Moving to London: London Sights – Play the Tourist Now That You’re Local!

Moving to London: London Sights – Street Performers at Covent Gardens - Image via Wikipedia

Author: Belinda

Just because you are now living in London is no reason for you not to have some fun in the city by exploring the tourist attractions that London has to offer. It is all part of the great London experience as well as being an excellent way of familiarising yourself with this bustling sometimes confusing city.

My Fair Lady

Everyone remembers the classic film ‘My fair Lady’, where Audrey Hepburn plays the impoverished flower seller Eliza Doolittle, who is transformed into a lady by Henry Higgins. The opening scenes were set in the flower market at Covent Garden, which is a landmark in London, both from a sense of history as well as being one of the busiest, places to be seen in for the trendy set in London. It is one of the most famous sights in all of London. Busy and exciting, it has a completely unique sense of British style fused with modern cosmopolitan fun for the whole family.

With its place in history cemented, as the first public square in London, it was known as Covent Square and was in fact a vegetable garden that supplied fresh produce to the church and to the monks that lived nearby. Since then, Covent Garden has always had a tradition of selling fresh produce and flowers. It is an open-air market that is also open at night and it offers Londoners the chance to purchase some of the freshest vegetables from farms around England and even as far afield as Europe. With decor and architecture that is in keeping with the original design of the square, it has a distinctly ‘olde-worlde’ feel to it despite the ultra modern and chic cafes that line the square. The flower market from the turn of the last century is no longer there and today it is the home of the Theatre Museum. Covent Garden is the home of many of the top London Theatres as well as the Royal Opera House.

Once you’re done with the visual sights, then you have to spend some time at the modern sidewalk cafes. This is one for ‘the’ destinations for the young and uber trendy in the London social scene; and boy does London have a social scene complete with a social hierarchy! Trendy celebrity eateries, share pavement space with Italian cafes and shops selling oddities, and collectibles. One of the highlights for visitors to Covent Garden are the famous street performers who dazzle with their displays of bizarre performance art, mime, and musical busking. Many of the performers do this for a living, so your appreciation for their talent is always welcome by dropping a few quid into their hats!

Related posts:

1. Relocating to London – London Sights
2. London Bundle: The Embankment/Strand Strip (PART II)
3. London Locations: Covent Garden’s Seven Dials
4. Cook Like a Local When You Relocate to London: Cottage Pie
5. Moving to London – The City is Your Oyster

Tags: Americans moving to London, canadians moving to london, London, london move, london moving, Moving to London, moving to London England
This entry was posted on: Wednesday, December 8th, 2010 at 7:11 am and is filed under Moving to London: London Sightseeing, Moving to London: Tips & Culture.
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