Covent Garden Market

Covent is OK, there are little performances around usually, food, busky tourists, a lot of offerings, tourist oddities. But being more of a foodie, I think Borough Markets still wins hands down. Covent is good for a lazy stroll, some tea and preferably under some sunny skies!

One of my favourite places in london more so on sunday (arts & crafts) great shops, street entertainers! The only downers are the price of the food (2cola's 2 pancakes £18) & the fact that a "pukka" tv cook is opening up a restaurant right in the middle of the place!

Best place to lose hours of your life .. Especially around the festive season :)

I just love this place! Whenever I am in London I come here. Nice little shops, live music, a craft market (“Apple Market”), cafés and bars – what else could one want for a nice and relaxing day out in town?

Awesome – for adults and kids – go there, soak it up, enjoy. A great place where there is always something going on!

great lunch in the pub on the main down floor. try the paella for 5£!

Having never been, I gave it a look & was surprised at what it had to offer in 3 different areas. In the open areas street entertainers did there thing to the crowds delight. Got some nice gifts at reasonable prices.

I simply love Covent Garden. Since I work at a store at Covent Garden, I love to go there on my lunch time just to hear some artist playing the violin, or to eat some candie...the atmosphere is so great and it's really nice to sit and just relax for a while. It's a must go place!!!!

It's very very very touristy, and the street performers are sometimes overly aggressive in their busking, but if you are patient, fantastic finds can be found.

Yeah, sure - it's touristy, it's busy, the crowds around the street performers are almost as annoying as the performers themselves, the market doesn't really provide anything you couldn't get at a number of other London markets, the shops nearby are crazy expensive and the food places are over-priced and under-flavoured.

but

it's covent garden innit? my Mum loves it - and if you're coming to visit London then i'd probably recommend you check it out - I mean compared to Leicester Square or Piccadilly circus it's like some sort of utopian fantasy land - there are actually things here..

would i come here other than in passing? no
would i avoid walking through the area? no - and in fact i normally enjoy it - something will be going on and if you're lucky maybe one of those fire jugglers will actually burn their arm off and provide some real entertainment

This is tourist central. You know it before you arrive so don’t whine about crowds and statue buskers… they ARE Covent Garden Market!
There are cobblestones and old fashioned pubs and over priced restaurants, and enough little pokey sops to remind you of the history of this area. Just go with the flow and you will enjoy the experience… if all else fails run down a side street!

A classic slice of London’s history Covent Garden Market is a great place to visit even if you have no intention of buying anything, there’s a large selection of shops and market stalls as well as live entertainment from circus performers, to living statues it’s all there! I love wandering round soaking up the atmosphere and people watching.

Excellent place to spend a saturday afternoon. there is so much to do and EAT. if you want to spend a day with your partner i would advise you to go

A+++++++++++

Yeah I know, as a Londoner I try and avoid Covent gardne market liek the plague.

“Ooh look! A bloke standing really really still….hey wait, where did my wallet go?”

But every now and again it does surprise and delight. The recent Real Food Market was great for a quick lunchtime treat with loads of stalls sellign everythign from cheese, to burgers to sweets.

And when the sun is out and you can find a spot to reclien with a drink and watch the tourists, then you can feel the cynicism fall away and actually quite enjoy the place… for a while anyway :)

If you’re a tourist, this market is pretty great. But otherwise, it’s not really that fun. You kinda get that feeling walking around that you’re going to pay over the odds for something. So generally, i don’t buy anything.

But that doesn’t mean it’s not fun to look around. It is! People watching, and wondering around with friends is fun, just don’t buy anything you don’t really really want.

Covent Garden Market provides something for every taste and budget. It is a busy place but the stalls hold many unusual and unique items. You can grab some delicious food or fine jewellery and the market people are always friendly and amusing. There are great finds to be had for any London tourist or local. You can find items that cannot be found in normal stores. Some hand made items are so special they will be a true bargain.

Covent Garden Market is great - it’s always busy and there is always loads to see and even if you come by often, it’s never the same twice ! We always bring the schoolkids here on our trips to London for their freetime - it’s an enclosed square, it’s pedestrian and there’s plenty to keep them busy so it’s the safest place to let them roam free ! They always manage to find cheap tacky touristy bits with their pocket money but there are also some lovely unique handmand gifts and nice food on offer if you avoid the touristy stalls.

So, you are spending the day in London but for whatever reason you have done “the major tourist sights” and can’t see the difference between shopping in Oxford Street and at your out of town mall (other than the fact that it is easier to park, inside, less crowded, more compact but has the same shops). What do you do?

You could do worse than head to that area of London called Covent Garden. Covent Garden is possibly one of the most ill-defined areas of London. Most people think only of the market when they hear the name but in truth the area spreads further than that, out to Leicester Square to the west and the Strand to the south, Covent Garden is as spread out as it is diverse and there truly is something for everyone here.

The joy of Covent Garden is that there is a well defined starting point, Covent Garden Station accessible from the Piccadilly Line (the navy blue one!). One word of warning, Covent Garden tube station is one of the deepest on the underground network and access to the street is via one of four cavernous lifts. This can lead to congestion at the station (and indeed, on Saturdays the station is exit only from 1300 1700 due to the large numbers of people visiting the area). Don’t forget that you will need your ticket immediately you exit the lift so be prepared or you could get trampled! There are stairs to street level but there are an awful lot and you are warned at the base of the staircase not to attempt the climb unless you are sure. The alternative for those who can’t use lifts (or for getting back if the station is closed) is to use Leicester Square station (also on the Piccadilly Line, Northern Line and Bakerloo Line) which is a mere 0.16 miles as the crow flies (or the track lies!) from Covent Garden. Just follow the black signs!

I enjoy the atmosphere at the Covent Garden. You can shopping, eating and watch the performance form the artists for free.

The food there is not very good but not very bad, I would say it is more or less the average rate.

After you recharge from the meal you have, you can start to walk around to watch the show, shopping or visit other scenic spots.

What a great little market. We ate very well here today with a mix of pies from Pieminster, chicken wraps from Temple farm and salads from Market Quarter.

This is a wonderful place to come and eat or to buy fresh cheese, salad, olive oil, bread, cupcakes and more! I’ll be back with a shopping bag!