



London: Covent Garden
Operating Hours:Market shops: Daily 10:00 - 20:00. Street performers: Daily 10:00 - 21:00. Apple Market: Daily, extended on weekends
The Vibe:London's open-air theatre and historic market square.
London's oldest wholesale fruit and vegetable market turned entertainment and shopping destination, Covent Garden Piazza centres on Inigo Jones's St Paul's Church (1633) and the grand Victorian Market Building. Street performers, buskers, restaurants and 100+ shops fill the square year-round.
Opera singers busk at the central atrium; jugglers draw crowds in front of the church portico. Coffee and street food scent the air; Victorian iron and glass protects the whole piazza from rain.
- • London's oldest wholesale market square, laid out in 1631 by Inigo Jones
- • One of London's most photographed piazzas with dedicated street performance areas
- • The Royal Opera House defines the square's eastern edge
- • Market Building (1830) is Grade I listed as one of Britain's finest iron-and-glass structures
Persona Fit
- 👨👩👧 Families: Street performers and open space; mostly kid-friendly
- 💕 Couples: Opera house tours followed by covent garden restaurants
- 👵 Seniors: Flat paved piazza; plentiful benches
- 📸 Photographers: Market Building architecture and street performers
Highlights
- Apple Market — antiques, crafts and vintage inside the main market building
- Street performers — daily buskers at set pitches around the piazza
- Royal Opera House — UK's leading opera and ballet venue, public tours
- Jubilee Market — multi-day market specialising in antiques (Monday) and crafts (Tues-Sat)
- London Transport Museum — at the piazza's east side
- St Paul's Covent Garden (Actors' Church) — Inigo Jones's 1633 church, actor memorials — Hidden Gem

Sarah Riches
Our London Local Expert
Table of Contents
Things To Do Nearby
Royal Opera House — leading opera and ballet venue
London Transport Museum — at the east side of the piazza
National Gallery — 10 minutes south via Leicester Square
Seven Dials — quirky independent shopping district, five minutes north
Royal Opera House — leading opera and ballet venue
London Transport Museum — at the east side of the piazza
National Gallery — 10 minutes south via Leicester Square
Seven Dials — quirky independent shopping district, five minutes north
TJ's Guide - Covent Garden
Know Before You Go
Insider Tips
Best Time: Early evening for the atmosphere with street performers and restaurants opening
Hack: The Actors' Church (St Paul's) is a free haven of quiet five steps from the bustling piazza
Hidden Gem: Neal's Yard, a tiny courtyard of colourful shops tucked behind the piazza
Royal Opera House lunchtime concerts are often free — check their website
Shopping is better at Neal Street and Seven Dials than in the piazza itself
Best Time: Early evening for the atmosphere with street performers and restaurants opening
Hack: The Actors' Church (St Paul's) is a free haven of quiet five steps from the bustling piazza
Hidden Gem: Neal's Yard, a tiny courtyard of colourful shops tucked behind the piazza
Royal Opera House lunchtime concerts are often free — check their website
Shopping is better at Neal Street and Seven Dials than in the piazza itself
Know Your Facts
- Closest Tube: Covent Garden (Piccadilly), one-minute walk to the piazza
- Alternative: Leicester Square (Northern, Piccadilly), five minutes south
- No vehicle access to central piazza
- First-time tip: Covent Garden Tube has stairs only (no escalators) — Leicester Square is more accessible
Once You Reach
Internal Navigation
Central piazza: Market Building at the centre, Apple Market inside
Jubilee Market: West side of piazza, different theme each day
Actors' Church: Portico facing the piazza's west end
Royal Opera House: Eastern edge of piazza
Accessibility: Step-free throughout; uneven cobblestones can be challenging for wheelchairs
Food & Coffee Shops
Laduree (King Street): French macarons with Covent Garden location
Rules Restaurant (Maiden Lane): London's oldest restaurant, traditional British
The Ivy Market Grill (Henrietta Street): Elegant brasserie in a restored Georgian building
Laduree (King Street): French macarons with Covent Garden location
Rules Restaurant (Maiden Lane): London's oldest restaurant, traditional British
The Ivy Market Grill (Henrietta Street): Elegant brasserie in a restored Georgian building
Photography Tips
Market Building's Victorian iron-and-glass roof photographs well from within
Street performers usually welcome photographs but appreciate tipping
Evening blue hour brings out the piazza's architectural character
The Actors' Church portico creates a classic frame
Market Building's Victorian iron-and-glass roof photographs well from within
Street performers usually welcome photographs but appreciate tipping
Evening blue hour brings out the piazza's architectural character
The Actors' Church portico creates a classic frame
Explore Deeper
The name 'Covent Garden' derives from 'Convent Garden' — it was originally the garden of Westminster Abbey until dissolution. Inigo Jones laid out the piazza in 1631 as England's first modern square, inspired by Italian Renaissance piazzas. The wholesale market developed from the 1650s and operated until moving to Nine Elms in 1974.
St Paul's Covent Garden is one of Inigo Jones's few surviving buildings in central London; it opened in 1633 and has been known as the Actors' Church since Victorian times
George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion (basis for My Fair Lady) opens at St Paul's Covent Garden; the fictional Eliza Doolittle was a flower seller in the piazza
The Victorian Market Building (1830) replaced a warren of stalls and temporary structures; the iron-and-glass canopy technology developed at Covent Garden was later used at Paxton's Crystal Palace
After wholesale operations moved out in 1974, Covent Garden was nearly lost to redevelopment; a public campaign saved the buildings for restoration and reopening in 1980
St Paul's Covent Garden is one of Inigo Jones's few surviving buildings in central London; it opened in 1633 and has been known as the Actors' Church since Victorian times
George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion (basis for My Fair Lady) opens at St Paul's Covent Garden; the fictional Eliza Doolittle was a flower seller in the piazza
The Victorian Market Building (1830) replaced a warren of stalls and temporary structures; the iron-and-glass canopy technology developed at Covent Garden was later used at Paxton's Crystal Palace
After wholesale operations moved out in 1974, Covent Garden was nearly lost to redevelopment; a public campaign saved the buildings for restoration and reopening in 1980
Did You Know?
Inigo Jones — Designer of Covent Garden also designed the Queen's House in Greenwich
Actors' Church — W.S. Gilbert, Vivien Leigh, Boris Karloff and Noel Coward are all memorialised
Punch and Judy — Samuel Pepys witnessed the first English Punch and Judy show in Covent Garden in 1662
Film favourite — Covent Garden features in countless films including Four Weddings, Notting Hill and My Fair Lady





