In your search for cool London markets out of the touristic frenzy – but filled with the local one – you shouldn’t miss Columbia Road.
Squeezed into a couple of narrow street in an apparently not so fancy corner of East London, the market is the ideal destination for a Sunday morning.
It is officially a flower market but, while some people are actually there to buy the (cheap, beautiful) plants, most of the crowd is just enjoyng the athmosphere and exploring the dozens of independent shops and print galleries of the road.
In this multi-sensorial place you will be surrounded by the smells and colors of the fresh flowers, you’ll hear the sellers shouting out in their dialect, you’ll see one of the most various crowds in London and maybe come back home with a pot or two.
Make sure you stop for a sip of coffee and a piece of cake in one of the many stylish cafés aroun Ezra St. I recommend the lovely Lilly Vanilli bakery, where you can taste amazing sweet cakes and savoury snack.
Columbia Road market is open every Sunday from 8am till 3pm, ‘come rain, wind or shine’ says the website, and it is actually so (you might not tell from the pics, but the day I went there the weather was truly crappy, still I had an amazing time).
Note: it tends to be really busy and, at times, the crowd makes it hard to walk. If you go with kids try to arrive early. Wear comfy shoes and bring your camera!
How to get there: the nearest station is Hoxton.
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