Covent Garden and Soho Self-Guided Audio Walk: Trafalgar Square, Chinatown and Seven Dials
1 hour and 25 minutes
About this experience
London's West End was drawn on paper first, by an earl, a speculator, a Victorian board of works and a king, and almost every plan came out differently on the ground. Start in Trafalgar Square, under a column its own architect opposed, then pass St Martin-in-the-Fields and walk Cecil Court, the lane of the early film trade. Cross Leicester Square, whose garden a court kept open, and Chinatown on a street of the 1680s. In Soho, see the house where television was first demonstrated, then reach Seven Dials, with six sundials for seven streets, and Neal's Yard. End at the Royal Opera House and the Covent Garden piazza, laid out by Inigo Jones, where the church's grand door is false. Eleven stops, about 2.3 km and 85 minutes, level, in English, at your own pace. Royal Opera House tours and museum tickets are not included.
- Experience type
- Day tour or activity
- Duration
- 1 hour and 25 minutes
- Guide
- English
- Audio guide
- English
- Categories
- Walking tour · Cultural and theme tours · City tours
What's included
Self-guided audio tour in English: 11 stops, 2.3 km, 85 minutes Stops at Nelson's Column, St Martin-in-the-Fields, Cecil Court's bookshops GPS map and walking directions in your phone browser, no app needed Lifetime access: start any day, at any hour, and replay it
What's not included
A live guide: you set the pace and the pauses A fixed start time: begin whenever you arrive Museum and monument tickets, all optional extras Tip or gratuity Food and drinks Entry or admission fee
Please note
To start the tour, enter the ticket code from your confirmation on the Roamer redemption page linked there. Do this before you set off, while you still have signal. The tour then opens in your phone browser, with no app to download. Bring a charged phone and earphones. Mobile data helps; if you have none, open the tour on wifi before you set off. Best time: A weekday, starting between about 10:00 and 14:00, so the bookshops of Cecil Court are open and you reach the piazza while the street performers are working (Westminster's 2021 busking policy sets the Covent Garden pitches at 11:00 to 21:00; whether that still holds in 2026 is unconfirmed). Leicester Square, Chinatown and the piazza are at their most crowded on weekend afternoons and evenings, and Trafalgar Square often hosts rallies and events at weekends. Checked 7 October 2026. Getting to the start: Charing Cross station (Bakerloo and Northern lines, National Rail) is a couple of minutes' walk from the north side of Trafalgar Square; Embankment (Bakerloo, Circle, District, Northern) and Leicester Square (Northern, Piccadilly) are also close, and many bus routes stop around the square. On 7 October 2026 TfL reported severe delays on the Bakerloo line, so check TfL on the day. Checked 7 October 2026. Getting home: Covent Garden station (Piccadilly line) is a few minutes from the piazza; TfL lists lifts and no escalators there. Leicester Square station is a short walk west. Checked 7 October 2026. The Fourth Plinth (stop 1), at the square's north-west corner, shows a new sculpture every two years. Since 10 September 2026 it has carried Lady in Blue by Tschabalala Self, a bronze painted blue, until 2028 (Greater London Authority). Checked 7 October 2026. St Martin-in-the-Fields (stop 2) is a working church whose opening hours change week by week: in the week from 5 October 2026 it opened Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 8:30 to 17:00, Wednesday to 19:30, Friday and Saturday 9:00 to 17:00 and Sunday 9:00 to 18:00. The Cafe in the Crypt has its own hours. Check stmartin-in-the-fields.org before you go. Checked 7 October 2026. The National Gallery, behind stop 1, is free; its usual hours are 10:00 to 18:00, later on Fridays, but this could not be confirmed on the gallery's own site. Check nationalgallery.org.uk. Checked 7 October 2026. John Snow's cholera pump: about ten minutes west of Chinatown, on Broadwick Street, stands a replica of the water pump that Snow linked to the 1854 cholera outbreak by mapping the cases, persuading the authorities to remove its handle (London Museum). A detour off the route, there and back. Royal Opera House (stop 10): the building opens daily from 12:00 and stays open until after the evening performance; it is cashless and runs strict bag checks. Ticketed Behind the Scenes tours run from 8 October to 21 December 2026. Details at rbo.org.uk. Checked 7 October 2026. Bow Street Museum of Crime and Justice (beside stop 10) is a small ticketed museum in the old police station, open Friday to Sunday 11:00 to 16:30 at about 8 pounds, booked in advance, according to a listing last checked in May 2026; confirm before you go. Checked 7 October 2026. At stop 11 the way into St Paul's Church, the actors' church, is round the back through the churchyard from Bedford Street; the grand portico on the piazza has no door that opens. Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square are among the worst places in London for phone theft. Hold your phone firmly while you listen, and keep bags closed in the crowds. Main roads: cross St Martin's Place, Charing Cross Road and Shaftesbury Avenue only at the lights (and the side arm by William IV Street at its zebras). On Long Acre, at the end of Neal Street, there are no lights: use the zebra crossing on the raised table a few steps to the west, beside Covent Garden station. Film premieres can close parts of Leicester Square at short notice. If the corner at stop 4 is fenced off, listen from the pavement of Cranbourn Street and carry on. The pavements at stops 2 and 10 are narrow and beside traffic: stay on the pavement and do not step into the road to look up. Seven Dials, Neal Street and the Covent Garden piazza are paved with setts: step-free but uneven, so watch your footing with a pushchair or wheelchair. Delivery vehicles use Neal Street and the piazza in the mornings until about 11:00. Keep to the route and watch for vans. Neal's Yard is a courtyard of private shops with homes around it; keep noise down, especially in the evening. The UK national terrorism threat level was raised to Severe on 30 April 2026 (gov.uk, 1 May 2026). Busy places carry extra security and bag checks; stay aware of your surroundings. Checked 7 October 2026. Public transportation nearby
Itinerary
- 1Day 0
Trafalgar Square: The Column Barry Opposed
Trafalgar Square, north terrace, WC2N 5DN, London
A square over the old stables, then redrawn. Nelson's Column went up over the objections of the architect who designed the terrace.
- 2Day 0
St Martin-in-the-Fields: Temple and Steeple
St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, WC2N 4JH, London
A temple front with a steeple. James Gibbs's church of 1722 to 1726 became a model copied as far away as the American colonies.
- 3Day 0
Cecil Court: Flicker Alley
Cecil Court, between St Martin's Lane and Charing Cross Road, WC2N 4EZ, London
A lane of antiquarian booksellers. Before the books came the early British film trade, which gave the lane its nickname.
- 4Day 0
Leicester Square: The Garden a Court Saved
Leicester Square, north-east entrance, WC2H 7NA, London
A 1670s square saved by a court. Its garden survives because a court in 1848 forbade building on it.
- 5Day 0
Chinatown: Gerrard Street's Opening Day
Gerrard Street, Chinatown, W1D 5PR, London
Gerrard Street and its Chinese lions. Its Chinese lions were unveiled as the formal opening on 29 October 1985.
- 6Day 0
Old Compton Street: A Builder's Grid
Old Compton Street at Frith Street, Soho, W1D 4RT, London
Soho's grid laid by a bricklayer. Up Frith Street is the attic where television was first demonstrated in 1926.
- 7Day 0
Cambridge Circus: Two Victorian Roads
Cambridge Circus, by the Palace Theatre, WC2H 8PA, London
Two Victorian roads at one junction, built only after new homes were. Across the circus, the Palace Theatre was built as an opera house.
- 8Day 0
Seven Dials: Six Faces, Seven Streets
Seven Dials, WC2H 9HD, London
Seven streets round one pillar. The pillar has only six sundials, and the one here is a 1989 copy.
- 9Day 0
Neal's Yard: The Yard Nobody Drew
Neal's Yard, Covent Garden, WC2H 9DP, London
A derelict yard small shops revived. At its mouth, a water clock built to make flowers grow.
- 10Day 0
Royal Opera House: The Third Theatre
Royal Opera House, Bow Street, WC2E 9DD, London
The third theatre on this spot, after two fires. It opened in 1858, and its front carries sculpture saved from the theatre before it.
- 11Day 0
Covent Garden: The Square a King Redrew
Covent Garden Piazza, by St Paul's Church, WC2E 8RF, London
The first residential London square, edited by a king. Inigo Jones laid it out, and its church's grand portico fronts a door that leads nowhere.
Meeting point
Trafalgar Square, London Trafalgar Square, north terrace, WC2N 5DN, London, England, GB
Pick up
Pickup is not provided.
Cancellation policy · Covent Garden and Soho Self-Guided Audio Walk: Trafalgar Square, Chinatown and Seven Dials
Standard Viator policy
- Cancellation 0–24 hours before departure: 100% cancellation fee.
- Cancellation 24–24000 hours before departure: 0% cancellation fee.
Good to know
Operated by Roamer and sold by AGORA. Your voucher and booking reference arrive by email straight after payment.