Covent Garden Piazza

The lowdown

Covent Garden Piazza was laid out in the 1630s by Inigo Jones as the first great planned square in London, modelled on the piazzas of Italy. For centuries it was the city's main fruit and vegetable market, and when the traders moved out the handsome old market halls were saved and reborn as shops, stalls and cafes, all free to wander.

The piazza is famous for its street performers, and this is no accident, it is the oldest licensed street-theatre site in the country. Samuel Pepys recorded watching a Punch and Judy show here in 1662, marked today by a plaque, and a constant rotation of jugglers, opera singers and human statues still works the cobbles for the crowds.

Around the square sit the covered Apple Market, the grand portico of St Paul's, the actors' church, and a tangle of streets full of shops and theatres. You can spend hours, and a lot of money, but watching the performers and soaking up the atmosphere costs nothing.