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Thanks Matt for reminding us this brilliant idea. London is justifiably proud of its markets, most of which date back to mediaeval times. They tell the history of London: Borough Market, the oldest, has lost its mediaeval clamour but retains its Dickensian air - it's currently seeing a revival as an organic produce market and film-lot. Some, like Camden and Portobello are thriving,Camden's turnover makes it Britain's 4th largest retailer. Others have not stood up to the 21st century as well: the same processes which worked on Les Halles in Paris have been at work here: disrepair and displacement, followed by commercial development. Covent Garden market moved out of its central location to the wastes of Vauxhall years ago, to be replaced by a tourist-orientated market; Billingsgate, the fish market famous for the bad language of its traders has moved to the Isle of Dogs, and the original waterside building been taken over by city businessmen. Smithfield alone has remained in the centre: this huge temple of meat has retained its ancient working practices but it too has seen the encroachment of the twentieth century: the advent of Mad Cow disease, and deadly E Coli bacteria strains have seen it much modernised over the past few years - it has in the process lost much of its character. If you want to see these ancient markets in operation you must get up early in the morning - by 03:00 hours Smithfield is well underway, and the pubs and cafes are doing good business. For the general markets, the earlier you visit a market the better chance you have of a bargain: grubbing around with a torch as a stallholder opens 04:00 is the norm. Bermondsey Antiques market, famous for once being where thieves could sell their goods with impunity (a royal license meant that stolen goods bought here did not have to be returned, and subsequent legislation - repealed as late as 2000, restricted that to being before sunrise, hence the market's early hours) which has suffered a lot since that privilege was withdrawn and the site developed. Frankly it's over-rated and not worth the trip - don't believe the hype. Lots of small stalls. Come here early in the morning (from 04:00) for the best bargains, bring a torch. Reasonably good for silver (but not as good as the South Molton Street area - by Bond St Tube, or Portobello's off-road markets).. Friday 04:00 -12:00 Tube: London Bridge (Northern/Jubilee) Train: London Bridge Bus: Tower Bridge Road Berwick Street Tiny, cheap, fruit and vegetable market in the heart of Soho. Comsumables need to be eaten on the same day. Haunted by the ghosts of the 1960s. It's difficult to lay a finger on why everyone loves it. Not really worth a special visit, but if you're after vinyl or CD the shops on Berwick Street are the best places to start. Mon-Sat 09:00-17:00 Tube: Piccadilly Circus (Piccadilly, Bakerloo) Leicester Square (Northern) Bus: Shaftsbury Avenue/Wardour St. Borough One of London's trendiest markets, mainly for its unspoilt Victorian architecture and its location in 'Booming Borough' under the railway as it leaves London Bridge Station. A film location manager's dream, there's rarely a month when a film isn't being shot here it seems (eg. Bridget Jones, Richard III, Lock, Stock and....). Under threat from developers allied to railtrack. Not really worth a special visit (though you're likely to be close to it at some time during your London stay) except on Saturdays when there's a farmer's market - good quality food, to take away and also produce, though a bit on the expensive side. Get there early on Saturday as it gets very crowded. Quite a few good restaurants on the fringes including our favourite Brindisi. Excellent for breakfasts all week (esp The Monmouth Coffee Shop) Getting more expensive and more yuppified by the month though. Good for buying for picnics (eg in Greenwich Park) Excellent Cheese shop (Neal's Yard Dairy) a loaf and a piece of Montgomery Cheddar from here are sublime for eating outdoors. Fruit wholesale 04:00-08:00 Mon - Fri. Farmers' Market 1200-1700 Friday, 1000-1600 Saturday Tube: London Bridge (Northern/Jubilee) Train: London Bridge Bus: London Bridge Station Camden Market Currently recovering from a serious fire, and more damage by developers, Camden Market is one of London's top attractions. Virtually everything is on sale here, clothing, music, antiques (though this sector is shrinking - not a patch on Paris' St Ouen Marche aux Puces) , collectibles, ethnic art, rugs and kelims, food and drink. However recent tasteless development of the Stables market has put up prices and destroyed the impromptu feel. It does tend to get a bit crowded on Sundays, and has a wide variety of food stalls, pubs