Covent Garden is a must see sight on many trips to London, but other than visiting the famous market, what else is there do here. Well, you could start with our list of fun and unusual things to do in Covent Garden. And there’s probably a couple on here that you haven’t seen everywhere else.
This post was first published in March 2023. It is checked and updated after my yearly London visit. Last update November 2026.
1. Head to the Ave Mario Toilet
Ave Mario is a super pretty Italian restaurant in Henrietta Street, Covent Garden. And yes, okay you should probably also enjoy one of the yummy pizza or pasta dishes, or grab a fun cocktail in the restaurant as part of your visit, but while you’re here don’t miss the fun neon extravaganza that is the bathrooms.
Make sure you take your phone for a loo selfie!
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The restaurant is super popular and so you should book a table before your visit.
Find booking details and the full menu here.
2. Get an Underground Coffee
The London Transport Museum in the piazza is a fun way to spend a morning, but don’t leave without grabbing a coffee or hot chocolate in the on-site cafe as it comes with this super cute Underground sign in powdered chocolate on the top.
They also have sandwiches and other dishes named after stations.
See more details of what’s inside and, check opening hours here.
If you’re already sold on the idea of a museum full of trains, buses and other fun stuff, you can buy a day pass for the London Transport Museum in advance and save on some queuing time.
If transport isn’t your thing, you can visit the cafe without buying an entry ticket. Just head upstairs as you enter.
3. Tour a Ghost Station
Talking of the London Underground, there are 40 disused stations on the London Underground network. For most of them, the closest you’ll get to them is whizzing past on the tube with the doors firmly closed, but Aldwych’s ghost station is different.
It closed in 1994, but, since then it’s been regularly used as filming location for films like V from Vendetta and 28 Weeks Later, TV series Sherlock and even the Firestarter video by The Prodigy (RIP Keith).
Image for illustration only. Not taken at Aldwych.
But you don’t need to be part of a film crew to come down here, you can also visit on a 75-minute long tour. Sadly, I did not know this was happening when I visited on this trip, but you can be certain I’m booking on it for my 2027 visit. Beat me to it and book on the tour now.
The tours are run by the London Transport Museum and they can also take you on tours of Holborn, Piccadilly, Charing Cross and Moorgate stations helping you see a side of them you haven’t seen before. Scan down on the link above and you’ll find a list of the other tours.
4. Drink a Cocktail Out of Britney Spears’ Head
Bunga 90 is a 1990’s themed bar in Covent Garden and it deserves about ten spots on this list… I mean I could used any of these headings for this section…
- You want to go to a bar hidden behind an old video store
- You want to enter your night out via a weird entrance portal
- You want a toilet you can sing karaoke in
- You have a thing for giant furbies or Mr Blobby
But I went for Britney because look at it! They also have cups shaped like Kevin from Home Alone and a few other icons of the decade.
Bunga 90 is located at 167 Drury Lane. It’s open 7 days a week. Doors open at 4pm on weekdays and at noon on weekends. Book via their website.
5. Embrace Your Inner Elphaba
Or Glinda, Elsa, Maria from West Side Story, one of the Queens from Six – basically, if they sing in a musical you might get the chance to belt out one of their tunes at Sing Out Louise – the musical theatre singalong night at the Phoenix Arts Club under the Phoenix Theatre on Charing Cross Road.
All the songs are requests and the resident pianists and singers can belt out pretty much anything from Broadway, off Broadway or the pen of Alan Menken et al! And the best bit is, you get to join in. This is not a concert, you can sing as loudly as you like.
I’ve been here twice now and it’s a testament to how much fun that I have had that I do not have one decent photo of the place!
Thankfully one of my friends at least took a picture of me having fun so I can show you something! I think this was during a particularly spirited rendition of Let it Go!
Check their opening hours and make table bookings here.
6. See Paddington, The Musical
If you are a musical theatre type, then this is probably already on your London bucket list, but if you are on the fence, I’m just going to tell you to do it.
I live in Sydney so I hadn’t seen anything about it apart from people raving about it, I had no idea what Paddington was going to look like – but, the second he walked onto stage I burst into tears.
The bear is adorable, the songs are fantastic and it’s basically a love letter to London. It deserves every accolade, every award, every sold out seat.
The tickets can be a bit spendy, but this was my view from the cheapest seats so, don’t let not being able to snaffle a seat in the stalls put you off.
