Can anyone enlighten me about current usage of the designations West End and Westminster? Although I know that Westminster officially comprises a big chunk of Central London, I think of it as being more specifically right around the Abbey...and the West End farther north, where the theaters are. But the terms seem to be interchangeable on a number of maps. Anyone know what Londoners really mean by these terms? Thank you very much!

I understand West End as roughly from Charing Cross Road/Tottenham Court Road west as far as Hyde Park and south as far as St James's Park, and Westminster as south of St James's Park/Trafalgar Square, and west as far as Lambeth Bridge.

The local government entity, the City of Westminster, covers both of these areas.

Westminster means three things.

Firstly it is the name of the local authority for central london - so covers the majority of the well known sites.

Secondly it is used for the area around the Abbey and Parliament.

And thirdly it is shorthand for the political wing of government.

You can usually tell from context which meaning is which.

Thank you both very much.

Westminster is a city within London, as such it have rather specific boundaries

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Westminster

It includes a portion of the West End