London’s best markets

A food market has stood beside London Bridge since at least the 12th century, and the current model – with Victorian architecture and railway arches covering many of the food outlets – has had a huge revival in recent years as London has become one of Europe’s biggest foodie hubs.

Stalls range from traditional fruit and veg to artisan bakers, charcuterie, cheese counters and chocolatiers, with some of the capital’s best restaurants in the historic streets that wind out from the main marketplace. Unquestionably London’s biggest culinary draw with over 100 stalls, it’s phenomenally popular with tourists, but local foodies also flock here for the fantastic street food, which ranges from artisan chorizo sandwiches to Egyptian curries, fresh pasta and Indian dosas, eaten on the go as trains rumble overhead.

Against the backdrop of authentic East End curry houses and junk shops, this weekend market selling vintage clothes to local art and food is the embodiment of the East End scene. London’s edgy diversity in all its scruffy glory.

Beloved of teens, tourists and tie-dye fans, this rambling collection of markets, selling everything from clothes and crafts to vinyl and vegan food, stretches along Camden Lock and the historic Pickford Stables.

Covent Garden piazza is one of London’s best-loved tourist draws; a quaint old apple market, built in 1830, and converted in 1980 into a hubbub of street performers, cafes, bars and restaurants. The central covered quarter is home to the daily market; on Mondays it’s an antique-hunters heaven, while Tuesday to Sunday sees stalls selling everything from hand-made jewellery to bespoke waistcoats, one-off clocks and hand-dyed scarves.

The two sub-ground terraces are home to two of London’s favourite watering holes, the Crusting Pipe, where buskers play classical music for the gathered drinkers, and the Punch & Judy, which also has a terrace overlooking the main piazza.

In culture and literature, this cobbled square is inextricably linked with the story Pygmalion and its musical adaptation My Fair Lady. Many come to Covent Garden piazza purely for its atmosphere, created by buskers, jugglers and other street performers – if you want London at its most vibrant, this is the place to come.

One for the Instagram crowd, Columbia Road blazes with colour every Sunday morning, when the flower market spreads out along the street.

A covered market close to the City of London that’s been operating for over 350 years, come for one-off pieces of jewellery, vintage clothing and artisan food.

Great little foodie market filled with upscale food stalls, squeezed into an alleyway alongside and under converted railway arches beneath Tower Bridge. Open all year round on weekends.