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Some of the most innovative British designers have worked for London Transport, and their posters and furnishings are on display here. See vehicles that have served the city for two centuries. The bookshop sells souvenir model buses, taxis and goods displaying the distinctive London Underground symbol.

This delightful enclave is full of colour, with painted shop fronts, flower-filled window-boxes and oil-drums and cascades of plants tumbling down the walls. This is alternative London, with wholefoods and such alternative therapies as Chinese medicines, walk-in back rubs, acupuncture and self-esteem training. Try the wholesome bread and cakes at Neal’s Yard Bakery and be amazed by the variety of British cheeses on offer in nearby Neal’s Yard Dairy.

London’s impressive premier music venue is home to both the Royal Opera and Royal Ballet Companies. The present Neo-Classical theatre was designed in 1858 by E M Barry and incorporated a portico frieze recovered from the previous building, which had been destroyed by fire. The Opera House has recently spread its wings into the lovely Floral Hall, once part of Covent Garden market and now housing a champagne bar.

Once a grand riverside palace, and later home to the Navy Board, Somerset House is now partly occupied by the Civil Service. A large amount of the building, though, is open to the public. Aside from the Courtauld Gallery it houses the Gilbert Collection of decorative art and the Hermitage Rooms, which display a collection of art from the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, Russia.

For 300 years, Covent Garden was a fruit, vegetable and flower market – immortalized by Lerner and Loewe’s hit musicalMy Fair Lady . In 1980 the Victorian halls, with their lovely iron and glass roofs, were transformed into a vibrant, modern-day market place, surrounded by cafés and bars and enlivened by regular street entertainment.

Shops and cafés in the former market area

Street entertainment in Covent Garden

Clowns in Covent Garden

Right in the heart of theatreland, this museum thrives on regular exhibitions and events, including costume workshops and make-up demonstrations. The galleries chart the development of British theatre from Shakespeare’s day. Buy a ticket for a combined tour of the museum and the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

Drury Lane is synonymous with the London stage and this glorious theatre explains why. It has a splendid entrance, with magnificent stairways leading to the circle seats. The auditorium is large enough to put on the biggest musical extravaganzas, includingSouth Pacific ,My Fair Lady ,Hello Dolly and Miss Saigon . The first theatre on this site was built in 1663 for Charles II whose mistress Nell Gwynne trod the boards.