If Mayfair stores are not your cup of tea, don't worry; you'll have more fun, and find a better bargain, at any of the city's street and flea markets.
The West End
Covent Garden Market (tel. 020/7836-9136; Tube: Covent Garden), the most famous market in all of England, offers several markets daily from 9am to 6:30pm (we think it's most fun to come on Sun). It can be a little confusing until you dive in and explore. Apple Market is the bustling market in the courtyard, where traders sell -- well, everything. Many of the items are what the English call collectible nostalgia: a wide array of glassware and ceramics, leather goods, toys, clothes, hats, and jewelry. Some of the merchandise is truly unusual. Many items are handmade, with some of the craftspeople selling their own wares -- except on Mondays, when antiques dealers take over. Some goods are new, some are very old. Out back is Jubilee Market (tel. 020/7836-2139), also an antiques market on Mondays. Tuesday through Sunday, it's sort of a fancy hippie market with cheap clothes and books. Out front there are a few tents of cheap stuff, except on Monday.
The indoor market section of Covent Garden Market (in a superbly restored hall) is one of the best shopping venues in London. Specialty shops sell fashions and herbs, gifts and toys, books and dollhouses, cigars, and much more. There are bookshops and branches of famous stores (Hamleys, The Body Shop), and prices are kept moderate.
The Covent Garden Market is famous, and we predict that the recently opened Thomas Neal's, in the heart of Covent Garden on Earlham Street, WC2, between Seven Dials and Neal Street, will also become well known. This offbeat market fills two floors with designer fashion boutiques, cafes, and gift shops. A lot of hard-to-find merchandise is sold here. Tube: Covent Garden.
St. Martin-in-the-Fields Market (Tube: Charing Cross) is good for teens and hipsters who don't want to trek all the way to Camden Market and are interested in imports from India and South America, crafts, and local football souvenirs. It's located near Trafalgar Square and Covent Garden; hours are Monday through Saturday from 11am to 5pm, and Sunday from noon to 5pm.
Berwick Street Market (Tube: Oxford Circus or Tottenham Court Rd.) may be the only street market in the world that's flanked by two rows of strip clubs, porno stores, and adult-movie dens. Don't let that put you off. Humming 6 days a week in the scarlet heart of Soho, this array of stalls and booths sells the best and cheapest fruit and vegetables in town. It also hawks ancient records, tapes, books, and old magazines, any of which may turn out to be a collector's item one day. It's open Monday through Saturday from 9am to 5pm.
On Sunday mornings along Bayswater Road, artists hang their work on the railings along the edge of Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens for more than 1.5km (1 mile). If the weather's right, start at Marble Arch and walk. You'll see the same thing on the railings of Green Park along Piccadilly on Saturday afternoon.
Notting Hill
Portobello Market (Tube: Notting Hill Gate) is a magnet for collectors of virtually anything. It's mainly a Saturday event, from 6am to 5pm. You needn't be here at the crack of dawn; 9am is fine. Once known mainly for fruit and vegetables (still sold throughout the week), in the past decades Portobello has become synonymous with antiques. But don't take the stallholder's word for it that the fiddle he's holding is a genuine Stradivarius left to him in the will of his Italian great-uncle; it might have been "nicked" from an East End pawnshop.
The market is divided into three major sections. The most crowded is the antiques section, running between Colville Road and Chepstow Villas to the south. (Warning: Be careful of pickpockets in this area.) The second section (and the oldest part) is the fruit and veg market, lying between Westway and Colville Road. In the third and final section, there's a flea market where Londoners sell bric-a-brac and lots of secondhand goods they didn't really want in the first place, but poking around this section still makes for interesting fun.
The serious collector can pick up a copy of a helpful official guide, Saturday Antique Market: Portobello Road & Westbourne Grove, published by the Portobello Antique Dealers Association. It lists where to find what, be it music boxes, lace, or 19th-century photographs.
Note: Some 90 antiques and art shops along Portobello Road are open during the week when the street market is closed. This is actually a better time for the serious collector to shop because you'll get more attention from dealers and you won't be distracted by the organ grinder.
As you stroll along Portobello Market on a Friday or Saturday, duck into the Portobello Road Cashmere Shop, 166 Portobello Rd., W11 (tel. 020/7792-2571). It's a hole-in-the-wall, but it sells some of the finest-quality cashmeres in London, at half the price you'd pay in Mayfair. The shop lies a few blocks north of Westbourne Grove.
South Bank
Open on Fridays only, New Caledonian Market is known as the Bermondsey Market because of its location on the corner of Long Lane and Bermondsey Street (Tube: London Bridge, then bus 78, or walk down Bermondsey St.). The market is at the east end, beginning at Tower Bridge Road. It's one of Europe's outstanding street markets for the number and quality of its antiques and other goods. Many dealers come into London from the countryside. Prices are generally lower here than at Portobello and other markets. It gets under way at 5am -- with the bargains gone by 9am -- and closes at noon. Bring a "torch" (flashlight) if you go in the wee hours.
North London
If it's Wednesday or Saturday, it's time for Camden Passage (tel. 020/7359-0190; Tube: Northern Line to Angel) in Islington, where there's a very upscale antiques market. It starts in Camden Passage and sprawls into the streets behind. It's on Wednesday from 7am to 2pm, and Saturday from 8am to 4pm.
Don't confuse Camden Passage with Camden Market (very downtown). Camden Market (Tube: Camden Town) is for teens and others into body piercings, blue hair, and vintage clothing. Serious collectors of vintage may want to explore during the week, when the teen scene isn't quite so overwhelming. Market hours are from 9:30am to 5:30pm daily, with some parts opening at 10am.
GST: Greenwich Shopping Time
Though many London shops are now open on Sundays, the best Sunday shopping is in the stalls of the flea and craft markets in the royal city of Greenwich.
The best way to enjoy the trip is to float downstream on a boat from Charing Cross or Westminster Pier (service begins at 10:30am on Sun). The trip takes about a half-hour, and you'll get a knowledgeable commentary on the Docklands development and the history of the river. You'll also be able to view the Tower and much of London from the water along the way.
The boat leaves you in the heart of Greenwich, minutes from the craft market held on Saturday and Sunday. Follow the signs -- or the crowd. After you're done, follow the crowd again to Greenwich's several antiques markets. First is Canopy Market, which isn't under a canopy at all, but sprawls through several parking lots where junk and old books abound, and then onto High Street, where the fancier flea market is held. It's possible that there will be yet another antiques market at Town Hall, across the street, but these shows usually charge an admission fee.
You're only a half block from the Greenwich BritRail station now, which is on Greenwich High Road; and there's a train back to London every half-hour until about 11:30pm.
Just a stone's throw from Covent Garden, Monmouth Street is somewhat of a London shopping secret: Londoners know they can find a wide array of stores in a space of only 2 blocks. Many shops here are outlets for British designers, such as Alexander Campbell, who specializes in outfits made of wispy materials. Some shops along this street sell both used and new clothing. Besides clothing, stores specialize in everything from musical instruments from the Far East to palm and crystal-ball readings.