It’s at the Savoy Theatre, check for tickets here.
Don’t forget to get a picture with the Paddington statue outside the merchandise shop beforehand (there’s a queue afterwards).
Other Fun Theatre Shows to See in Covent Garden
There’s a lot of theatres in Covent Garden with some fun and unusual shows to check out. Here’s four I’d suggest…
Six: The story of Henry the Eighth’s wives, told from their perspective. I’ve seen this three times, one of my friends has seen it 100 times! Buy a ticket here.
Matilda: Because everyone deserves to be a bit ‘norty’. Buy tickets here.
Avenue Q: Sweary, singing puppets, what more do you want? Maybe don’t take your gran to this one! Running until early Jan 2027. Find tickets here.
One Day: Starting in November and running to March 2027, it’s the musical version of the book and film. Okay, so this one might be a bit sad, but it is an unusual idea! Find tickets here.
7. Play Some Cool Games
Novelty Automation is technically a little outside Covent Garden, but not far enough outside for us to ignore it this post, because it’s fun.
It’s full of handmade arcade style machines, made by a cartoonist/engineer with a sense of humour. What that means is you can expect to play at being the paparazzi trying to chase J-Lo, get a mechanical foot massage and many, many other quirky activities.
Buy tokens when you arrive and play all the games you like until your money runs out.
Find it at 1a Princeton Street, WC1. They’re closed on a Monday. Find exact opening hours here.
8. Keep Hold of Your Potatoes
Okay, enough nightlife – let’s have a brief history interlude.
Covent Garden Market is probably the main tourist attraction around here, but while you’re wandering around the shops don’t miss this cool old sign revealing the rules of the old market – one of which is that you must not throw root vegetables!
So, if you’d been planning on launching a potato or parsnip at some point, just say no!
Oh, and here’s something I didn’t know until this morning the lights in Covent Garden Market building have pineapple shapes on the top – and the reason is said to be that it was the first place you could buy pineapples in England!
9. Visit the Cheese Train
Why wouldn’t you want to have lunch somewhere where plates of cheese revolve past you for the taking? Modelled on the sushi train experience, The Cheese Bar allows you to pick and cheese (their pun, not mine) your favourites.
You simply pick up your plates of Stilton, Brie, or whatever else is making it’s way round the conveyor in the day and the pay per plate at the end.
Find it in the Seven Dials complex which also has a lot of other eateries if you’re not feeling cheesy right there and then.
10. Get Out Your Dabber at Busy Lady Bingo
Tucked away down George Court, a tiny backstreet off of Charing Cross Road is Retro Bar.
This LQBTQ bar is already a fab place to visit because it’s full of cool old photos of popstars of your youth, but, on Sunday night, it’s home to Busy Lady Bingo with Sheila Simmonds, which I can only describe as fabulously and joyously unhinged.
Image: Paul Madeley. Used with permission of Sheila Simmonds.
Forget everything you know about bingo calling, 88 is just as likely to be something along the lines of ‘three whales dancing with a beach ball to Chesney Hawkes’ than it is two fat ladies.
Again, I was laughing too much to remember to actually take a photo! Seriously, I must remember that bit of this job!
Busy Lady Bingo is immensely popular so make a booking at Retro’s website.
11. Soak Your Cares Away
The Aire Ancient Baths is the perfect place to soak your feet, and the rest of you, after sightseeing.
The Aire chains’ USP is taking over old buildings with an interesting history and the one in Covent Garden is no exception.
It’s located in the old home of J.M. Barrie who wrote Peter Pan and there’s some tributes to the buildings historic resident in the spa’s reception.
Underground you’ll find a number of different baths where you can float, soak and relax. You can also book massages and other treatments to add to the effect of soaking in the baths.
Find it at 2-3 Rupert Street but make a booking in advance on their website
12. Get a Robot Cocktail
Sandbox VR is a building full of virtual reality experience rooms located on Museum Street in Covent Garden.
They have six different experiences and up to six people can play in a room at a time.
But my favourite bit was the robot barman who will shake you a cocktail after your session.
Book your rooms via their website.
13. Visit the Actor’s Church
And pay tribute to John Thaw!
Thaw was one of Britain’s best loved actors known for this role in Inspector Morse and The Sweeney, so it’s no surprise that he has a bench dedicated to him in what’s know as the Actor’s Church in Covent Garden. You’ll find it in the small courtyard behind the church.
