SOHO AND COVENT GARDEN - London - page 136

The proximity of so many theatres has earned this church the nickname of the “ Actors'
Church ”, and it's filled with memorials to international thespians from Boris Karloff to
Gracie Fields. The space in front of the church's Tuscan portico - where Eliza Doolittle was
discovered selling violets by Henry Higgins in George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion - is now
a legalized venue for the piazza's buskers and street performers, who must audition for a
slot months in advance. Round the back, the churchyard provides a tranquil respite from
the activity outside.
LONDON TRANSPORT MUSEUM
Covent Garden Piazza Covent Garden 020 7379 6344, www.ltmuseum.co.uk .Daily 10am-6pm, Fri
11am-6pm.£15. MAP
Housed in the piazza's former flower market, the ever-popular London Transport Museum is
a surefire hit for families with kids under ten. To follow the story of London's transport
chronologically, head for Level 2, where you'll find a reconstructed 1829 Shillibeer's Horse
Omnibus, which provided the city's first regular horse-bus service. Level 1 tells the story of
the world's first underground system and contains a lovely 1920s Metropolitan line carriage,
fitted out in burgundy and green with pretty, drooping lamps. Down on the ground floor,
you can peep inside the first tube train, from the 1890s, whose lack of windows earned it the
nickname “the padded cell”. Most of the interactive stuff is aimed at kids, but visitors of all
ages should check out the tube driver simulator. The artistically inclined can buy reproduc-
tions of the Tube's stylish maps and posters, many commissioned from well-known artists,
at the shop on the way out.
ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
Bow St Covent Garden 020 7304 4000, www.roh.org.uk . MAP
The arcading in the northeast corner of the piazza was rebuilt as part of the multi-million
pound refurbishment of the Royal Opera House. whose Neoclassical facade, dating from
1811, opens onto Bow Street (which you can reach via a passageway in the corner of the ar-
cading). The market's spectacular wrought-iron Floral Hall (daily 10am-3pm) now serves
as the opera house's impressive first-floor foyer; both this and the glorious terrace overlook-
ing the piazza, beyond the Amphitheatre bar/restaurant, are open to the public. Backstage
tours (Mon-Fri 10.30am, 12.30 and 2.30pm; Sat hourly 10.30am-2.30pm; £12) of the op-
era house are also available.