To market, to market: shopping for souvenirs in London with a unique twist
(ARA) - Instead of picking up souvenirs as you make the round of London's major sights, try taking a different approach to buying the goodies you'll bring home. London is one of the best cities in the world for market shopping, and you'll find one-of-a-kind treasures that will instantly remind you of where you got it, even years from now.
London can feel almost intimidatingly vast, but it is actually quite easy to get around. Skip the cabs -- the Underground system is second to none and a much more economical option. Taking the "tube" (the Underground's more colloquial name) makes it easy to go from any number of London hotels to whichever market you want to visit in a snap.
The wide variety of London hotels available at your fingertips through an Internet search might also seem off-putting in its enormity, but using sites like Travelocity.com, which allow you to compare prices and see ratings from past guests, you'll be able to find the right place to stay. If you want, you can search by map, finding the hotel that's closest to the markets you want to shop in.
Borough Market (Tube: London Bridge)
Whether you're a foodie or photography buff or a photography buff with a foodie bent, you'll want to get a taste of most everything in sight at the Borough Market. It's become widely known as one of the best (and toniest) places to buy food in England, if not the world. You can stop into one of the restaurants on site or grab some gorgeous produce from the stalls.
Movie fans might feel a pang of deja vu, and that reminiscence might have something to do with the fact that the scenic market has provided backdrops in films like "Bridget Jones's Diary" and "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban."
For more information: www.boroughmarket.org.uk/
Portobello Road (Tube: Notting Hill Gate, Ladbroke Grove)
If it's good enough for Paddington Bear, it must be worth a visit, right? The little bear in the rain slicker often visited the market, and you'd be wise to follow his lead. While you'll find food available here, the real attraction is the antiques and bric-a-brac. You could sift through all of the items for sale for days on end and come up with things to buy for almost every passing hour. Whether you're looking for old LPs, vintage clothes or quirky home accessories from decades -- and centuries -- gone by, you'll find it all here.
Portobello Road Market's location is also an attractive amenity -- it's right in Notting Hill, one of the most pleasant neighborhoods in the city. From the tidy rows of houses to the tranquil little church yards to the grassy parks, it's a great place to linger (and if you're lucky, you'll find an opening in one of the London hotels in the area). And speaking of those parks -- grab some delicious takeaway from the market, find an open spot and plop down for a convivial lunch.
For more information: www.portobelloroad.co.uk/
Spitalfields (Tube: Liverpool St.)
Fashionistas with idiosyncratic taste will feel right at home in Old Spitalfields Market. It's widely known as a shopping mecca for clotheshorse Londoners. There are other goods on offer here, too, from food to antiques. The market's reputation as a place to shop for clothes ties in nicely with its founding in 1682, by a silk thrower (the area was home to a large population of Huguenot silk weavers).
Spitalfields is quite scenic as well, as it is located in one of the best surviving examples of Victorian market architecture. There are brick-and-mortar shops and restaurants in addition to the rows upon rows of market stalls. If you want a little extra organic matter in your visit, you could also stop and smell the roses (and lavender and jasmine and more) at the nearby Columbia Road Flower Market.
For more information: www.oldspitalfieldsmarket.com/ and www.columbiaroad.info/
Courtesy of ARAcontent
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