Covent Garden Market in central London is a historic and vibrant market area featuring a mix of artisan stalls, shops, restaurants, and cultural attractions. Today, the main markets found within Covent Garden are:
Apple Market: Handmade crafts, jewellery, artwork, and British-made goods; on Mondays, it transforms into an antiques and collectables market.
East Colonnade Market: Selling soaps, sweets, jewellery, children’s clothing, handicrafts, and more.
Jubilee Market: Features antiques on Mondays, a general market Tuesday through Friday (offering goods such as plants, cards, and homewares), and arts and crafts at weekends.
 
Covent Garden’s history dates back to around the 1200s when the area was fields owned by Westminster Abbey, referred to as “the garden of the Abbey and Convent,” which is where the name Covent Garden originated. In 1540, the land was granted to John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford, and about a century later, his descendant transformed it with the support of King Charles I into London’s first public square, designed by Inigo Jones in 1630, called the Piazza.
 
The market itself began informally around 1654 with fruit, vegetable, and flower stalls appearing in the gardens of Bedford House. In 1670, King Charles II granted a license to hold a market there daily except Sundays and Christmas, marking Covent Garden as a major market for fresh produce.
 
interesting facts...
When Covent Garden’s buildings were leased by property company CapCo, the annual rent paid to the Covent Garden Area Trust included a literal red apple and a posy of flowers for each lease, preserving a whimsical tradition from the district’s produce-selling days
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Covent Garden was a hub not only for commerce but also for raucous nightlife—taverns, coffee houses, gambling dens, and even brothels flourished. An infamous publication, “Harris’s List of Covent Garden Ladies,” even catalogued the district’s sex workers for society gentlemen