and restaurants - and there's much live music and comedy in the evenings. Very mixed quality of goods on offer but there are few real bargains to be found. Recently it's become a haven for emerging fashion designers - the 'latest' club wear (yawn) is to be found here. It has, however peaked, and is sliding towards consumerist tat, but slowly. Weekends from about 09:30 to 17:00. Their Website If you want to make a day of it walk up past Stables market to Chalk Farm tube station and follow the signs for Primrose Hill - a great little park with a view over London, merging into the huge Regent's Park (almost as large as the whole City of London). You can walk down through Regent's Park, past the Mosque to Madame Tussaud's (and vice versa) and beyond to the Wallace Collection Gallery in Manchester Square and finish up with an early meal in St Christopher's Place, just north of Oxford Street. You can also walk along the canal into Regent's park and along as far as Little Venice if the fancy takes you, which on a Saturday connects into Portobello Road Market. Tube: Camden or Chalk Farm (Northern Line) Bus: Camden Town Columbia Road Flower Market Somewhat off the beaten track this is one of the best ways to start a Sunday - there are several places to have brunch. Well signposted from Shoreditch tube station which opens specially on Sundays for the Market (special buses run from London Bridge also), and from the top of Shoreditch High Street by Liverpool St Station. Flowers and plants. Hardly the stuff to take back home but it's a great place to potter. Then on down Brick Lane to Spitalfields Market for a late lunch. Really great way of spending Sunday. Sunday: 09:00 -12:00. For hardcore enthusiasts a SUNDAY circuit of: Liverpool St station - train to London Fields, walk back south to Broadway Market (good french delicatessan/cafe, good brunchy pubs and restaurants). Then continue south through Hackney City Farm (restaurant there won best family restaurant of the year 2005..) to Colombia road, along Colombia road then South to Brick Lane, Hugenot district, Spitalfields market and back to Liverpool Street station Tube: Old Street (Northern Line) Shoreditch (East London) Bus: Shoreditch Church Covent Garden Touristy place to hang out. You don't go for the market (overpriced tat) but for the atmosphere and the buskers. The old fruit 'n' veg market that appeared in old Hitchcock films has been converted to a piazza. If you're a Hitch fan you'll want to go and see his house/museum in Leytonstone, and the new murals at the tube station there - our favourite piece of public art (but ONLY if you're a fan) Don't eat or drink in Covent Garden, the quality is bad and the prices sky high (but if you do we recommend the 'All Bar One' chain or the Garden branch of Wagamama). Somerset House is nearby for a hit of culture. The London Transport Museum Shop in the corner of the Piazza is good for gifts.. Market: every day 1000-1800, atmosphere: all the time. PS we will go there as a group and you will have some free time to explore it. Tube: Covent Garden (Piccadilly) Leicester Square (Northern) Charing Cross (Bakerloo) Bus: Shaftsbury Avenue/St Giles High Street Gabriel's Wharf Small market on the South Bank next to the OXO building, selling mostly jewelry, ethnic nick-nacks and artsy paraphernalia. It's on our walk along the river (SeeItinerary Page) - most people stumble across it rather than head for it. You can hire bicycles here and there are one or two restaurants. Mainly Weekends 10:00-18:00, some stalls keep shop hours. Tube: Southwark (Jubilee) Bus: Blackfriars bridge Greenwich Market Sprawling series of weekend markets selling antiques, arts & crafts, clothing, books. A huge penumbra of flea markets. More of an attraction than a serious market. Not really worht a special trip so visit as part of a trip to Greenwich (Observatory, Maritime museum, Cutty Sark, Naval Academy, Park, Queen's House, Blackheath, Ranger's House.) There's also a covered market in the central square, near the DLR station and the Cutty Sark. The best way to approach this is to take the Docklands Railway through Canary Wharf and get off at Island Gardens, and walk the foot tunnel to Greenwich. Weekends. Tube: Cutty Sark/Island Gardens (Docklands) Train: Greenwich Bus: Greenwich Town Hall Leadenhall Well preserved Victorian food market, off Gracechurch St, just north of the Monument. Some of the shops don't look as if they've changed over the past century. More a historic building than a market - it's very busy weekday lunchtimes when it's crammed with city businessmen. Some good, but overpriced eateries, lively pubs. It's right next to the hyper-modern Lloyds building. Weekdays 08:00 -15:00 Tube:Bank (Central, Circle) Bus: Moorgate Petticoat