Image credit: Steve Kwan / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0 · 2004-08-01 ↗
Sicilian Avenue
Bloomsbury · Euston → Bloomsbury → Soho · Picturesque arcade / Edwardian architecture
Story
This avenue, a small piece of Edwardian commercial architecture, creates a surprisingly theatrical transition between Bloomsbury streets. Sicilian Avenue was developed in the early twentieth century as a deliberately ornamental shopping composition, giving a faintly Mediterranean identity to central London. Its value lies in stopping, looking carefully, and appreciating a layer of the city that is often missed, a shopping passage that invites a quiet stroll and a photogenic pause.
What to look for
Look for the columns marking the entrance, the lettering and decorative details on the shopfronts, and the symmetrical perspective of the passage. Walk along the centre line to appreciate its scale and composition.
Secret detail
Notice how the architecture, though Edwardian, evokes an almost Mediterranean atmosphere, an unusual design choice for early 20th-century London that aimed to create a distinctive commercial space.
Where exactly
Stand at this point and look west-south-west into Sicilian Avenue between its columns and ornamental shopfronts.
Orientation
Look about 250 degrees from your location and enter the passage.
Why it matters
This passage illustrates how early 20th-century commercial architecture sought not just functionality but also to create specific experiences and atmospheres, revealing a Bloomsbury that valued ornament and aesthetics in its public spaces.
Access & opening
Public realm; temporary works/events may affect passage.
Free to walk through
We never show live status. Check opening hours before you go.
Accessibility
Generally pedestrian public realm; route surface details should be checked for step-free mode.