Covent Garden, Leicester Square & Holborn: London

Come prepared to battle the crowds in Covent Garden and Leicester Square as the area never seems to quiet down regardless of the time of day or night. Covent Garden, home to the Royal Opera House, Royal Ballet and numerous west-end theatres, provides for culture fiends, with the street performers in the piazza providing for more unconventional entertainment. If you can somehow snag a spot on the balcony of the Punch and Judy pub, grab a pint and watch the performances in comfort.

The cobbled streets of the area allude to its history as a fruit and vegetable market, though it is now home to high-end restaurants and bars catering to the rich and famous (the Ivy, just north of Seven Dials, is still THE place to catch a glimpse of a famous face). If you want to try to catch some live filming then head to Lincoln's Inn Fields in Holborn, where on the weekends the quiet squares of the legal centre of London hosts filming for period films and programs.

Leicester Square unfortunately remains fairly unremarkable, acting as a thoroughfare from Covent Garden to Piccadilly Circus more than anything else, but venture north into Chinatown and the atmosphere quickly changes. © NileGuide