Off The Beaten Path On The Beaten Path: Covent Garden

If you were to name London’s most famous squares or plazas, you’d probably list Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square and Covent Garden (which is really a square).

For a famous square/piazza, I’m always surprised at the amount of visitors who ask where it is and have actually missed it off their things to see. Now, this is probably a good thing, as the former 17th century vegetable market and surrounding square is actually a bit lacking in interesting places to eat, shop and explore. The main market building, set in a classical-style cobbled stone square, is well restored and kept, and there’s the Royal Opera House of course, but the numerous shops are a bit bland – you have your designer brands (Burberry, Ben Sherman, Chanel), chain restaurants (Patisserie Valerie, Jamie’s Union Jacks, Le Pain), the Apple Store and the quite frankly uninspired ‘street performers’ – does dressing up as a silver painted statue really require a million photos?