At least don’t expect the usual ones with orange wigs, over-sized shoes, red noses and Figaro costumes. In London, circus means circle, and the famed Picadilly area is a big loop (traffic roundabout) among many businesses, cafes and theaters, with a statue of boy love god Eros in the middle. Actually, the official name of the statue is Anteros of the Shaftesbury Memorial.

Of course, you’ll find many clownish characters wandering around Picadilly at any hour of the day or night. They include young lovers, panhandlers, tourists, punks, street musicians, peddlers, chestnut stands, prostitutes and just plain staid British citizens. For tourists, Picadilly serves as a good base for exploring central London, fashionable shoppes, the theater district and many upscale restaurants.

At night, Picadilly Circus is a busy mini-Times Square, surrounded by millions of blinking neon lights, with theatre crowds on their way to nearby entertainment and to the East End and Shaftsbury for Broadway types of musical and dramatic productions.

For dining, London doesn’t have the reputation of Paris, New York, Brussels or Amsterdam. However, if you’re a first time visitor and find yourself feeling hungry at Picadilly Circus, you can walk in any direction for just a square or two, and you’ll find some of the best French, Italian, Indian, Japanese, Chinese, and even English, restaurants in the world.