Carnaby Street is a street in London, in the district of Soho, near Oxford Street, and just to the east of Regent Street. It is named after Karnaby House, a large building located to its east which was erected in 1683. It is not known why the house was so called. The street was probably laid out in 1685 or 1686 and first appears in the ratebooks in 1687. It was almost completely built up by 1690 with small houses.

Carnaby Street was made popular by followers of the Mod style in the 1960s, and became closely associated with the Swinging Sixties, when many independent music shops, fashion boutiques, and designers such as Mary Quant were located there.

Today, Carnaby Street is more mainstream, being mostly chain stores and restaurants, with few independent outlets, and is popular with young shoppers and tourists. Carnaby Street was also the address of high-profile fashion retailer boo.com from 1999 until its bankruptcy in May 2000.

Carnaby StreetNearby places of interest include Broadwick Street, where you can see a replica of the water pump that John Snow famously sealed up to stop an outbreak of cholera in 1854; the toy shop Hamleys and the rest of Regent Street; and Golden Square just to the south, which during the summer is crammed with office workers trying to catch the sun.

Carnaby Street Website