Getting to the Adelphi Theatre
Nearest tube + walk time: Charing Cross (4-5 min walk)
409-412 Strand, London WC2R 0NS. The entrance is on the Strand itself; the stage door is round the back on Maiden Lane.
By tube
Charing Cross is closest at four to five minutes, on the Northern and Bakerloo lines. Embankment is five to six on the District and Circle, and Covent Garden about six on the Piccadilly. Holborn is a longer walk, but take it if your line runs there.
Any of the first three suits, and the gap between them is a minute or two rather than anything that should decide your journey. Covent Garden is the one that clogs at theatre time, because everybody leaves it by lift.
Step-free travel is a different question and the access route covers it.
By train
Trains into Charing Cross put you about four minutes' walk from the door, straight along the Strand.
By bus
The Strand is one of the busiest bus corridors in London, and the stops are within a couple of minutes of the door: Southampton Street heading east, Bedford Street or Savoy Street heading west. On a street this well served the bus is often the easiest way in.
- From West London: the 9 (Hammersmith, Kensington and Knightsbridge) and the 23 (Ladbroke Grove, Paddington and Marble Arch)
- From North London: the 91 (Wood Green, Holloway and King's Cross) and the 139 (Golders Green, Baker Street and Oxford Circus)
- From the east and the City: the 15 (Blackwall, the Tower of London and St Paul's) and the 26 (Hackney, Liverpool Street and St Paul's)
- From South London: the 87 (Wandsworth, Clapham Junction and Westminster), the 176 (Penge, Dulwich, Camberwell and Waterloo), the 139 (Waterloo) and the 26 (Victoria)
Late at night, the N9, N15, N21, N26, N44, N87, N89, N91, N155, N199, N343, N550 and N551 stop on the Strand.
On foot
Walking from Waterloo takes about fifteen minutes across the river. A taxi or the tube from Waterloo takes almost as long, and the walk is the better of the two.
If you are running late, a taxi down the Strand is often the slower option. The street is busy, it closes from time to time, and the traffic on it moves in stops and starts.
By car
Driving to this theatre costs you time and money that the tube does not. Arrive before 6pm and you pay £18 to enter the Congestion Charge zone before you have parked anything, the Strand crawls at theatre time, and a West End car park will cost you several times a return tube fare. Almost everyone arrives faster by train, tube or bus.
If you are driving anyway, Q-Park Covent Garden and Q-Park Leicester Square are nearest. There is no free parking within sensible reach.
Blue Badge bays are a different matter, and worth planning around. John Adam Street is about 90 metres from the entrance, Henrietta Street about 125 and William IV Street about 160. There are not many of them, so allow time to find one.
When to arrive
Twenty to twenty-five minutes before the performance, a little earlier than our usual 15 to 20.
There is a single queue on the Strand and everybody goes through it, with bag checks at the front, so it moves but it takes longer in a theatre this size. And since the refurbishment there is something worth walking round once you are inside.
If you're late, you won't be let straight in. Latecomers are held until a suitable break in the performance, which may be the interval.
FAQs
Which tube station is closest to the Adelphi Theatre?
Charing Cross, four to five minutes on foot. Embankment is five to six and Covent Garden about six. None of them is step-free.
What time should I arrive at the Adelphi Theatre?
Twenty to twenty-five minutes before curtain, because there is one queue for everyone, with bag checks at the front.
Is there parking near the Adelphi Theatre?
Nothing free within sensible reach, and the theatre is inside the Congestion Charge zone. The two nearest car parks are named under By car, above.
Which buses stop near the Adelphi Theatre?
The 9, 15, 23, 26, 87, 91, 139 and 176, all stopping on the Strand within a couple of minutes of the door.