The sort of station that would look superb taken by a professional photographer in black and white, an amazingly designed station, but it’s downhill from there.

2 words - commuter hell - describe it perfectly. Heaving every morning, unbelievably hot, sweaty and crowded, then add into this the Victoria Line tube shutting regularly every morning because of overcrowding (I swear I’ll never ever ever go on it again at 8.30am - I’d sooner walk).

If you can humanly (or should that be humanely) avoid it, don’t even think of coming before 10am. The reviewer who said it’s never that busy - she’s probably the night shift cleaner - it’s never not busy!

That said, if retail is your thing, browse through the also hot, sweaty and crowded station versions of WHSmith or Burger King. Even the station forecourt runs along similar lines - dirty and smelly. Get my drift yet?

Avoid. If. You. Can.

P.s. If you’re there for the Gatwick Express, get straight on the train, don’t queue - tickets are the same price onboard.

Victoria station is a mess of people, walking into each other, trying to get to their platform. It is sorely in need of renovation to expand the premises and building to accommodation the people traffic, and the trains.

Ticketing for underground travel is outside in a crowded temporary building with lines that stretch into the passageway.

I knew it all too well in the 1940s and 50s as the terminus for the boat trains to the Channel for the Continental ferries, including the Night Ferry through sleepers to Paris. It was always an architectural mess because of the way it had been patched together from the heritage of several different railways companies plus the Underground, and it was very difficult to find people if you had to meet them there. Still, the ‘intermodal’ facility of the large London Transport bus terminus in the forecourt was an advantage.

I have very little to say about Victoria Station… but I’ll say it anyway!
It’s incredibly busy in the mornings and afternoon/evening (i.e. that time of day when you really just want to get home/to work without battling tourists and commuters) - to the point where you can spend 3 - 6 minutes just trying to get in or out of the ticket barriers. Once you’re out you are then confronted with the heaving crowd of people standing, waiting for their trains, who must must must stand right in front of the barriers - God forbid they might not be first on their train to Clapham Junction that leaves every three minutes.

It’s clean, and the shops aren’t bad - I’ll give it that - and it would have gotten 3 stars… but I’m sorry, I know there’s inflation and everything… but upping the price of going to the toilet from 20p to 30p is just ridiculous. I don’t use 30p’s worth of toilet paper!!

Rant over (and sorry… but twice a day is just… too much) :)

Nice Station - shame about the trains!
One of the busiest stations in the country Victoria is very well provided for facilities. The toilets (well to be fair I can only speak about the Gents are clean with more than enough cubicles) there’s a Boots a WHSmithand any number of food shops - and that’s all on the ground floor before you take the escalator up to the main shopping area.

The only downside has to be, well - the trains! Delays are too common and even getting your ticket is a hassle, massive queues at the ticket office. Then when you head to your platform there’s invariably three or four members of staff leaning indolently against the barriers- what’s that all about?

When it’s crowded, it sucks. When it’s not crowded, it’s kinda creepy. Great location and bless ‘em for the Gatwick Express, but I really prefer not having to pass through Victoria Station.

Despite being steeped in history, it's very easy to miss it all when you're actually trying to use Victoria station to get anywhere. It's simply far too busy for my liking, and walking/running across the vast concourse is akin to a game of 'British Bulldog'. After reading dmj1962's review, I'll certainly take more note of my surroundings next time, although gazing at the architecture is probably a dangerous game at rush hour!

Practically - this is where you get the Gatwick Express from - you don't need to buy a ticket before you board the train, so don't mess about queuing.

The Victoria line runs through here and is one of the fastest ways to get about in London - you can be in Euston/Kings Cross/St Pancras stations in a few minutes from here.

It can be challenging to find a decent pub in the area - perhaps this should be the subject of a new Qype list!

John Betjeman described Victoria station as, ‘London’s most conspicuous monument to commercial rivalry’, referring to the fact that there are actually two distinct station at Victoria, side by side. Although modern redevelopment over the platforms has obscured this division, the brick arches above W H Smiths still separate the station into two distinct parts. Each has been partially rebuilt during its life, giving Victoria no fewer than four different styles of architecture!

The first station on the site, dating from 1860, was built by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR), and incorporated the Grosvenor Hotel as part of the terminus. Designed by the architect J T Knowles, this is one of the earliest railway hotels and, despite internal alterations, still retains much of its original splendour. The exterior is well preserved, in an Italianate style, with dressings in Bath stone, and French-style mansard roofs. The hotel (opened in 1861) is now the oldest surviving part of the original station.

The original LBSCR terminus alongside the hotel was rebuilt in a grand red-brick Renaissance style in 1898, and features a central clock tower and glass portico over the cab road, both of which still exist. Underneath, the passages retain the original maps of the old LBSCR as an historical feature. Behind is what is now the spacious main concourse, retaining its original roof.

