The London Traveler

One of the more scenic and popular markets in London is the Covent Garden Market. This market is in the true heart of tourist London, just a short walk from Trafalgar Square and Leicester Square. While you might not find the best deals in the city there, you will most certainly find some very unique gifts for yourself or your family and friends.
The area has had a market since Roman times, and was known for several hundred years for its flower, fruit and vegetable market. In the mid-70’s traffic congestion moved the main marketplace a few miles …read more

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I recently posted about the Christmas Lights that will kick off on Oxford Street (Wednesday, 7 November.) Those aren’t the only Christmas lights in London, though!
On Thursday, November 15th, lights will turn on with a celebration on Marylebone High Street. Just a short walk from Oxford Street, Marlebone High Street is a more quaint and upscale shopping area. As always, there are fantastic shops, pubs, cafes and restaurants everywhere.
For the Christmas lights event, the area is typically shut down to vehicles, allowing an even more pedestrian-friendly environment than usual. It’s always fun to see Londoners come …read more

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London really does know how to dress up its best shopping areas for the holidays. Since we don’t have the Thanksgiving holiday as a psychological “start” to the Christmas season, things like Christmas lights up up a lot earlier than you might find in North America.
This year, Oxford Street will be kicking off the season of Christmas lights on Wednesday, November 7th with the initial lighting ceremony for this years display.
Each year there is a theme around the lights, depending on who pays for them! This years’ Christmas lights on Oxford Street are being sponsored and themed around …read more

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Will you be visiting London this December? Then think about stopping by the “Winter Wonderland” event going on in Hyde Park.
From December 1st to January 6th, Winter Wonderland will be taking place in Hyde Park. It will feature:

London’s largest outdoor ice rink
A German Christmas Market
50 meter tall Ferris wheel (not as big as the London Eye, but still!)
Santa Claus (called “Santa’s Grotto” in the UK)
Toboggan slide
Bars and cafes
More!

This isn’t an event that has ever taken place in London before, so it should be a very interesting and very unique experience. It’s co-sponsored by a number of newspapers, …read more

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Camden Lock Market, and the associated streets and markets in the area, is one of the largest and most famous market areas in all of London. Filled with shops, food, and interesting scenes, it’s a great way to spend an afternoon.

The original anchor of the area is the Camden Lock Market. It was built on the side of a canal, part of a canal system that runs throughout London. Camden Lock Market consists of outdoor stalls, an indoor hall, and a virtual maze of shops and food. There are some really interesting shops here, and you …read more

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London has a multitude of hidden alleyways and small streets that are unique and very quaint. One of the larger “hidden” spots is just off of Oxford Street, and is called St. Christopher’s Place.

St. Christopher’s Place is an “H” shaped area, two long streets that are perpendicular to Oxford Street, and a short connecting street in the middle. The entire area is filled with restaurants that feature outdoor seating. You can have italian, french, pizza, turkish, burgers, and much more. There is also a lot of great shopping, though it does tend to be a bit …read more

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After covering one of the more traditional London market’s last week, I wanted to cover a market that’s a little more off the beaten path.
The Marylebone Farmer’s Market was started just a few years ago, in 2003. It takes place just off of Marylebone High Street, a very nice shopping area just a few blocks north of Oxford Street. It’s website with a full list of vendors can be found here.
Though new, it is awfully large and you can occasionally encounter rather famous people there. (Many celebrities live in the neighborhood, and it is also frequented by …read more

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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.

Today’s featured market is the Borough Market. It’s a very popular amongst Londoners, and somewhat lesser known for tourists.
Borough Market is London’s oldest food market, having been established in Roman times on the south bank of the River Thames. It has been …read more

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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 …read more

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One of the more popular things to do in London is shop, and there are plenty of places to do so. One of the most famous is Oxford Street, a mile-and-a-half-long East-West street that is host to many flagship retail stores.
The Central Line runs below Oxford Street, so there are a variety of stops where you can easily get started. The heart of the shopping district runs from Marble Arch station in the west to Tottenham Court Road station in the east. Between them are Bond Street station and Oxford Circus station.
Key highlights on Oxford Street:

Selfridges: The …read more

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