Lane/Brick Lane Petticoat lane is a famous but disappointing tat market in the East End. It's day has passed. Not recommended. However nearby Spitalfields/Brick lane is amazing - Sunday only. Try a SUNDAY circuit of: Liverpool St station - train to London Fields, walk back south to Broadway Market (good french delicatessan/cafe, good brunchy pubs and restaurants). Then continue south through Hackney City Farm (restaurant there won best family restaurant of the year 2005..) to Colombia road, along Colombia road then South to Brick Lane, Hugenot district, Spitalfields market and back to Liverpool Street station. Sunday 10:00-17:00 Tube: Aldgate/Aldgate East (Metropolitan/Hammersmith & City) Bus: Aldgate rtabello Portobello Road Market We remember this market in the late 1960s when people dressed in Sgt Pepper costumes, and antiques could be picked up for a song. Sadly the stallholders have got wiser, and the prices steeper, but if you're after something special you'll find it here - remember to haggle. The South end of the street is mainly antiques, and make sure you go off-street as there are bargains to be had late afternoons ( especially in the smaller markets, underground) the middle is vegetables, and the north end bric-a-brac. About half the size of the antiques sections of Paris' St Ouen - but take this together with South Moulton Street and Chelsea's Kings Road and the two are comparable. As it's held in ultra-fashionable and expensive Notting Hill it's also great for just hanging out. Beautiful rows of white stucco'd houses abound. From Notting Hill tube you can walk south into Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park and down to the museum district. One way of doing it involves the Hammersmith and City line to Ladbroke Grove (turn left out of tube, market begins 50m on your right) through the railway arch bit of the market, turn left (ie North) and continue to Goldborne Rd, walk it towards the huge ugly, but much loved, tower block (Trellick Tower, a listed building whose occupants were vociferous in their opposition to demolition) and start with coffee and pastry at Cafe Lisboa (on the right side of the road, as you're looking at Trellick)- a London institution - 2 large coffees and 4 cakes for £6, then walk back down Goldborne, turning left back onto Portobello and continue through the three markets towards Notting Hill tube. It's a mile at least. My favourite way is to take the Bakerloo line to Warwick Avenue station and walk along the canal through Little Venice to where the canal meets Goldborne Rd - about 100m from Cafe Lisboa. Take cash as there are always huge queues for the ATMs. Saturdaysfrom about 06:00 to about 16:30. Tube: Notting Hill Gate (Central, Circle) Ladbroke Grove (Hammersmith & City) Bus: Notting Hill Spitalfields Old fruit and veg market, opposite Liverpool St Station on Bishopsgate, transformed over the past five years into a slightly (it for some time had its own opera house) boho weekend market - it's at its best on Sunday and a good starting point for exploring the Hugenot architecture and history of Brick lane and the surrounding area. Best to go to nearby Columbia Road Flower Market first (for Brunch). Organic vegetables, art, books, ethnic impedimentia, vintage cars - a whole rag tag of merchants. Many leading contemporary artists and sculptors have their studios there. This is what Covent Garden was like before it became a tourist trap, though developers allied to the local council want to turn it into another Covent Garden tourist trap. A good place for Sunday lunch, especially recommended is 'Meson Los Barilles' a spanish restaurant/tapas house - it's quadrupled in size over the past five years and it's still always packed - artists. Gilbert & George can sometimes be seen there in their classic 1950s three piece suits. Sunday: 10:00-16:30 Tube: Liverpool St (Central) Bus: Bishopsgate Il modo migliore per fare shopping a Londra è avventurarsi nei vari mercatini che la città offre. È proprio qui, infatti, che potrete trovare le cose più originali, più strane, più a basso costo e più londinesi. Con più di 83 mercati situati in alcune delle vie principali della città che vendono di tutto, dagli oggetti d'antiquariato e gli ingredienti esotici ai capi d'abbigliamento e all'artigianato retrò, gli appassionati dei mercati non avranno che l'imbarazzo della scelta a Londra. Questi sono alcuni dei nostri preferiti: Mercati alimentari di Londra Billingsgate Fish Market Orari di apertura: da martedì a sabato 5:00-8:30, domenica 6:00-8:00 Se siete mattinieri, andate al Billingsgate Fish Market per dare un'occhiata agli arrivi della giornata di pesce fresco proveniente dalla costa e oltremare. L'ingresso non è consentito ai bambini di età inferiore