London Markets

The most famous one is Borough Market near London Bridge railway station. It is good but beware that it gets extremely crowded on Saturdays.

Camden Lock. It's huge, very diverse, lots of different kinds of food stalls as well as clothes, "antiques", books, etc, etc. I was there on a freezing cold Saturday afternoon a couple of months ago and it was swarming with people, literally thousands of them. I was kidding my daughter that we seemed to be the only normal ones there, apart from the overseas tourists, because many of the 'locals' seemed to have tattoos, body piercings and alarmingly large hair, but I wasn't kidding that much. You could also try Portbello Road, which is more of a traditional London street market. Saturdays only, I think.

Thank you Kevin and Phillip for your replies, very helpful!

My wife and I favor Portebello which is on Saturdays. It is traditional and has an older crowd. My kids all prefer Camden which has a much more
youthful feel and crowd. Thus your age and interests may be a detemining factor.

Greenwich has an excellent market on Sundays. You can also enjoy the park- it is very, very nice for a stroll. Covent Garden has different vendors each day. Antiques one day, crafts another, etc. We enjoy it- good buskers (performers), too and some nice restaurants.

My favorites are Bourogh Market; less crowded on Friday mornings. And Spitalfields and nearby Brick Lane markets on a Sunday Morning.

Borough Market is primarily a food market. Portobello is good but crowded with tourists. I like Spitalfirlds. By far one of the best markets I have been to is in St Albans on Wed or Saturday. This market has it all - food, clothing, hats, underwear, frames, household goods - you name it. This is probably my hands down favorite plus St Albans is such a charming town. I realize you might not have time for it on this trip but it really is an authentic experience.

Borough Market - there's also a lovely church next door. Get a toasted cheese sandwich - the best I've ever eaten. But go through the market first, many vendors offer/encourage tasting. Once you've eaten the cheese toast you won't be able to do any tasting. Check in advance, the market isn't open every day. Google it. There's a website that shows all the vendors, which days they are there, and maps.

The lovely church that Chani mentions is Southwark Cathedral, where John Harvard was baptised in 1600-and-something. He later endowed an American university which is quite well known... In Borough Market, seek out New Forest Cider. Their farm is 500 metres from my house and in autumn we can smell the apples from here. It's strong stuff, very strong

I love the Borough Market too and it should be open the days you are there. For performers I'd sayCovent Garden...

Borough Market is really 'the biz'. If you'd like to see some photos, I have some on the front page of my blog at www.maggiesmagicpantry.blogspot.com
Go early in the day and graze your way around on the free samples. Enjoy!

Borough Market is really 'the biz'. If you'd like to see some photos, I have some on the front page of my blog at www.maggiesmagicpantry.blogspot.com
Go early in the day and graze your way around on the free samples. Enjoy!