Columbia Road Market

This is little market can be found on Columbia Street. To find it you can take the bus 243 from Waterloo station northward or if you get off the metro at Old Street, it's about a 10 minute walk. The Columbia Road market is an outdoor market, closed off to traffic where you can buy flowers, shrubs and plants. The market takes place every Sunday and starts early around 7 am, but closes early too; At about 1 pm people start to fold the seats and around 2pm hardly anyone is left. The market attracts many bohemian people from the neighborhoods of East London, but there are a few foreigners too. It use to be an industrial area but it has been renovated with more trendy shops; There are antiques shops, traditional bakeries, generally healthy stores and just stores that appeal to visitors of the flower market.

An excellent place to walk and watch the colorful spectacle, especially in summer. With fewer people than Portobello and Camden, it's one of the few markets in London that's accessible to tourists but isn't too crowded. A must for those who are tired of the typical London known worldwide. Liverpool Street station and Hoxton are also good.