I must confess to not knowing London well, but on each visit, I discover more and more of the local neighbourhoods that make up the city and are worth enjoying individually.

A taste of England at its best- Caroline Crutchley

One of them lies within the City of Westminster, Covent Garden. In the time of King John, it was a 40-acre garden for the convent of St Peter and Westminster Abbey, with monks supplying quality fruit and vegetables to London’s tables. Always a popular place, it has morphed through the ages into a little gem.

Architect Inigo Jones was commissioned to develop the garden. As a lover of all things Italian, he set about creating a piazza-style area, not seen before in London in the 1600s. These days, the square is dominated by an iron, stone and glass structure that became Covent Garden Market.

It was in 1650 that the first fruit and vegetable market was held in the piazza when pineapples were new and had never been displayed before.

They were used by the architects in motifs found on everything, from stone carvings to light fittings that are still there today.

The Great Fire left the building untouched and made it even more important, as it continued to supply exotic fruits from around the world.

In 1925, Stooky Bill became the first TV star, when J. L. Baird transmitted the first ever pictures from the area.

The Freemasons Arms in Long Acre was where the Football Association was formed in 1863 over a few pints and is now a mecca for footie fanatics.

Entertainment was always on the agenda, from the premiere of the original Punch and Judy show to bare knuckle fights at the famous Lamb and Flag public house on Rose Street. Its backyard was gruesomely called the “bucket of blood”.

The Bohemian atmosphere drew in writers and artists that made this into theatreland. The Theatre Royal on Drury Lane is the oldest theatre still in operation in London.

The Royal Opera and Ballet House is an imposing building open to the public during the day. I stood and people-watched from the balcony overlooking the piazza.

As I ambled quietly around craft stalls on a very clement day for England, I enjoyed the free entertainment magicians and musicians performed under the glass roof.

The performers have to audition to make sure that they are up to standard. The whole place teems with craft stalls laden with individually designed goods to explore.

In the Jubilee Market, an antiques bazaar now flourishes where flowers were once sold. Adjacent is the London Transport Museum (www.ltmuseum.co.uk), where I relived the days of steam and traced back the story of the underground system of London.

Streets named after kings, queens and earls made the area a definite upmarket destination with grand houses, fit for a gentleman, lining them.

The area bounded by St Martins Lane, Drury Lane, Floral and Maiden Streets is a quarter of London that exudes character. St Paul’s Church (not to be confused with the more famous cathedral) became known as the actors’ church, as it was within walking distance of many theatres.

The original magistrates’ courthouse is where the Bow Street Runners were founded in 1749. With entertainment, drinking, women, and all associated trappings, they were kept busy.

Casanova, Sweeny Todd and Dr Crippen all appeared before the ‘Beak’ at Bow Street Magistrates Court. Samuel Derrick was purported to be a complier of the Harris’s List of Covent Garden Ladies, which in fact was a list of up to 200 ‘ladies of the night’.

The hardest part of eating out is choosing from the many cafés and bistros. Try the Battersea Pie Station for good old English pie and mash. The Covent Garden Kitchen and the Crusting Pipe are typical Victorian eateries.

The Punch and Judy Bar is ideal for viewing street performers from the balcony and it was packed on the sunny day that I was there. In the surrounding streets, more upmarket restaurants are everywhere for the pre- or post-theatre crowds.

The oldest restaurant still going strong is Rules in Maiden Lane, which opened in 1798.

It is famed for game birds and venison from its own estates in the Pennines of north England (www.rules.co.uk). Charles Dickens was a regular and so too was Lillie Langtry and her Prince.

The Seven Dials area is a labyrinth of alleys with quirky shops and cafés to browse. I was mesmerised and intrigued by the use of bright pinks and yellows on each building. It seemed each shop tried to outshine the other.

Hotels such as the Bloomsbury, Covent Garden and the Radisson give you a base right in the heart of the area. Try out the Saturday night film club at the Covent Garden Hotel (www.firmdale.com), where there is a 47-seater screening room showing current blockbusters.

The hotel often hosts the American screen industry, so you never know who you might be sitting next to.

For the opera buffs, afternoon tea in the Brasserie Max is followed by a screening from the nearby Royal Opera House. With champagne on ice, it cannot get more decadent than that.

A former graveyard that featured in the Dickens novel, Bleak House, is now Drury Lane Gardens, a peaceful place to rest my aching feet.

Covent Garden in the 1600s had been designed to be the playground of the wealthy aristocracy and today it draws millions into its heart.

With the London Olympics upon us, this village will give a taste of England at its best.