May Half Term: Routes and Roundels

Fuel your imagination at our Festival of Curiosity this half term as your family enjoy curious and creative problem-solving challenges and meet real-world engineers. Follow our STEAM-inspired family trail, join an interactive workshop or storytelling session, and much more!

Down Street: Churchill's secret station

Experience the Railway Executive Committee’s bomb-proof headquarters during World War II, the warren of tunnels where Churchill sheltered.

Plan your school visit

Find the information you need to plan and book your visit to London Transport Museum in Covent Garden or the London Transport Museum Depot in Acton, west London.

This is a recurring event:

Repeats Daily on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday all day until Sunday 16 June 2024
Repeats Daily on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday all day until Sunday 29 September 2024

Upcoming dates:

Wednesday 1 May 2024, all day
Thursday 2 May 2024, all day
Friday 3 May 2024, all day
Saturday 4 May 2024, all day
Sunday 5 May 2024, all day
Wednesday 8 May 2024, all day

Show all dates

See the engineering and architecture marvels at the heart of London

Join us for an exclusive tour of one of the most iconic stations on the London Underground: Piccadilly Circus. Located directly underneath the celebrated landmark, Piccadilly Circus station opened in 1906 serving the Bakerloo and Piccadilly lines.

Extensively modernised between 1925 and 1928 to meet passenger demands, the station is an engineering marvel and boasts one of the finest examples of subterranean architecture on the London Underground.

This timeless grade II listed building serves over 40 million passengers a year in style. Redesigned by celebrated architect Charles Holden and reopened in 1928 it was nicknamed the “New Heart of London”.

Visitors will go behind secret doors, to passageways and lift shafts closed to the public since 1929 and discover the original Edwardian design features, the fascinating stories of wartime sheltering and top-secret storage of priceless artefacts. Piccadilly Circus offers a unique perspective of how the London Underground has grown and adjusted to Londoners’ needs for over a century.

Please note: Children under 14 are not permitted on this tour. 14 to 16-year-olds must be accompanied by an adult.

Key information

Tour times:

Wednesdays & Thursdays 10:00, 14:25, 16:15

Fridays - Sundays 10:00, 11:50, 14:25, 16:15
Duration: Approx 75 minutes
Location: Piccadilly Circus station
Tickets*: £45 / £42 concessions

London Transport Museum is a charity. Profits from your Hidden London ticket helps us to continue conserving and sharing London’s transport and design heritage.

More tour information

Two women looking down a long empty tunnel

Interior of Tube station with tiled floor and wall, a glowing roundel reading Frank Pick and metal lettering on the wall

Two women walking out of a dark tunnel through a grate at a tube station

Upgrade your Piccadilly Circus experience

Join us for a unique day out that you’ll always remember, starting with our exclusive Hidden London tour of Piccadilly Circus station and ending with a delicious lunch at Piccadilly Circus’s famous Hard Rock Cafe, surrounded by a world of music and iconic memorabilia.

Piccadilly Circus Tour & Lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe

Two staircases leading up into a venue, the floor, walls and ceiling all lit up in rainbow colours

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Tour information

As well as your tour, the ticket price includes:

Half price one-day entry to London Transport Museum (within a month of your tour date). No need to pre-book, just come to the Museum during our opening hours with proof of your tour ticket.
10% discount on all full-priced products at our shop (online and in store), within one month of your event date.

These offers cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. Booking fee of £1.50 per transaction applies.

Where is the meeting point?

The meeting point for this tour is at the bottom of the stairs of Exit 4 of Piccadilly Circus Underground station. Exit 4 can be found at the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue and Coventry Street, next to the Criterion Restaurant.
To plan your journey to the meeting point, we recommend using TfL’s Journey Planner or downloading the TfL Go app.
A member of the Hidden London team will meet you on arrival. Please arrive 15 minutes before the time on your ticket.
What should I wear?

Visitors must wear flat sturdy shoes. Guests wearing open toe sandals or shoes, or high-heels, will be refused entry due to health and safety restrictions. Sturdy walking shoes are recommended as there are uneven underfoot conditions throughout the tour.
Do not bring large or heavy bags as there are no cloakroom facilities.
Please also bring with you photo ID and your email confirmation to be permitted entry.
Are children allowed?

Children under 14 are not permitted on the tour.
All under 18s are eligible for concession tickets.
14 to 16-year-olds must be accompanied by an adult.
How long will the tour last?

Your tour will last for 75 minutes and will involve walking for most of this time.
Are there toilets or cloakrooms on the tour?

There are no cloakroom facilities or public toilets available on the tour. Please do not bring large or heavy bags.
What is the tour like? Are there stairs or lifts? Is it accessible?

There is no step-free access on the tour. Access to the tour is by static escalator. It is advisable therefore that you should have an adequate level of fitness to undertake this tour. You may be refused entry if you appear to not meet this requirement.
The tour will include access to confined areas which may be unsuitable for people with claustrophobia. There will be areas which have low lighting and may be dusty.
Due to the nature of the tours, we are unable to accommodate visitors with wheelchairs.
About your tickets

Once you’ve booked your tickets, you will receive confirmation and e-tickets to the email address you provided at checkout. This may take up to 24 hours - please check your junk mail folder after this time, and if you have still not received confirmation, contact the Museum booking office via our Contact form.
You will be sent an event reminder email up to a week before your event with all the information you need to arrive on time and enjoy the tour. Please contact London Transport Museum if your contact details change after you purchase your ticket(s).
Tickets are non-transferrable. Please bring your email confirmation and ticket as well as photographic ID to be permitted entry.

Terms and conditions

Please ensure you have read the Hidden London terms & conditions before booking your ticket.

Hidden London events

Holborn: The Secret Platforms

Multiple dates from Wednesday 31 July 2024 to Sunday 29 September 2024

Join us to uncover the secrets of Holborn station, a busy interchange at the heart of London with much more to explore than first meets the eye.

Group of people with tour guide looking along train tracks in dark Underground tunnel

Piccadilly Circus Tour & Lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe

Multiple dates from Wednesday 1 May 2024 to Thursday 26 September 2024

Join us for an exclusive tour exploring behind the scenes at Piccadilly Station, followed by a delicious lunch at Piccadilly Circus's famous Hard Rock Cafe.

Baker Street: The World's First Underground

Multiple dates from Friday 26 April 2024 to Sunday 29 September 2024

Join a historical journey through the 160 years of Baker Street station, from the early days of Victorian underground steam travel through to today's busy station of 10 platforms and 5 Underground lines.

Water-damaged Tube roundel sign on brick wall for Baker Street

Piccadilly Circus: The Heart of London

Multiple dates from Wednesday 1 May 2024 to Sunday 29 September 2024

Explore one of the most iconic stations on the Underground and see the marvels of the Grade II listed building in person

Down Street Tour & Cocktail Experience

Multiple dates from Friday 26 April 2024 to Saturday 14 September 2024

Experience the Railway Executive Committee’s bomb-proof headquarters during World War II, and the warren of tunnels where Churchill sheltered - followed by a Churchill-themed cocktail and tasty nibbles at a stylish bar where spies were once rumoured to meet.