Unfortunately, the continuation of this roof over platforms 9-19 has disappeared, to make way for the Victoria Place shopping development and offices. This renders the platforms below rather cramped and claustrophobic. But services from here still go the original LBSCR destinations – Brighton and the South Coast (via Gatwick Airport) and suburban services to Croydon, Streatham, Tattenham Corner, Epsom Downs, Beckenham Junction and Sutton.

In 1862, the LBSCR station was joined by that of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway, since known – for obvious reasons – as the Continental side. Before the advent of the Channel Tunnel, trains for Dover and Ramsgate departed from here to meet the boat trains. The famous ‘Golden Arrow’ and ‘Night Ferry’ service even crossed the channel, by a specially adapted ferry complete with railway tracks, onto which the carriages were shunted, to be pulled off on the French side.

The London, Chatham and Dover's original 1862 building has survived untouched on the far side behind platform 2. Once the main entrance, this is a handsome three-storey structure in the classical Georgian style. The original and elegant train-shed over platforms 1-8 by Sir John Fowler also survives, now mostly sheltering suburban trains to the Medway towns, Bromley, Crystal Palace, Orpington and Sevenoaks. It comprises two spans, one of 127ft by 455ft, and the other of 129ft by 385ft. You can get an excellent view of this from the balcony of the Wetherspoons pub.

By the turn of the century, the London, Chatham and Dover railway had been absorbed by the South Eastern and Chatham Railway, and the modest original terminus was no longer viewed as sufficiently grand, especially next to the new LBSCR building. So the frontage of the Continental side was rebuilt in 1908 in a grand ‘Banker’s Baroque’ style in Portland stone, by the architect A W Bloomfield. This features huge female caryatids under classical broken pediments, and a grand entrance arch. It still carries the words ‘Southern Railway’ across the top, reflecting the merger of the two former rival companies in 1924 - which also unified the station properly for the first time.

To-day, the station is one of London’s (and Europe’s) busiest, with over 115 million passengers passing through each year, and over 350,000 each week-day. The adjacent underground station on the District, Circle and Victoria lines deals with 80 million passengers a year – the second busiest in London after King’s Cross / St Pancras.

Facilities – apart from the dizzying array of shops and bars – include showers (and baby-changing facilities, alongside the toilets), wi-fi access (BT and T-mobile), a bureau de change, a shoe-shine, secure left luggage facilities and bicycle storage. Rarely for a London terminus, there is also an NCP car-park at the station, accessed from Eccleston Bridge Road. Walk up to and through the Victoria Place shopping centre and there is also another cab road, which is less hectic than the one at the front of the station. The Network Rail site has an excellent map of the station and its facilities.

Busy, busy, busy, busy, busy. That's all i can say. You really don't want to get caught in rush hour at Victoria station. Londoners tend to turn the entire station into a sweaty scrummage after 5pm on weekdays. It's just a case of too many people trying to get through too small a space. Hard to find a solution really other than build a bigger station and make it more efficient. Like Moonrising, I agree, having to pay for the toilets here is pretty ridiculous. Ok, i'm sure it keeps the tramps out, but i really can't be bothered to fish around my pockets for 20p when i'm bursting for a wee!

In Victoria stations defence, they have a great selection of fast food places (including Krispy Kreme's), the trains 'tend' to run on time a bit better these days AND the Gatwick Express is brilliant. London to Gatwickin about 35 mins. Brilliant.

While this may be in reality be a pretty old building, in this very busy station the modern dominates. The great expanse of the station is invariably full of rushing people. It’s ringed round with the usual suspects as far as shops are concerned: McDonalds to W H Smiths, and a good few sandwich and coffee bars.

The bus station is out at the front of the station. Around the entrances you’ll also find stairs down to the tube. Inside, if you cross the waiting area and head diagonally right you’ll see some escalators ahead. These head up to a pedestrian mall, with more shops (including another McDonalds…), and eateries on the upper level. Through the door at the far end and beyond you are heading towards coach station country.

One of the things I find most annoying about Victoria is that there are no free toilets. Even the ones in the mall are paid. Apparently you can get into those free if you have a receipt from one of the snack bars. But personally if I’ve just got off the train or coach, I don’t want to have to buy my McDonalds (or whatever!) before going in the loo. What are you supposed to do? Hold it while you eat or take your meal in with you? Anyway, other than having to make sure you have some cash, the facilities are good. It’s not London’s prettiest station, but it does the job.

Victoria station is one of my favourites as it has everything to offer but its never over crowded like most big stations.It has lots of shops and eating out places.The other day i was going to a photoshoot and the tights that i was wearing were laddered so i was really stressed as i only had 8 mins to catch my train so i quickly ran into accessorize grabbed some and jumped on my train.It was perfect i felt like wonder women!