Access at the Royal Opera House
We want everyone to have the best experience with the Royal Ballet and Opera – whether they are attending a performance or event, using our building or watching on Royal Ballet and Opera Stream.
Visiting
The building
The Royal Opera House is a large building with many floors, lifts, escalators, corridors and open spaces. We are open daily, and we do get busy at certain times with people visiting for performances, tours, events and to use the restaurants, shop and the facilities.
The flooring varies throughout - some floors are smooth and tiled, some are carpeted. Lighting and sounds also vary depending on where you are in the building, with public areas being brightly lit and noisy, while the areas around the stages are dimly lit.
The Linbury Foyer and Linbury Theatre are on -1, the Royal Opera House Café and Royal Ballet and Opera Shop are on the ground floor, the Paul Hamlyn Hall is on the 3rd floor with access the Crush Room, and the Level 5 bar, Cicoria and Bar Cicoria are on the 5th floor.
You can access different areas of the Main Stage auditorium by using the doors across all the floors – the Orchestra Stalls and Stalls Circle are accessed through the ground floor; the Donald Gordon Grand Tier and the Balcony are accessed through the second and third floors and the Amphitheatre is accessed through the fourth and fifth floors.
There are stairs, escalators and lifts which provide access to all floors.
A handheld bell is rung by staff before a performance as they walk through the building. It can be loud and startling.
See our Visitor Information page for more details on opening times, what to expect when coming for your first performance and information on our other spaces, such as Thurrock.
View a visual story or watch a subtitled information videos about visiting us at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.
Step-free access to the building
Use the power assisted door at the Piazza entrance in Covent Garden and at the ground-level entrance on Bow Street.
Lifts and Escalators in the building
The lifts on the left-hand side of the Main Stage Auditorium take you to the Paul Hamlyn Hall, Crush Room, Linbury Foyer and Balconies Restaurant.
The lift on the right-hand side of the Main Stage Auditorium takes you to the Level 5 bar, Cicoria and Bar Cicoria, and the Crush Room.
All lifts provide access to the Café on the ground floor.
Accessible toilets
Our Accessible toilets are gender neutral and have an alarm pull cord for emergencies.
They are located at:
- The ground floor – go straight ahead after entering the building from the Bow Street entrance. The toilets are next to the lift on the left-hand-side of the Main Stage Auditorium.
- Linbury Foyer – take the corridor behind the Linbury Bar to the lower floor. You can also take the lift on the left-hand side of the Main Stage Auditorium to get down to the Linbury Foyer toilets.
- Level 5 – take the lifts on the right-hand side of the Main Stage Auditorium to get to Level 5. The toilets are to the right of the bar.
- Accessible toilets are close to wheelchair spaces in the Main Stage Auditorium.
Unfortunately, we do not have Changing Places toilets, but you can find information on the nearest ones on the Changing Places map on their website.
Food and drink
Cicoria and Bar Cicoria and the Royal Opera House Café are open throughout the day. We also have three pre-theatre dining restaurants.
The food served in each restaurant varies, with seasonal menus. There are vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free options available. If you have any allergies, food intolerances or dietary requirements, please let a member of staff know.
Booking is recommended for many of our restaurants, and you can pre-order food and drink in advance of the performances.
You can request a large-print version of our menus in advance by emailing boxoffice@roh.org.uk.
We have several free water-filling stations around the Royal Opera House. You can buy a range of ice creams and sorbets during intervals.
Shop
The Royal Ballet and Opera shop is located on the ground floor of the Royal Opera House and can be accessed via the ramp between the Café and the Shop or through the Piazza entrance.
Assistance dogs
Assistance dogs are welcome everywhere in the Royal Opera House.
If you are coming to a performance, you can take your dog into the performance with you or leave them with a member of staff. As you decide which is best, it is good to consider that some of the noises from the orchestra or the stage could frighten your dog. If you do want to leave them with staff, get in touch with boxoffice@roh.org.uk and we will organise everything with you beforehand. If there is an emergency and we need to evacuate the building, our staff will take good care of your dog until you are reunited.
Emergencies
Our staff are well prepared for emergencies. If the building needs to be evacuated, you will be escorted to the nearest refuge area by a member of staff.
Resources
Covent Garden
Access in and around Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a busy area of central London that spans across several streets – it can be very noisy, bustling with people and brightly lit from shops, theatres and passing cars.
The Piazza, where one of entrances to the Royal Opera House is located, has uneven cobbled pathways with several sloped pavements and while the area is pedestrianised, cyclists and vans do pass through.
The route around the Royal Opera House, underneath the arcade, has smooth tiled flooring and is covered overhead. The other entrance to the Royal Opera House is on Bow Street, paved alongside a road.
Public toilets
There are public toilets inside the Market Building in the Piazza and next to St Paul's church. Both toilets are not, however, step-free and do charge for use. You can find information on Changing Places toilets here and the closest is in the National Portrait Gallery, which is around a ten-minute walk from the Royal Opera House.
You are, of course, welcome to use the facilities within the Royal Opera House. We have accessible toilets located on the ground level, in the Linbury Foyer and on Level 5, but we do not currently have Changing Places facilities. Please ask a member of staff for directions.
Parking
Find out more about Q-Park London, located at 34-35 Bedfordbury, which is the nearest parking with accessible spaces here. There is pay and display parking on Henrietta Street, Southampton Street and Tavistock Street, as well as an NCP car park on Drury Lane.
There are a limited number of disabled access parking bays on Bow Street and Floral Street.
Public transport
Covent Garden station is on the Piccadilly Line and is the nearest tube station to the Royal Opera House. It is a very busy station and there are steps around the station from the tube platform, with a further 139 steep stairs taking you up to street level, but there are lifts that you can take.
Our website
We're working to improve the accessibility of our website including adding alt-text to images, different formats for our resources and research-based user experience testing. If you need any further assistance on access, get in touch with boxoffice@roh.org.uk.
Our Access Service Providers and resources
We work with a number of Access service providers, such as SightLines and Alice Gilmour for our Audio Descriptions and Signapse and Drip Media for our British Sign Language interpretations. We make many types of resources, such as Creative Captions and Visual Stories, in House. These can be used to help with the enjoyment and understanding of productions.
Access Scheme
When you join our Access Scheme, you can customise your account with your specific access requirements.
You can tailor the booking process to include:
- Different kinds of accessible seating
- Personalised Accessible Performance and event information, dates and prices
- Discounted tickets for scheduled Accessible Performances, including Relaxed Performances
- A complimentary companion ticket for those who require personal assistance
- Access to resources such as Audio Described magazines, Audio Described introductions, Visual Stories, Sensory Guides, British Sign Language-interpreted synopsis videos and large print Season Guides
- Information on how to access assistive hearing devices and Audio Description equipment