Covent Garden: What to See and Do
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead
- Reserve now, pay later
- Wheelchair accessible
Worth an hour on any West End day, not worth a special trip on its own. The piazza itself — cobbles, glass-roofed market hall, licensed street performers — is genuinely pleasant, but it's also thoroughly geared toward tourists and chain retail. Go for the atmosphere and a performance, don't expect a bargain or an undiscovered gem.
Highlights
- Watch licensed street performers in the historic West Piazza
- Browse handmade jewellery, art and crafts in the covered Apple Market
- Explore Seven Dials and Neal's Yard, minutes from the main piazza
- See the Royal Opera House, right on the square
The piazza and street performers
Covent Garden's central piazza has hosted licensed street performance since the early 1980s, and the standard is consistently high — performers audition for their pitch, and only a limited number are allowed to work the West Piazza at any time. Expect opera singers, escapologists, acrobats, and comedy acts drawing genuinely large, engaged crowds. Shows run roughly every 30–40 minutes; check the board near the piazza entrance for the next start time.
The Apple Market
The covered market hall at the centre of the piazza houses independent stalls — handmade jewellery, art prints, leather goods, and gifts. Tuesday to Sunday, one side runs an antiques and collectibles market; the crafts and design side operates daily. It's a better browse than the surrounding chain shops, and prices are reasonable for what's largely handmade work.
Covent Garden is a natural stop on a wider West End walking tour — see it alongside Trafalgar Square, the Strand and Leicester Square with a local guide.
From £18Neal's Yard and Seven Dials
A few minutes' walk north of the piazza, Neal's Yard is a small, brightly painted courtyard that photographs extremely well and houses a handful of health-food shops and cafés. Seven Dials, the seven-street junction just beyond it, has a better concentration of independent boutiques than the piazza itself — worth the extra ten minutes if shopping is the goal.
Royal Opera House and London Transport Museum
The Royal Opera House sits on the piazza's east side — daytime backstage tours run most days (separate ticket, book ahead) even if you're not seeing a performance. The London Transport Museum, on the piazza's southeast corner, is a genuinely good rainy-day option, particularly for families, with historic Tube carriages and buses you can climb aboard.
Getting there
Covent Garden tube station (Piccadilly line) sits right on the piazza, though it's a request-only lift station and gets very congested — walking the extra few minutes from Leicester Square or Holborn station is often faster than queuing for the lift. Charing Cross and Embankment stations are both a 10-minute walk south.
Covent Garden: Frequently Asked Questions
Yes — walking around the market square, watching the street performers, and browsing the shops costs nothing. You'll only spend money on what you buy or eat. The Royal Opera House and Transport Museum (both on-site) charge separately for tickets and tours.
Performers work in the West Piazza roughly every 30–40 minutes throughout the day, generally 10:30am to early evening. Acts range from opera singers to escapologists and comedy jugglers — the piazza has been a licensed performance pitch since the 1980s and only auditioned performers are allowed to work it, so the quality is consistently high.
The Apple Market is the covered market hall at the centre of the piazza — stalls selling handmade jewellery, art, crafts, and gifts, distinct from the surrounding chain shops. Tuesday to Sunday is antiques and vintage on one side; the crafts side runs daily. Worth a browse even if you're not buying.
An hour covers the piazza, a street performance, and a browse of the Apple Market. Add another hour if you want to shop the surrounding streets (Neal's Yard, Seven Dials) or eat a proper meal. It works well as a stop on a longer walking day rather than a destination in itself.
Trafalgar Square is a 10-minute walk south. Leicester Square and the West End theatre district are immediately adjacent. Seven Dials and Neal's Yard — a small, colourful courtyard good for photos and independent shops — are a few minutes north.