Brick Lane Market

Brick Lane - north of railway bridge, Cygnet Street, Sclater Street, E1; Bacon Street, Cheshire Street, Chilton Street, E2. Aldgate East or Shoreditch tube/Liverpool Street tube/rail.
Open 8am-2pm Sun.

A traditional flea market, Brick Lane’s stalls and shops sell cheap soaps and razors, magazines, bagels, bric-a-brac, odd second-hand clothes, old furniture and seafood. The market spreads out along a number of narrow streets that are now lined with trendy clothes boutiques and expensive home accessories stores, which contrast with the profusion of utter tat. The most browsable bit is the warehouse on Cheshire Street selling microwaves, TVs, kitchen equipment, bric-a-brac, CDs, DVDs, furniture, glasses and everything else under the sun.

Brixton Market

Electric Avenue, Pope’s Road, Brixton Station Road, Atlantic Road, SW9. Brixton tube/rail.
Open 8am-6pm Mon-Fri; 8am-5.30pm Sat.

Visiting Brixton’s thronging market is like being plunged into another country. Electric Avenue is packed with stalls piled high with exotic fruit and veg, while permanent stores are packed with halal meats and fish. As the market moves into Atlantic Road it turns more towards clothes, towels, toys, cheap wallets and mobile phone covers, and on Saturdays a few stalls of rather jumbly second-hand clothes appear along Brixton Station Road.

Camden Market

Camden Market Camden High Street, junction with Buck Street, NW1 (020 7278 4444).
Open 9.30am-5.30pm daily.

Camden Lock off Chalk Farm Road, NW1 8AF (020 7485 3459).
Open 10am-6pm daily.

Stables Market off Chalk Farm Road, opposite junction with Hartland Road, NW1 8AH (020 7485 5511).
Open 9.30am-5.30pm daily.

Camden Canal Market off Chalk Farm Road, south of junction with Castlehaven Road, NW1 9XJ (020 7485 8355).
Open 9am-6.30pm Fri-Sun.

Electric MarketCamden High Street, south of junction with Dewsbury Terrace, NW1.
Open 10am-6pm Sun.

All Camden Town tube.

Camden Market has changed beyond all recognition in the past decade. While the section just next to the tube station continues to sell clubby T-shirts, trendy platform shoes and cheap interpretations of current fashions, the rest bears little resemblance to the cutting-edge place it was years ago. The Electric Market sells second-hand clothes and young designers’ wares, but it’s neither cheap nor particularly exciting. In the building beside the Lock and its courtyard are crafty goods including jewellery, funky handmade boxes, candles, picture frames and mirrors. The Stables Yard is now full of permanent clothes and food huts. In the railway arches, upmarket, permanent retro stalls and clubwear outlets have taken over. Beside the canal, an avenue of food stalls sends out enticing smells, from Indian to Mexican. Here you’ll also find interesting craft stalls selling bags and accessories. In the Stables at the Chalk Farm end are antiques and design furniture.

Greenwich Market

Antiques Market Greenwich High Road, SE10.
Open 9am-5pm Sat, Sun.

Central Market off Stockwell Street, opposite Hotel Ibis, SE10.
Open Outdoor 7am-6pm Sat; 7am-5pm Sun. Indoor 10am-5pm Fri, Sat; 10am-6pm Sun.

Crafts Market College Approach, SE10.
Open Antiques & collectibles 7.30am-5.30pm Thur. Arts & crafts 9.30am-5.30pm Thur-Sun.

Food Market off Stockwell Street, opposite Hotel Ibis, SE10.
Open 10am-4pm Sat.

All Greenwich rail/DLR.

Heading into the town centre from the station you come first to the antiques market, a collection of bric-a-brac and junk that varies from tat to treasures. Next along is the Village Market, where a second-hand clothes market mingles Chinese silk dresses, home furnishings and lighting, CDs and more. Passing the food court, you come to the covered Crafts Market, Greenwich’s jewel in the crown. Ideal for gift-hunting, it sells all manner of crafts, from the usual (hand-knitted jumpers), through the eclectic (paper lampshades, candles) to the just plain bizarre (framed dead beetles and butterflies).

Petticoat Lane Market

Middlesex Street, Goulston Street, New Goulston Street, Toynbee Street, Wentworth Street, Bell Lane, Cobb Street, Leyden Street, Strype Street, Old Castle Street, Cutler Street, E1. Liverpool Street tube/rail.
Open 10am-2pm Mon-Fri; 9am-2pm Sun.

Selling mainly cheap clothes, toys and electronic goods, Petticoat Lane is the best place to come to buy smart women’s clothes and high street brands at knock-down prices. Recent bargains included a linen suit for £30 and a quality woollen overcoat for £40. The market moves with the seasons and is packed with unmissable bargains.

Portobello Road Market

Portobello Road, W10, W11; Golborne Road, W10. Ladbroke Grove, Notting Hill Gate or Westbourne Park tube.
Open General 8am-6.30pm Mon-Wed, Fri, Sat; 8am-1pm Thur. Antiques 5.30am-4.30pm Sat.

Portobello Road is like several markets in one. Starting at the Notting Hill end are mainly antiques and general Victoriana. Further up you come to food stalls, ranging from traditional fruit and veg to tasty cheeses, stuffed olives, organic crackers and crěpes. Next up come clothes and jewellery. The cafés under the Westway are a good place to rest before plunging into the new designer clothes and vintage wear along the walkway to Ladbroke Grove, near a random selection of bric-a-brac, old typewriters, antique military uniforms and photographs of Hitler.

Spitalfields Market

Commercial Street, between Lamb Street & Brushfield Street, E1 (020 7247 8556). Liverpool Street tube/rail.
Open General market 10am-4pm Mon-Fri; 9am-5pm Sun. Fashion market 10am-4pm Thur.

Getting trendier by the week, Spitalfields Market is in that little bit of the East End rapidly being bulldozed and replaced by bright shiny buildings. The big indoor market is surrounded by cool shops and good pubs, while inside, stalls offer anything from stamps, CDs and books to jewellery, handmade cards and aromatherapy products. Fashion varies from second-hand clothes to the work of young designers. There are cake and bread stalls, and stands selling grub at bargain prices.

Columbia Road Market

Columbia Road, between Gosset Street & the Royal Oak pub, Bethnal Green, E2. Bus 26, 48, 55.
Open 8am-1pm Sun.
No credit cards.

Every Sunday, hundreds of London gardeners make an early-morning pilgrimage to Columbia Road. The keenest gardeners arrive at the crack of dawn, but there’s plenty still here later on. Half the stalls are dedicated to cut flowers, and the rest offer potted plants, bedding plants and trees, and everything from pak choi to purple basil at £1 a pot.

Borough Market

Between Borough High Street, Bedale Street, Stoney Street & Winchester Walk, SE1 1TL (www.boroughmarket.org.uk). London Bridge tube/rail.
Open noon-6pm Fri; 9am-4pm Sat.

It’s not only celebrity chefs who adore this place. Borough Market was recently voted top tourist attraction in a London survey, and if you love food you’ll know why. There are stalls of organic breads, cakes, honeys, cheeses, meats, fruit and veg, as well as smoothies and savouries.