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Tue / Jan 26
Party Earth Review Rimmed by St. Martin's Lane on the east and Drury Lane on the west, Covent Garden is a vibrant shopping and entertainment district that has been drawing shoppers, theatergoers, and lots of tourists for hundreds of years... ... read full review
Covent Garden
London WC2E 9DA
Piccadilly Line: Covent Garden
087 0780 5001
24/7
Covent Garden / Soho, London –
Rimmed by St. Martin's Lane on the east and Drury Lane on the west, Covent Garden is a vibrant shopping and entertainment district that has been drawing shoppers, theatergoers, and lots of tourists for hundreds of years.
Every day, its large namesake piazza fills with knife jugglers, sword swallowers, human statues, dance troupes, and accomplished musicians who entertain the crowds.
Outdoor pubs around the piazza offer the perfect vantage point for people-watchers, while shoppers head straight for the nearby Apple Market, an indoor shopping gallery with fashion boutiques, gift shops, specialty stores, stalls of fancy goods, and an astounding selection of restaurants, watering holes, and cafés.
The piazza’s surrounding streetscape of pedestrian-only walkways provides budget-minded university students with some terrific window shopping, including the chance to drool over gadgets at one of the largest Apple Stores in the world.
At night the whole district is alive with theatergoers on their way to one of the Garden’s several West End theaters or the famous Royal Opera House, while nearly two dozen taverns and bars – all within easy walking distance – overflow with mixology snobs and down-home beer drinkers alike.
Should the expats pounding Strongbow’s feel a sudden chill while sitting at a Covent Garden pub in the wee hours, it’s probably just the ghost of Admiral Lord Nelson or Anne Boleyn, both said to haunt this famous area.
All ages and walks of life.
Free performances by street performers, magicians, puppeteers, and musicians, though tipping is encouraged.
Entertainment and sightseeing venues include over a dozen theaters, the Royal Opera House, the London Transport Museum, St. Paul’s Church, and scads of shopping.
Real Food Market, located in the East Piazza most Thursdays, features seasonal produce by artisanal traders from around the UK. Most of the nearby pubs also serve food.
Prices vary by venue, but trend higher due to the tourist draw.
Anything goes: gowns and tuxedos for opera goers, jeans and t-shirts for pub crawlers and shoppers.
Any afternoon.
Punch & Judy (40 The Market) is a quaint two-story pub with a fantastic outdoor patio overlooking the square. Also worth checking out are the nearby Nags Head pub (10 James Street), The White Lion (24 James Street), and Roadhouse (35 Covent Garden Piazza).
Covent Garden User Reviews