Spanish food’s stall in Portoballe Market. Photo credit: Paula Planelles
By Paula Planelles Manzanaro
Music, antiques, live shows, vintage clothing, arts and crafts, gastronomy and exotic products are some of the ingredients for a perfect day out in London. Our tour for the most interesting markets in the capital will offer its residents and visitors a unique experience at hand. Brick Lane, Camden Town and Portobello Market, famous around the world, are not just markets but a new way to experience different cultures through its products, music and food.
With more than 1,000 shops, Camden Market has become lovers of vintage’s meeting point. At the Stables Market, visitors will see from the latest alternative clothing to the most striking vintage fashion. 700 stalls and shops are located in the market, famous for its equestrian decoration. Open every day of the week, not only do the visitor find fashion but also a range of footwear, collectable products, souvenirs and much more.
But Camden Town is not just a place to go shopping. Music and entertainment are also guaranteed in Cyberdog, a futuristic shop where visitors will see the most outlandish techno funky clothes while listening to electronic music and watching the rhythmical movements of dancers in charge of cheering the audience up. Cyberdog, which is also in cities as Brighton, Manchester or Ibiza, offers a perfect journey to the future.
Camden Town is also a place to relax. Tourists and residents will have the opportunity to walk along the canal and along Buck Street and Camden High Street, with its continuation Chalk Falk Road, where they will find shops, pubs, small indoor markets and restaurants. But if what they want is to find the most interesting gifts, Camden Lock is their place, as it offers from a selection of home furnishing, unique fabrics and paintings up to jewellery, designer clothes, books and a wide variety of music and cult films. Its popularity has increased since it was set up in 1975. “This place is one of the most famous markets in the world. That’s why I chose it to sell my clothes”, Niraj Maharjam, a Nepalese trader, told London Glossy Magazine.
The next stop of the journey is Portobello Market, in Nothing Hill, which became famous after the film with Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. Visitors will have the chance to see the blue door, the garden fence or the travel bookshop which appeared of the movie.
The area, which was originally a farm, took the name in memory of Admiral Vernon who captured the town in 1739. Luxury homes and traditional pubs form part of the colourful landscape, surrounded by numerous out-door stalls. The selection of fresh fruits and vegetables is one of the main gifts that the market gives to its visitors, who can also find typical meals from several countries around the world. A gastronomic trip to Spain, India or Italy is possible across the streets of this emblematic place. Nevertheless, Portobello Market is most famous for its selection of antiques. On Saturday, the main trading day, old-fashion candelabras, interesting books which date from different periods, antique photograph cameras are some of the items that those willing to walk around the two miles of the market will find.
Travelling from Portobello Road, in the West, to the East of London, the visitor will get to Brick Lane, a street in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Known as Banglatown, Brick Lane is the heart of the city’s Bangladesh community. The market, which also offers vintage and alternative clothing shops, is famous for its many curry restaurants. Its graffiti are also famous around the world, featuring artists such as Ben Fine and Banksy. The lane, which has also appear in many video clips like All these things that I’ve done by The Killers, is one of the city’s best known night clubs. Pubs such as 1001 or The Big Chilli are a must-seen visit for lovers of electronic music. Sundays are the best day to visit Brick Lane, which changes from a quiet market during the day to an area where music and fun dominate the wild night.
Camden Town, Portobello Market and Brick Lane are three stops of a tour where the travellers will find much more than food.
