As Londoners, we’re spoilt for choice when it comes to markets. From vintage clothes to tasty treats, beautiful flowers or hand crafted treasures, they city has got it all. Markets often define a local area and their role as an integral part of the community should never be underestimated. We decided to take a look at some of our favourites in the capital.

Ridley Road Market

Ridley Road market is a particularly boisterous, colourful and buzzing market in the heart of Dalston, Hackney. Having started way back in the 1880s, with a meagre twenty stalls, today there are over 180, famous for their fantastic range of foods: Asian, Caribbean, Mediterranean or African.

If you’re not hungry though, you can get your hands on pretty much anything else whilst you are there. Expect loud Reggae music, a mouth-watering mix of aromas and the widest and cheapest selection of fruit and veg in E8. Plus, if you’re the nocturnal type, you can always head to the 24-hour bagel bakery.

Walthamstow Market

Of a similar age to its East London cousin, Walthamstow market also started in the 1880s. It is also the longest outdoor street market in Europe, so you are guaranteed plenty of choice and range. A ‘bargain hunter’s paradise‘, there’s a diverse selection of goods, from super-cheap togs to household goods and fruit and veg.

Broadway Market

Simply put, Broadway Market “is a kaleidoscope of tastes and cultures: stalls, shops, pubs, restaurants and cafes offering some of the best food and most original clothing in London, all crammed into a little East End street between the Regent’s Canal and London Fields.” 100 stalls are nestled into the street, flanked by the canal on one side, and London Fields on the other. Hoards of hipsters line the pavements and on a hot Saturday afternoon, the people-watching opportunities are limitless. The quality of food is spot-on too, with a delicious selection of organic meats and fruits on offer.

Borough Market

Borough Market describe themselves as ”London’s most renowned food market; a source of exceptional British and international produce” and indeed this is an apt description. Visitors to Borough Market are sure to leave with bellies full – think tasty condiments, delectable meats and unusual fine cheeses. If you want a first-hand account of the experience, with some appetite whetting images, have a look here.

Brixton Market 

As a wealth of regeneration has started to yield tangible results, Brixton’s market has very much become the district’s focal hub, where cultures come together in one hotbed which is now the heart of the area. We did a little case study on Brixton market back in December; the market has come a long way since its rather modest beginnings. Expect exotic flavours and cosmopolitan culinary genius in every corner.