London Markets

Spitalfields Market

I find myself starting posts and then I move on to something else without finishing them.   I was looking at Visit London's Top 12 Markets so that if we are in a specific neighborhood we can stop by and see what they have.  I just have to remember that many of them are only alive on weekends.

The Eyewitness Travel Guide on London says:  "Even if you're not looking for cut-price cabbages or a silk sari, it's worth paying a visit to one of London's crowded, colorful markets."

Spitalfields.  What a name!  Spitalfields was an immigrant community in East London that you can read more about in BBC Travel, host to first the Huguenots, then the Irish during the Potato Famine, then Eastern European Jews and finally Bangladeshis.  There is an old Victorian covered market hall here: Old Spitalfields Market which is open daily.  Brick Lane Market is another market in the Old Truman Brewery in the same vicinity (the East End) but it is only open on Saturday and Sunday.

Portobello Road Market

Portobello Road Market is north of Chelsea and is mainly known for its antique market on Saturday, although they have fruits and vegetables and other things as well.  They say the antiques market is centered around the Notting Hill underground station.  There is also a Notting Hill Farmers Market on Saturday, opening at 9 am.  I don't suppose we could rush out and shop before we go see the sights?  The London Farmers' Markets website has a list of such produce markets.  I'm going to have to buy a foldable grocery cart.

First Saturday in London:  Walk up to Earls Court Station (16 minutes) and then take the tube up to Notting Hill Station (5 minutes) and walk up Portobello Road to Ackham Village Market.  The stretch along Portobello Road is about a mile.  A lot of the reviews on TripAdvisor found it too touristy and overpriced although others liked it so this excursion is tentative.  TripAdvisor has a ranking for Flea and Street Markets that puts Portobello Road at #41 in Shopping (with 3,608 reviews) and Borough Market at #1 (with 10,123 reviews).  Maybe I'd prefer Borough market anyway because it is a food market rather than a flea market, and from the looks of the Portobello Road Market it would take hours to get through the crowds.

Borough Market

Borough Market
This one is located south of the Thames near London Bridge and might be too upscale for me from the looks of things, sort of like the San Francisco ferry building market.  According to the Rough Guide "Prices are high and Saturdays can be a crush; arrive early." The full market is operational from Wednesday to Saturday but it is a long way from Chelsea.  The closest tube station to the market is London Bridge but we'd have to walk up to Earls Court to take it.  At the Transport for London Plan a Journey website, they recommend taking the #14 or #414 bus to South Kensington Station and then taking two lines to the London Bridge Station for a total travel time of 50 minutes.  Or we could walk there, seeing the sites along the route, arriving in about 2 hours...