A Walk around Covent Garden
Morning
Take the tube to Leicester Square and visit the latest exhibition at the Photographer’s Gallery.
Head up Monmouth Street, where the delicious smell of coffee roasting will lead you to the Monmouth Coffee Company for coffee and a pastry. Continue up Monmouth Street to the small entrance to Neal’s Yard
and buy soap at Neal’s Yard Remedies. Check out Neal’s Yard Dairy round
the corner in Short’s Gardens, and explore the shops in Earlham Street.
Visit Covent Garden Piazza (see The Piazza and Central Market) for the street entertainers outside Inigo Jones’ elegant St Paul’s Church. Take a look inside before lunch in the
Royal Opera House’s
Amphitheatre Restaurant, with its wonderful views.
Afternoon
Before leaving the Piazza, pop into Benjamin Pollock’s Toyshop, then turn down Russell Street and Wellington Street to the Strand. Cross the road and turn left to
Somerset House
, home of the Courtauld Institute of Art Gallery.
Start with their collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist
paintings. Pause to relax by the Courtyard fountains or at the River
Terrace Café before checking out the new Embankment Galleries at
riverside level, with exhibitions dedicated to a programme of
contemporary arts, including design, fashion, architecture and
photography.
The Best of the Rest
Free Entertainment
Every
day from 8am–10pm there are street entertainers in the Piazza, while
opera singers and classical musicians perform in the Central Market
areas.
The Sanctuary
A totally hedonistic day can be spent in this women-only spa with pools, jacuzzis, saunas and solarium.
Africa Centre
The centre has a restaurant and bar as well as a bookshop on two floors. Ethnic goods are also sold.
Victoria Embankment Gardens
In summer, outdoor concerts are held in these attractive gardens by the river.
Savoy Hotel
Enjoy a traditional afternoon tea in the Thames Foyer of this grand old London hotel .
London Coliseum
Built
in 1904, the home of the English National Opera has retained its
Edwardian flavour, with gilded cherubs and scarlet curtains in the foyer .
Globe atop London Coliseum
River Entertainment
Two ships moored near the Embankment are open to the public: RS Hispaniola offers pianists and singers with dinner, while the Queen Mary has bars on its sunny decks.
Oasis Sports Centre
Famous for its heated outdoor pool, studios, squash courts, gym and sunbeds.
32 Endell Street WC2
Admission charge
Players Theatre
The
company at this tiny Victorian theatre recreates traditional music hall
shows. Check their website for details of upcoming events.
Bush House
Home
of the BBC World Service, Bush House has an imposing portico on its
north side. In the arcade on the south side, the BBC World Service Shop
sells DVDs, tapes, videos and books.
Shopping
Floral Street
This stylish street is home to Paul Smith, which sells trendy clothes, Camper shoes and cool French designer Agnes B.
Shorts Gardens
One
of the best places for streetwear, this street is home to G-Star,
Boxfresh and Miss Sixty, along with beauty shops and Neal’s Yard Dairy.
Neal’s Yard Remedies
Remedies and toiletries, all made with purely natural ingredients, have been sold at this shop for over twenty years.
Stanford’s
With
an extensive range of travel guides, literature and maps, this shop is a
traveller’s paradise. The basement is devoted to the British Isles and
sailing.
Specialist travel book shop, Stanford’s
Ellis Brigham
All the outdoor gear you could ever want plus lots of useful gadgets and gizmos.
Octopus
Home
to a kooky collection of colourful bags, eye-catching jewellery,
luggage and household goods. Ideal for unusual gifts for children and
adults alike.
Penhaligon’s
In
business since 1870, this traditional perfumery carries a glorious
range of old-fashioned English scents and soaps for men and women.
Perfect for gifts.
Benjamin Pollock’s Toyshop
The place to go for toy theatres, theatrical gifts and traditional toys such as puppets and musical boxes.
The Tea House
Over
a hundred teas – from Moroccan Minty to Mango & Maracuja – are on
sale at this speciality shop in Neal Street. There are also novelty
teapots and books on how to master the very English art of tea-making.
Thomas Neal Centre
This
upmarket designer shopping mall has a range of fashionable boutiques
over two floors. On the lower floor there is a pleasant café and
restaurant.
