London Markets

London is a great place to pick the the occasional odds and ends, In addition to hoasting the best food markets around. Most notable of the later is the Burough Market in Southwark (pronounced SouthARK, because the one who decided on Worcestershire and Happisburg (HAYsburough) just hiddent quite had enough of a laugh yet.

This is the destination for the organic organic food loving middle class of London and, although not entirely unreasonable, the prices are enough to make you think twice about how much you really like cheese (I REALLY like cheese, so common sense is rarely a factor here). Having said that, the food is absolutely delicious when you can get it and the start vendor sandwiches are more reasonably priced.

Camden town, although the home of many, many different food vendors, makes its name in the vintage, goth and slightly offbeat market. You can buy a leather bound journal, wool and leather corset and get a tattoo all within 5 minutes of each other. Many punk rockers made their name here and this legacy is alive and well in the stream performers. This is one of my favorite places to go and people-watch; there are more hair colors in a 1 block radius of here than in the rest of London combined.

Portabello road is THE place for antiques and even some nearby celebrity watching (Kingsington is the upper east side of London, but with Royalty) and any fans of the old Disney film Bedknobs and Broomsticks will find this a romp down memory lane (cudos to those who got that one). Streat foods and the ability to haggle (rare in London) make this a fun place for antique lovers.

There are other smaller markets, but these are the largest. Not exactly the places to save money, I only go for the cheep start vendor foods, but staples of London and good places to catch as a tourist (although avoid the mid day crush if you have any sense of personal space).