The main parade weaving down Charing Cross Road to Trafalgar Square is a spectacular sight, full of waving dragons, dancers and drummers and every restaurant in Chinatown is crammed with Chinese families celebrating.

But for those who want to escape the crowds, this month's walk explores the streets of Soho around Chinatown before crossing Shaftesbury Avenue into the backstreets of Seven Dials and Covent Garden.

Walk highlights

Trafalgar Square, Lisle Street, Gerrard Street, Carnaby Street and Liberty's, Old Compton Street, Seven Dials and Neals Yard, Covent Garden Market, St Paul's Churchyard

Multimedia

Type of walk: circular

Time taken: 1hr 45 mins

Distance: four miles approx

Start and finish: Charing Cross station (trains from south east London and Kent; Northern and Bakerloo line tubes).

Come out of the main entrance of Charing Cross station and out into the Strand. Turn left and head for Trafalgar Square, marked by the recently restored Nelson's Column ahead of you. Cross the Strand and St Martin's Lane at two successive pedestrian crossings to reach Trafalgar Square. This whole area has been massively improved by being pedestrianised and generally cleaned up, although Mayor Ken Livingstone is fighting a continuing battle with animal rights activists over pigeons in the square. Livingstone's latest attempt to rid the square of pigeons by importing hawks to kill them has had mixed success as over-enthusiastic hawks killed more pigeons than they could eat then scatttered the entrails. And the pigeons still seem to be out in force, whatever their opponents do.

Walk diagonally across the square with Nelson's Column to your left, and head for the steps in the opposite corner up to the National Gallery - the Gallery itself is worth building in extra time for, with its newly restored main entrance and free permanent exhibitions.

Follow the pedestrian passage through iron gates between the main building of the National Gallery and the Sainsbury wing into St Martin's Street. Cross Orange Street, looking to your right to see the small whitewashed building of the Orange Street Congregational Church built in 1693 by Hugenot refugees fleeing persecution in France. Like many other areas of London, Soho has been settled by successive waves of refugees, most recently Chinese but before them Greeks and Italians as well as Hugenots.

Continue up to Leicester Square, scene of red carpet welcomes for film stars arrriving for premieres at one of the square's many cinemas. Leicester Square is still a bit raffish and touristy but it is less sleazy than it used to be. Bear round the left of the square into the narrow Leicester Street, then left into Lisle Street where the smell of roasting duck heralds your arrival in Chinatown.