It is located on Charing Cross Road, a short distance to the east of Leicester Square itself.

The station is served by the Northern and Piccadilly lines, and is located in Travelcard Zone 1.

The increase in passenger numbers in the 1920s as the Northern line was extended north (to Edgware) and south (to Morden) and the expected further increase from the 1930s extensions of the Piccadilly line led to the reconstruction of the station below ground in the early 1930s.

As with the similar sub-surface ticket hall previously built at Piccadilly Circus, this was excavated partially under the roadway.

[7] The escalators down to the Piccadilly line (the longest in the world when opened in 1935) [8] were the longest on the entire Underground network, being 54 m (177 ft) in length, until the rebuilding and reopening of Angel in 1992, which overtook Leicester Square with its 60 m (197 ft) escalators.