London - Covent Garden
Covent Garden is near the top of most visitors’ itineraries on a trip to London. It may not be big on sights, but the elegant pedestrianised piazza at its heart, based around the old fruit and veg market, is a lively shopping and performance space buzzing with living statues and buskers. You’ll spend most of your time eating, drinking, shopping or seeing a show, but it’s still one of central London’s best neighbourhoods if you want simply to stroll around and explore. A few funky streets, especially around the Seven Dials area, ooze old-fashioned charm, their lofty brick warehouses given over to quirky shops, on-trend restaurants and stylish hotels.
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Best Places to Stay in London - Covent Garden
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Things to Do in Covent Garden
Most people are in Covent Garden to shop, eat, drink and simply hang out, but the neighbourhood does have a few genuine ‘sights’, including the very kid-friendly London Transport Museum and the handsome Actors’ Church, both of which stand on the ever-popular piazza. And of course, you are in the heart of theatreland, so there are numerous venues where you can catch a show – and, in the case of the Royal Opera House, some of the finest ballet and opera in the world.
Pubs and Restaurants in Covent Garden
Covent Garden has improved markedly as a foodie destination in recent years. It still has its share of bland chains and uninspiring cheapies, but these days it offers a better range of restaurants and bars that provide a bridge between the bohemian scene of Soho on one side and the staid business-account dining and drinking scene in Holborn and the City on the other. There are plenty of family-friendly places around the piazza and a raft of decent venues in the neighbouring streets. As for drinking, this is prime office worker territory where any number of basic pubs fill to bursting point in the early evening hours. But it also hosts some genuinely good locals in which it’s a pleasure to while away an evening with a pint of real ale or a glass of good wine.
Shopping in Covent Garden
There’s something to suit every kind of shopaholic in Covent Garden: the piazza itself, with its antiques and crafts market; the many reliable upscale fashion chains; the quirky one-off shoe stores, boutiques and vintage emporia on and around Neal Street; and the odd high fashion outlet, including the flagship store and London HQ of Paul Smith on Floral Street. There are arty little stores and a few New Age places around Seven Dials and Neal’s Yard (which also features one of the best cheese shops in the country) and there’s even a colossal Apple store should followers feel a sudden surge of geekiness.
