in London. So what are you waiting for? Pack your bags and book a journey to Soho to avoid missing out on all the fun things that are in store for you.
Last Updated on July 11, 2024 by Sathi Chakraborty
