Very touristy and can be unpleasantly busy at weekends. However, the street performers are some of the best you are likely to see anywhere and it’s not unusual to have an opera singer in one area and a comedy routine going on round the corner.

Never eat and drink in the main area - it will cost you a fortune, but there are some nice bars, restaurants and shops off the side streets.

ITS GOOD PLACE TO GET ALL UR BITS,MARKETS ARE GOOD FOR GRABBING BARGAINS.

I really don’t see what all the fuss is about Covent Garden.

It’s always incredibly busy with tourists and buskers.

It has one of the deepest tube stations too which is a bit of a nightmare (if you do want to visit do yourself a favour and walk from Leicester Square - it really isn’t that far way).

There is a good range of bars, restaurants and shops but for me it’s simply too busy at any time.

covent garden is a place that never stops to amuse me,no time i pass through it is always busy with lots of people around and quite a lot to see,if you visit the market at weekends you get very good bargains and if you want to relax,have a drink with your mates there are lots of bars,cafe and restaurants around.

Anyone who loves crowds will love it. no joking aside it does get busy. so pick a less busier time and get down there. Fabulous things. Great entertainment ie, the street performers.
I last went last year and Richard Branston was there doing an interview with Dita Von Teese, who yes boys and girls looked amazing.
You just never know who’s lurking around in london but this market is sure to find you the items you want to take home….
girlies out there, theres a great handbag shop down there, seriously beautiful handmade bags…loads of them (heaven!)
Not far from there, there’s a lovely chocolate shop…...
just yummy (non fattening, ahem) chocolate…ok so the non-fattening bits a lie but trust me you won’t care once you’ve tried it! Have Fun if you Go!

This is always chock full of tourists because of its central location and nice shops. Hard to believe it was going to be pulled down in the 70s and replaced with office blocks.
The best reason to go here in the early 00s was of course the magical world of willard wigan, a disply ofvery bad tiny sculptures that could only be viewed with microscopes. This meant it took a while for people to move through. Sadly most of the exhibition was stolen, who knows how those tiny needles and toothpicks got through security.
The banana bookshop was my favourite for many years but they don’t really have enough cheap books any more, it’s mid range biographies and histories now, far fewer novels than there used to be when it was in the basement.
Lush is always good value for money, a cheap way of relaxing and cheering yourself up at the end of the day (as opposed to, say, recreational things or ladies with reputations).
Eating, Chez Gerard is great for reasonably priced steak, but don;t order the water, they charged me £3 a bottle last time I was there.
Best for the kids is the london transport museum, and men of a certain age and vehicular disposition. And best for picnics is of course the garden of the actors church, just behind where the most popular jugglers perform. And the doc martens shop is shut now, so don’t come here for docs!

It’s popular with tourists for it’s charm of boutique shopping and a lots of outdoor restaurants. Best of all is the street entertainment that takes place under the St pauls church.

This is one of my favourite places in london. Not necessarily for shopping, mostly the shops and unresourseful and expensive but generally for looking around and lapping up the boho culture. if you go on the weekends, you may be mobbed by tourists but you also get to enjoy the sights and sounds of the street performers, from opera to comedy to knife throwing. the jubilee hall has some beautiful pieces of jewelry and antiques if you’re interested in that kind of thing. i mostly love to go to the waffle stall, where the waffles and ice cream are to die for!

Covent Garden Market is the London tourist’s market. It’s pretty, looks almost just like it did in the film of ‘My Fair Lady’ and sells all sorts of stuff.

Mostly the stalls sell arts and crafts and gift type things - so handmade jewellry, accessories, clocks, odd things like that.

The real, proper, made-with-bricks shops are mostly chain stores in an old fashioned, poor accessibilty buildings. Monsoon, Lush (although I think this was the first one), Phase Eight - you know, middle class shops. The Banana Bookshop is really cheap for gifts though.

I wouldn’t recommend Covent Garden if you have mobility problems, as it’s twisty stairs and cobbled floors are difficult enough for me to get around when it’s busy.

It is lovely though, old fashioned, with street performers trying to pry some coins from your purse and cafes keeping the shoppers going with coffees and sandwiches.

Oh, and one of my favourite named stalls is here - Dinner Jackets - they serve jacket potatoes.

Its such a fanstastic place. Full of different people with different stories to tell. Its a party place, a quiet place place, its a place where you can go for a drink or shop. Its the best