Visit the Portobello Road Market – where Notting Hill was filmed!
Have you seen the film Notting Hill? Well, the central market that’s featured in the film is a fantastic real-life market that you can visit nearly every day. It’s called the Portobello Road Market.
Getting there: Take either the Central, District, or Circle line to the Notting Hill Gate Tube station. (A number of buses also serve the area.) Signs at and near the station will show directions to the market.
Operating Hours: The market operates every day except Sunday. It opens each morning at 8am, and closes at 6:30pm except for Thursday, when it closes at 1pm. Saturday is the main day for the antiques market.
What to expect:
If you go on a Saturday, expect a very packed street market that goes on for what seems like forever. (It’s over a half-mile long.) Each block or so has a new theme, such as antiques, food, arts & crafts, etc. In addition to the street vendors, there are also very unique shops, cafes and restaurants on both sides along the entire length of the market. These can be just as good or better than the vendors on the street.
How much time?:
It takes an hour or two to walk the length of the street. If you’re an intensive shopper, it could take a few hours more to browse the variety of shops available.
Portobello Road is one of the top markets in London, particularly for tourists. I would certainly recommend a visit, particularly for fans of the Notting Hill movie!
4 Comments
[...] Inspired by Jon at The DC Traveller, I’m going to start a “Market Monday” feature for London. (Jon does Monument Mondays.) London has a fascinating number of excellent markets throughout the city, some being truly ancient marketplaces, and I hope you enjoy hearing about them. Last week I talked about the Portobello Road Market. [...]
Friday is the best day to go rather than Saturday- also avoid like the plague the old brooch lady who sells brooches for a fiver from a table at the top of the market- her stuff falls apart immediately and she is incredibly rude!
[...] Beschreibungen von London – besonders Notting Hill, wo ihre Protagonisten leben und dem Portobello Road Market, von verschlafenenen englischen Dörfchen, urigen Pubs und kauzigen Gestalten mögen zwar sehr [...]
Absolutely my favourite market. Although to truly enjoy Portobello Road… try going on a Sunday. The “vintage” area of the market is still open, as well as a couple antique stores. There are by far a lot less tourists and it’s a pleasure to walk down the street without getting trampled on!