Hi folks,
i'm going to London for dec the 12th till dec the 16 th for Xmas shopping and pub crawling. Can you please suggest me some good markets in town where to shop? i want to avoid the luxury shop at Harrod's and Selfridges. I would like to receive a list of Markets wher ei can shop at good prices, and especially where i can find xmas specialties. I also would like to receive the list of typical pub. Thanks Danny from Italy

I am probably being thick, but do you want to be able to buy food, or Christmas presents or both? There are loads of markets to chose from (not forgetting "flea markets"), but I would recommend different markets for different things.

If you can let me know a bit more specific information I'll try to help you out.

Beebee

I would like to buy food and presents and i will be in London for 5 days the week before Xmas. Can you pls tell me some good place to shope these things.!!!! Thanks
Danny

The problem with London is that it is so big and there is almost too much choice. With only 5 days, you may find that you won't have enough time to go to all of these but they all have something to offer. I will confine the suggestions to central London (more or less) but there are good markets everywhere so you may find others that you like near where you will be staying.


Ok Here goes:

For food:

Borough Market SE 1. This is a huge food market that is really expanding. Mostly people go to buy good quality and organic food, but if you are looking to buy food as gifts (such as ready packed shortbread etc,) I'm not sure how much you would find here, but the market has a great reputation and should be worth a visit for the experience.

Spitalfields market also has food + lots of other things and is an area undergoing regeneration (such as what happened to Covent Garden some years ago).

Berwick Street Market is in the heart of Soho and is used by people who work in the area for local shopping. Again, good for groceries, but no necessarily gift food. There are however loads of little shops very near the market which might have what you want - mind you a lot are Italian, so you are unlikely to be interested unless you are working on the coals to Newcastle principle.

Finally, apart from the Selfridges food hall which you've ruled out (but which is always worth a visit) there is a supermarket chain here called Waitrose and they have very good quality food of every description. In fact, I seem to recall that Waitrose won an award for its offering of cheeses. There is a new Waitrose store that has just opened in Docklands which has been set up specifically to cater to the wealthy city dealers. It is supposed to have things there that are not available elsewhere, but I have not yet been in to have a look. In any case, I am guessing that I would be unwilling to pay the prices for these elite foods, but again, it might be fun to have a look.

Antiques:

The most important one which all the dealers use is the Bermondsey market. It operates on Fridays only from about 5 am to 9 am. If you are interested in bargains, I gather you really have to get there at 5 am because the dealers clear out pretty early. This is the place where, in the past, Rembrandts have turned up for sale as unknown paintings. This was because there used to be a law, recently changed, that gave special status to certain markets (called 'Market Ouvert' I think) which meant that if you bought goods that turned out to be stolen, you were entitled to keep them.

Next for antiques, I would go to Camden Passage in Islington. This is only just outside the inner London circle and there are loads of other shops around the market selling non antique things that you might be interested it.

Finally, Portobello Market in Notting Hill is worth a visit, but the area has now been so hyped that you will probably have to look quite hard for a bargain.

Clothes:

Try Camden Market in Camden Town. This is a huge sprawling market that has masses of retro clothes, wholesale leathers, jeans galore etc etc. This also sells, some antiques, bric a brac and has lots of shops nearby. The only problem with Camden Market is that it has become a bit of a zoo, but nevertheless fun.

Petticoat Lane near Liverpool Street is a famous London market which is supposed to specialise in clothes, although I have to admit I haven't been there for years and years.

Flea Markets:

Has to be Brick Lane on a Sunday morning (you could combine a vist here with a visit to Petticoat Lane). I don't know if you'd find presents here or not, but this is a great east London institution and really interesting. Not too far away is Columbia Road market which specialises in plants and flowers which are sold off quite cheaply from about 1:30 because the market has to close down by 2 pm and the traders want to get rid of stock.

Here are some websites that give specifics regarding addresses, times etc.

Markets in London

Another markets list

Explore London website

I hope this helps, but let me know if you need any further help.

Beebee

Oops, I forgot a couple of things. First of all, Waitrose has a website which will give you the location of its stores:
Waitrose

Finally, there is usually a small market for gift items outside St. James's church in Piccadilly. The market often has nice things/ arts & crafts items at affordable prices, and the church is really worth visiting as well. It was built by Christopher Wren with stunning wood carvings by Grinling Gibbons.

Finally, here is a website for lovely old authentic pubs in London: Pubs.com. I haven't been to all the pubs on this list, but the ones I have visited have all been very good.


Beebee

That's a very useful site, Beebee. Lots of old favourites from my London years (76-91). Pauline: could this link go somewhere permanent in the England section?

Another vote for the St James's Piccadilly market. And, Danny, do visit Berwick St: plenty of good eating places round there, including all the sorts of oriental foods that Decobabe can't find in Italy.

Jonathan

I will add the link to the England section. I would also like to add some of BeeBee's notes - would that be okay? Would either of you Brits (Jonathon, BeeBee) like to write some travel notes for England?

PAULINE POST

Pauline from Slow Travelers

Hi Pauline,

Sorry for the delay, but I've been away on a whole week's holiday in ITALY!! Such bliss but now we've returned to rain and cloud.

Anyway, of course you can take anything I wrote and post it where you like. I'd be happy to post things about the UK whenever I know about a place. At the moment, however, my head is full of Panna Cotta rather than cream teas.

Beebee

I will be travelling to Uk London with other 9 people, they never been to London so i have to drive there around town.
Thanks for your advices i will collect all the information you gave me and print a little book to give to the people who are coming with me. It would b enice and useful, i can add also maps, and some nice and interesting info.
Take care thanks Danny

Danny, I would advise you to avoid driving in London if at all possible. Traffic is usually gridlocked, there is no place to park and when you CAN find a parking place it is incredibly expensive.

I moan about public transport all the time, but that is because I have to travel across town and back every day to work. For visitors, public transport is unquestionably the best option. You can buy a week's travel pass for zone 1 (or it might even be sensible to buy a pass for zones 1 and 2)and you would be able to use all forms of transport, i.e. tube, buses, overground trains and the Docklands Light Railway for the one payment. Alternatively you can buy day passes.

If there are 9 or 10 of you and you have hired a people carrier (can you get 9 or 10 in a people carrier?), I suppose you might find that the price of the hire plus parking could be less, but even then I think you would find that public transport would save you time.

The website for London transport is here

Another very useful site: thanks, beebee. Just what I needed to plan a Paddington-Cutty Sark journey this Sat. I'd looked at tube maps and wondered about the various options, and this site does all the work for you. So I suppose our Ken has done something useful after all

Jonathan

Jonathan,

I don't think the Cutty Sark goes to Paddington but if it does you'd probably find out how to do it by this website


Beebee