Travel Channel

OK, so it’s touristy. But it’s the place where tourists and Londoners come together, and it feels like the real heart of London. At its heart is the historic piazza. The halls are lined with boutiques, and there is a formal program of street entertainment including opera, bands, conjurers, you name it. The atmosphere here, and in the open space between the halls and St. Paul’s Church, is among the happiest in London. Immediately north, is a grid of streets that contain London’s best clothes shopping. Those on Long Acre are mainly chain stores, but parallel is the wonderful Floral Street. North of this is Seven Dials, where seven streets radiate out from a small obelisk. Walking along these streets, lined with intimate 18th and 19th century shops and warehouses, is one of my favorite things to do in London. And as if this were not enough, the Royal Opera House and some of London’s greatest theatres (Drury Lane, etc.) are right in the middle. London is Covent Garden.