Could you help me put together an itinerary for strlling in Covent Garden? When do buskers persform...in the evenings or every day around the clock? Where are some of the must see areas in this neighborhood? From the map, I can see the Leicester square is close by. Anything special in that square that we can explore? How about Piccadilly circus? Thanks in advance.

My daughter had to end each evening at Leicester Square before heading back to the hotel. It's a happening place. Street artists, buskers, etc. and a great place for desert at an outdoor table. It is adjacent to Chinatown and a short walk to the theater district. Piccadilly Circus? Well if you like New York's Times Square you will like Piccadilly Circus.

The main business for buskers is in the daytime, when the shops and stalls are open.
http://www.coventgardenlife.com/info...c/rex_boyd.htm

http://www.covent-garden.co.uk/art/arts3.html

The area is full of interesting-looking shops. North of the main piazza is Neal St, also look along Floral St and into Neal's Yard. Look for Rose St between Floral St and Long Acre, for the Lamb and Flag pub (see www.fancyapint.com for others in the area).

In the market piazza, don't forget the London Transport Museum - if buses, trams and trains don't interest you, you can pick up various souvenirs with London Transport themes in their shop.

West from the piazza, King St takes you towards Leicester Square via New Row to St Martin's Lane, but before you cross over towards Charing Cross Road, turn left and look for Goodman's Court for echoes of Victorian back alleys.

Up and down Charing Cross Road is still (just) bookshop central, while Leicester Square is the home of big cinemas.

North again from Leicester Square is what passes for Chinatown, and north of that, across Shaftesbury Avenue, is Soho.

the best shops in the covent garden area are north of the covent garden market complex and east of the seven dials (neal street, shelton st, earlham, etc, etc). the market complex itself is less interesting than the surrounding areas.

the transport museum that patrick references was worth a visit (actually, the gift shop where you could buy genuine tube related posters more than the museum itself) however, this is now closed for refurbishment...i believe until 2007.

leicester square is a pass through square for most of us. in the evenings it is filled with young, loud, drunk types who come into london on suburban trains. it's far from the most pleasant place to relax outside with a desert. after about 8 or 9pm, it goes from just boring to downright unpleasant and declines steadily along that path the later it gets. certainly take a walk through the square as it is at is in the heart of the tourist areas but don't expect to be impressed.

I'd suggest doing a google on "Covent Garden" + walk. Several route suggestions turn up.

TOLONDON:
My wife and I like to stay in the Covent Garden when visiting London, we like the restaurants and street scene there. When at home in Oregon, I like to get my Covent Garden fix about once a week by visiting: www.camvista.com/england/london/coventgarden.php.
Its great to see what the weather is like and other activities happening at that time. We will be there again in October.

Another interesting place at Covent Garden is St. Paul's church (not to be confused with St. Paul's Cathedral!), also referred to as the actor's church. The back of the building faces the Covent Garden market and is where you'll find the street entertainers. You have to walk around the block to find the front entrance to the church, which is via an alleyway between the buildings on Bedford STreet. In front is a large pretty garden with benches, and inside the church itself are memorial plaques to many famous British actors & actresses, including Vivien Leigh (Scarlett O'Hara).

Picadilly Circus is just a big traffic interchange, unless you are looking for music - they do have the world's largest Tower Records store there.

Let me tag along here to elicit advice. We are looking at an overnight trip from Paris (still not decided Eurostar vs. budget airline) and would like to stay somewhere around this area. Decent but relatively inexpensive (by London stadards) to sleep 2 adults and a teenage niece would fit the bill. Any suggestions?

Seamus:
Last visit in 04, we stayed on Drury Lane ay the Travelodge Covent Garden. At the time, a double room was 65 GBP. Now I see it has risen to 85 GBP. Still not bad for London.

Leicester Square & Piccadilly Circus are both hideous & strictly for tourists. Covent Garden is touristy too but most of it's still quite nice, with interesting shops as others have mentioned. I used to work nearby & thought the crowds of tourists were just the price we paid for having good shops etc nearby. Also some good pubs & restaurants but you have to choose carefully to avoid the ones which are just aimed at tourists, therefore don't care about repeat business, therefore crap.

Covent Garden also has the Royal Opera House if you're interested.

I think basingstoke1 may be confusing Leicester Square and Covent Garden. The street performers/outdoor cafes etc were likely at Covent Garden. Leicester Square IS near Chinatown but isn't a place to hang out - unless one is 15 and going to the arcades etc.

Janisj:

You're being unfair. I wouldn't choose to sit around Leicester Square (or anywhere in Covent Garden, for that matter) either. But there are a lot of outdoor eating seats along its west side, and buskers are quite common there at night.

It's the classic place that everyone avoids because it's crowded. And, whenever I cross it at night (how else can you get from Chinatown to the Opera?), those crowds - most over the age of reason even if a lot of them don't dress that way - always seem to be having a good time.

Certainly they're smiling a lot more much the Euroteen crocodiles being dragged round the British Museum, the Chinese being forced to walk round Oxford before they can strip Bicester Village bare or the unfortunates of all nationalities paying to get into Blenheim under the misapprehension it's worth visiting.

"the unfortunates of all nationalities paying to get into Blenheim under the misapprehension it's worth visiting."

CotswoldScouser - are you referring to Blenheim Palace in Woodstock? If so I must respectfully disagree with your assessment. I found Blenheim to be one of the most interesting places I've ever been to in the UK. Both the inside and the gardens. The fountains in the back garden are themselves worth the price of admission. Plus it was fascinating to see Winston Churchill's birthplace, complete with a lock of his hair. The surrounding parkland, a gorgous area, can be enjoyed at no charge, the fee is charged only to enter the palace itself (and it IS a palace). I'm not certain if you can gain access to the afore-meniotned fountain garden without paying the entrance fee but even the other, accessible areas are lovely. When we went we entered with our Great British Heritage Passes which cover admission to Benheim. I really enjoyed it and I think a lot of others would as well.

No, I am not confusing Leicester Square with Covent Gardens. My daughter, who was 16 at the time (that was four years ago) loved Leicester Square. I enjoyed watching the "action" too. One of the things that she and I enjoyed were the street artists. When we were there buskers, dancers, acrobats etc did their stuff in the square. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but hey, we're tourists and want to see everything.