London - Inner Squares & Plazas

Prior to 1630, Covent Garden was part of Westminster Abbey but throughout the years the area has become a district in itself and is known for its trendy boutiques and lively atmosphere. Largely a pedestrian area, visitors can enjoy browsing the market stalls and shops or watch the many street performers who daily entertain Londoners and tourists alike. Next to the Covent Garden tube station.

Tavistock Square was developed in 1820, after a design by Thomas Cubitt, on land owned by the Duke of Bedford. Found around the square are the headquarters of the British medical Association, University buildings, a plaque commemmorating Charles Dickens (who once lived on the site of the current BMA offices), a memorial to the victims of Hiroshima, and a statue of Mahatma Gandhi.

Red Lion Square is said to be haunted by the ghosts of Oliver Cromwell and john Bradshaw, who presided over the execution of King Charles I in 1649.

Leicester Square is a small pedestrianised square in London's West End and is a popular tourist destination for its close proximity to several large cinemas and the West End theatres. In the middle of the square is TKTS, the official London theatre ticket booth where visitors can find half-price tickets to several shows later that day.

Trafalgar Square is often London's focal point. For the locals, it is where they are drawn to for celebration and protest. Visitors come to admire Admiral Horatio Nelson, defeater of Napoleon at Cape Trafalgar, who looks down from the top of a huge column. Sadly, the pigeons have been evicted after being labelled a health risk. It is now illegal to feed the birds in the square. Every year, the city of Oslo in Norway donates a huge Christmas tree to London in recognition of British support in the Second World War. This huge Norwegian Spruce is always erected in Trafalgar Square.