City Guide

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 9:30am to 7pm (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 to 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.

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 mile (1.5km). 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.

South Bank -- Open on Friday 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 no. 78, or walk down Bermondsey St.). The market is at the east end, beginning at Tower Bridge Road. Only the most hopelessly addicted shopping junkies will go here. We have sadly watched this market decline year by year. Instead of a true antiques market, its vendors often sell newly manufactured stuff. If chipped crockery, dented teakettles, and cheap glass are your thing, then head here. Otherwise, we'd recommend that you skip it. Many dealers come into London from the countryside. Prices are generally lower here than at Portobello and other markets. It gets underway 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 4pm, and Saturday from 7am 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.

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