Bow Street · Covent Garden · London WC2E 9DD
Royal Opera House: check the running time first
Most venues finish at half ten. Opera does not necessarily. A full-length work with two intervals can run past eleven, and a short ballet triple bill can be done by half nine. The running time is published, it varies by nearly two hours, and booking a car without checking it is the mistake made here.
The spread between the shortest and longest evenings at this house. A one-act ballet and a full Wagner opera are both sold as a night at the Royal Opera House, and they end at completely different times.
Four categories, four different finishes
Look at your ticket or the house's website before you arrange anything. It takes a moment and it settles the whole evening.
Out by 21:30
Two or three short works with intervals. The earliest finish here by a distance.
Out around 22:15
A three-act narrative ballet. Conventional theatre timings.
Out around 22:30
Most of the repertoire. Two or three acts with intervals.
Out at 23:00 or later
Wagner and the longer works. Genuinely long evenings, and worth knowing in advance.
Covent Garden is pedestrianised
The piazza and much of the surrounding area is closed to vehicles, which decides where the car can be.
| Area | Vehicle access | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Covent Garden piazza | None | Pedestrian only. The nearest vehicles get is the surrounding streets. |
| Bow Street | Restricted | The theatre frontage. A brief set-down at most. |
| Kingsway and Aldwych | Yes | Wider roads to the east. Our usual collection side. |
| Drury Lane | Limited | Narrow and busy with several theatres emptying at once. |
| The Strand | Yes | To the south, and useful for anyone heading back over the river. |
Covent Garden from Kent
WC2 is just north of the river, which keeps this among the shorter central London runs from our patch.
| Pick-up area | Distance | Evening out | After the performance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bexleyheath & Welling | 12 miles | 45–70 min | 28–42 min |
| Bromley & Orpington | 12 miles | 45–70 min | 28–42 min |
| Dartford & Bluewater | 20 miles | 55–85 min | 38–52 min |
| Gravesend & Northfleet | 25 miles | 60–90 min | 42–58 min |
| Sevenoaks & Tonbridge | 26 miles | 60–85 min | 40–55 min |
| Rochester & Chatham | 34 miles | 70–100 min | 52–68 min |
| Maidstone & Aylesford | 36 miles | 70–100 min | 55–72 min |
| Canterbury & Ashford | 60 miles | 95–125 min | 78–92 min |
An opera evening, planned properly
Send us the finish time, not the start time
This is the single most useful thing you can do. The house publishes running times including intervals for every production, and they vary by close to two hours across the repertoire. Give us the finish and the collection is exact; give us only the start and we are guessing at the difference between half nine and eleven.
Intervals are long, and they are part of the evening
Opera intervals run to twenty or twenty-five minutes and there may be two of them. That is deliberate: the interval is where a good deal of the evening happens. It also means the total running time is considerably longer than the music, which catches out people used to theatre timings.
Collection sits east, towards Kingsway
The piazza is pedestrianised and Bow Street takes a set-down at most. We hold towards Kingsway or the Aldwych where the roads are wide and moving, which is a short walk through Covent Garden and considerably faster than anything closer.
Dressing for it, and what that means for the walk
There is no formal dress code at the Royal Opera House and people wear anything from black tie to jeans, but a good share of the audience does dress for the evening. If your party is in evening wear, a short walk on a wet January night matters more than it would otherwise, and we will get as close as Bow Street permits.
Royal Opera House questions
Timings first, everything else second.
What time will the performance finish?
It depends entirely on the production and the range is close to two hours. A mixed ballet bill can be out by half nine; a long opera can run past eleven. The house publishes running times including intervals, and sending us the finish time is the most useful thing you can do.
Can you drop us at the door?
A brief set-down on Bow Street, yes. Waiting there is not possible and the Covent Garden piazza is pedestrianised entirely.
Where do you collect?
Towards Kingsway or the Aldwych, where the roads are wide and moving. It is a short walk through Covent Garden and considerably faster than anything closer to the house.
Why are opera intervals so long?
Twenty to twenty-five minutes, and often two of them, which is part of the evening rather than an inconvenience. It also means the total running time is well beyond the music itself.
Is there a dress code?
No formal one, and the audience ranges from black tie to jeans. If your party is dressed for the evening, tell us and we will set down as close as Bow Street allows.
How long does it take from Kent?
Forty-five minutes to two hours in the evening depending on where you start, and quicker coming back afterwards.
Can we eat beforehand?
Yes, and Covent Garden has a great deal within a short walk. An earlier drop costs nothing extra when built into the quote.
Is the fare fixed?
Yes, agreed at booking, and unaffected by an unusually long performance or by traffic.
Opera, ballet and guides
The formal stages of London.