There are a lot of tribute benches in the garden and some of themhave some quite moving engravings on them.
Inside the church you’ll see even more famous names – plaques on the pews and other adornments immortalise famous actors that have passed.
So, if it’s open, pop in (remembering it is a working church so please be quiet particularly if there’s anyone worshipping inside)
You’ll also find memorial benches to other famous people in London. We have talked about the tribute to Kirsty McColl in our post on unusual things to do in Soho, but there’s also a tribute bench to comedian Rik Mayall in Hammersmith.
14. Take in a Show at Cellar Door
This fun bar is located in an old public toilet on the Aldwych.
Thankfully they’ve smartened things up a bit since the infamous days were they were frequented for erm, more interesting purposes, by the likes of Oscar Wilde – and they make a good cocktail.
Also, their own loos are kind of intriguing.
As well as drinks they also have nightly live acts – from drag and burlesque to DJs spinning some tunes, and the bar is very small so best check what’s on when you’re visiting.
Check this and their opening hours here.
We went to the bar at the end of the fun London Loo Tour which takes in a few other interesting sights in Covent Garden. See more about the Loo Tour here.
15. Find the Tiny Roads
Two roads/alleys in and around Covent Garden compete for the title of London’s Smallest Road
Apparently the title goes to Emerald Court in WC1 (below) which is located just round the corner from Novelty Automation and shrinks down to 26 inches at its narrowest point
But you should also check out Brydges Place which runs between St Martin’s Lane and Bedfordbury in Covent Garden. It’s just 33 inches wide in places.
Having been down them both I’d say it’s tight (sorry, between me and the cheese people the puns aren’t getting any better!)
READ THIS NEXT: Both these tiny roads appear in our piece on Hidden London – which features 24 sights that you might have walked past without noticing. You might want to check that out when you’ve finished this one.
16. Spot the Tiny Temple
Sometimes when I’m wandering around areas I see cool things, snap pictures of them and then try and find out what they are later.
Sometimes, I can’t find out the answer… this is one of those things.
It’s located at the end of Exchange Court and Maiden Lane – but I have no idea what it is, why it’s there or who made it.
If you do, please let me know!
But even without knowing why, you had to admire the fact that there’s what looks like a mini Greek temple for mice in the middle of Covent Garden!
17. Head to Rules
Down the road from the tiny mystery temple is a temple to British cuisine!
Rules, in Maiden Lane, is well known as London’s oldest restaurant but it gets its mention here as a filming location.
It’s the restaurant where Bond meets Q, Moneypenny and M in Spectre.
If you want to know more about films made around London, book a movie locations walking tour.
Rules is so important the building has now been gifted to the National Trust to preserve it for posterity.
18. Have Afternoon Tea at Brigit’s Bakery
I know Brigit’s best known for their afternoon tea bus tour but, they also have a more stationary bakery in Chandos Plac, Covent Garden – and it does a wicked afternoon tea.
If that’s not your thing you can pick from individual cakes, cakes with champers or savoury dishes like salads or sandwiches.
Which brings us to another quirky Covent Garden fact – apparently it’s where the sandwich was invented.
Legend has it that the Earl of Sandwich was playing cards in a pub (which isn’t there any more or you know we’d be despatching you off to visit Sarnie Central) and so he ordered some meat between two pieces of bread to stop his hands getting greasy. The idea took off and we never had to think about what to make for lunch again!
What to Read Next
If you liked this you might also like our guide to quirky things to do in King’s Cross which includes a great cheese toastie and references to the Spice Girls!
One of the most fun things we did on our most recent London trip was to take a Mystery Picnic around Camden. See what that involves – and ogle pictures of the yummy food we tried, in our London Mystery Picnic Review.
We also rode around Soho on a beer bike listening to Abba – which was quite the thing! If you’ve seen the bikes on your travels and wondered what they’re like, check out our review of the Soho Beer Bike here.
Lastly, there’s not a lot of street art in Covent Garden – but we do know of a very cool area that’s full of the stuff. And it’s not where you might expect. Check out Jane Murphy’s guide to the cool street art area of Penge in South London.
Who Writes Differentville?
My name is Helen Foster and I’m a journalist and author living in Sydney.
My travel articles have been published in titles including The Australian, Body & Soul at the Sunday Telegraph, RAC Horizons, Jetstar magazine and more.
I like the weird, the wonderful and anything that makes me jump and down with glee like I’m about three. That’s what you’ll find here.