ai 12 anni. Smithfield Market Orari di apertura: da lunedì a venerdì 4:00-10:00 Allo Smithfield Market la carne si vende da oltre 800 anni e ogni anno passano da qui circa 120.000 tonnellate di prodotti. Oltre a carne e pollame, qui si possono trovare prodotti quali formaggio, pasticci e altre specialità gastronomiche. Borough Market Orari di apertura: venerdì 12:00-18:00 e sabato 9:00-16:00 Il pluripremiato Borough Market è uno dei più grandi mercati alimentari della città, e si estende sotto e attorno agli archi della ferrovia del London Bridge. È il paradiso dei buongustai, che qui troveranno prodotti di alta qualità e cibo artigianale proveniente da tutta la Gran Bretagna e dal continente. Mercati di artigianato, articoli da regalo e fiori di Londra Camden Market Orari di apertura: da lunedì a domenica 10:00-18:00 Il famoso mercato di Camden è composto da cinque aree interconnesse, dove si può trovare un ricco assortimento di vestiti, prodotti alimentari, artigianato e musica. Visitate il padiglione del mercato vittoriano coperto, vi troverete splendidi articoli da regalo fatti a mano, chincaglierie e oggetti di artigianato. Nel febbraio del 2008, Camden fu sconvolta da un incendio che colpì il Canal Market. Gli altri mercati, come lo Stables e il Lock Market sono ancora aperti. Il mercato è diviso in varie zone: al Camden Canal Markettroverete cianfrusaglie da tutto il mondo, al Camden Marketbancarelle di moda, abbigliamento e gioielli, al Camden Lock Market ceramiche, tappeti orientali, mobili e vestiti di stilisti, e agli Stables (nella parte più settentrionale del mercato), antichità, mobili di legno e abbigliamento anni 50’-60’. In passato Camden Town era più che altro una zona di immigrati Irlandesi, vi soggiornarono i poeti Verlaine eRimbaud guadagnandosi da vivere con le lezioni di francese, quindi divenne il luogo multietnico di Londra per eccellenza. Negli anni ’70 e ’80 del Novecento, Camden Town divenne una zona trendy abitata da studenti e artisti bohémien. Oggi è diventata una zona molto turistica, affollata da gente che assale le bancarelle alla ricerca dell’oggetto più originale. Covent Garden Market Orari di apertura: da martedì a domenica 10:00-18:00 Nato inizialmente come mercato di frutta e verdura per il convento locale, oggi la piazza principale di Covent Garden è stracolma di bancarelle che vendono prodotti alimentari, gioielli e vestiti. È una grande vetrina della moda britannica artigianale, con oltre 200 artisti e artigiani autorizzati. Old Spitalfields Market Orari di apertura: da lunedì a venerdì 11:00-15:00 e domenica 10:00-17:00 Anche l'Old Spitalfields Market, noto ai più come vetrina per i giovani artisti emergenti provenienti dal vicino college di arte e design, ospita numerose bancarelle che offrono articoli unici, abiti vintage e retrò, CD, gioielli e oggetti d'artigianato. Mercati di arte e antiquariato di Londra Portobello Road Market Orari di apertura: sabato 8:00-17:00 Questa famosissima strada ospita il mercato di oggetti d'antiquariato più grande del mondo. Il mercato di Portobello Road è specializzato in qualsiasi cosa, dai gioielli, l'arte e l'argenteria agli abiti vintage, le cianfrusaglie e molto altro ancora. È sempre animato e merita comunque una visita, anche se non si ha intenzione di fare acquisti. London Silver Vaults Orari di apertura: da lunedì a venerdì dalle 9:00 alle 17:30 e il sabato dalle 9:00 alle 13:00 Racchiusi tra i muri a volta della Chancery House, circa 40 negozi vendono la collezione più vasta del mondo di argenteria antica. Si dice che se non riuscite a trovare ciò che state cercando alLondon Silver Vaults, non lo troverete da nessun'altra parte! Alfie's Antiques Market Orari di apertura: da martedì a sabato 10:00-18:00 L'Alfie's Antiques Market ospita 100 importanti rivenditori ed è un favoloso labirinto di tesori all'interno di un ex grande magazzino. L'assortimento e la quantità di merce è strabiliante e comprende oggetti art-deco, argenteria, arredamento, dipinti e stampe, gioielli, ceramiche e abiti vintage. Altri mercati di Londra Petticoat Lane Orari di apertura: domenica 9:00-14:00 Probabilmente questo è uno dei mercatini più famosi e antichi di tutta Londra, nato più di 400 anni fa quando gli Ugonotti francesi vendevano sottogonne e merletti in questa zona. Oggi il Petticoat Lane Market ospita più di 1.000 bancarelle che vendono principalmente abiti poco costosi, giocattoli e apparecchiature elettroniche. Brick Lane Market Orari di apertura: domenica 8:00-14:00 Se state cercando un mercatino delle pulci generico, Brick Lane è l'ideale, con il suo vasto guazzabuglio di bancarelle. I commercianti vendono tutto ciò che si possa immaginare: cibo, arredamento, elettrodomestici da cucina, DVD e cianfrusaglie di ogni tipo.