Stretching over two miles throughout London's West End, this massive open-air antiques market is the largest of its kind in the world, and over 1,500 dealers can be found here selling everything from vintage clothes and antique household items to electronics, jewellery, artwork, beauty products and delicious street ...
There's the architecture – colourful terraced houses and shops all tightly squeezed together – and the market, which is actually several markets melded together. Portobello Road Market is best known for its antiques, with hundreds of dealers selling jewellery, books and collectables dating from the 1600s to the 1960s.
Whilst it is still best known for its antiques, thanks to the influx of the affluent young, the fashion scene has exploded and more and more stalls selling a range of cutting edge and vintage clothing are appearing.
What is sold at Portobello Road Market? The market is best known for its antiques. Items on sale include anything from homeware and ceramics to stamps and war medals. Among the genuine antiques, you can find modern bric-a-brac and vintage clothing.
Portobello is really several markets in one, Saturday being the day when all are in full swing. Then you can experience a mile of hustle, haggle, colour and energy. The feature of Saturdays is the opening of hundreds of antique and specialist shops and stalls.
The Portobello Road: The Most FAMOUS Antiques Market in London
Do you need cash for Portobello Market?
Things to Know Before You Go
Portobello Road is a must-see spot for shoppers interested in antiques, second-hand fashion, food, books, and music. Bring cash with you for small items, though vendors do generally accept credit cards.
Many of the things quite expensive. In the name of antique shop keepers quoting any price. But for clothing,etc prices were fine. But still nice vibe to it, but we left quickly in an hour or so.
Portobello is a more traditional 'street market' - antiques in the first section, then moving to food, bric a brac, clothing etc... Camden is more of a structured market - not in the street - with converted buildings housing vendors, and stalls set up in areas off the road.
On Fridays and Saturdays, visitors can choose from a selection of baked goods, mushrooms, oils, olives, gourmet cheeses, meat and seafood. Fridays and Saturdays there's at least one stall of discounted food including cheese, confectionery, biscuits and pantry foods.
The most famous of the stalls, shops and arcades are The Portobello Antique Store, Alice's, Judy Fox Antiques London and The Portobello Print & Map Shop.
Firstly, button mushrooms are harvested when they are small and immature, while portobellos are allowed to grow larger and reach a more mature stage. This additional growth and maturity require more time, resources, and labor, increasing the production cost for portobellos.
There's no one reason that portobellos are more expensive, but much of the reason would be because portobellos take longer to grow (twice as long or more) and fewer mushrooms go into a pound than white button mushrooms.
What is the closest tube station to portobello market?
To get to Portobello Road Market, the best option is to take the tube. The closest stations are Notting Hill Gate (to the south) and Ladbroke Grove (to the north). We recommend you start in Notting Hill and finish in Ladbroke Grove.
Overall I would definately recommend the beach and town as a place to visit or act as a summer base. Took the no 26 bus and spent a couple of hours walking along the promenade and enjoying the sea breeze.
Recommended visiting time is around three hours, but if you plan on visiting Portobello Market on a Saturday, then you might want to reserve an entire day to stroll around the many stalls.
Farmers' Markets are more cost effective. They cut out the middleman and allow you to buy directly from the producers. Aside from special offers - a like-for-like product/price comparison often shows supermarket prices are often more expensive than Farmers' Markets.
If you want to experience the antiques and the vintage shops first, then stop at Notting Hill Gate Tube Station, but if you want to experience second-hand goods and bric-a-brac, then get off at Lancaster Gate Station. Portobello Road is a straight road anyway, so you won't get lost finding things.
I always visit Camden when I'm in London, it's full of vintage stalls and weird and wonderful items, and any kind of cuisine you could wish for! People watching is great here, just make sure you haggle when buying from the market traders because you can always knock a few pounds off!
Next on our list of best markets in London is Camden Market. Camden is one of London's busiest attractions, especially on Sundays. The 6 markets cover everything from vintage clothes, jewellery, homewares to food&drink. Quality can be an issue so you'll have to use your own judgement when haggling for trinkets.
As well as its history and infectious energy, Camden Market is great for bagging a bargain – making it favourable over Borough Market for many. You could spend a few hours to an entire day haggling prices and exploring what's on offer.
Portobello Road is probably the world's best known market. Though famous for antiques, that's not all there is. It's a haven for lovers of fashion, food, books and music; anyone who wants to find something unique or loves a bargain.
The market area is about 1,028 yards (940 m) long. About one third of the way from its north end, the market runs beneath adjacent bridges of the A40 road and the Hammersmith & City line of the London Underground.
If you want to avoid the crowds but still want to see the Borough Market in its entirety, try to visit on a Wednesday or Thursday afternoon, or as soon as it opens on a Saturday.
Portobello Road is packed with antiques, clothing and food stalls from Westbourne Grove all the way up to and along Golborne Road. There are also a number of amazing spots to shop under the Westway along Thorpe Close. We are open Monday - Saturday from 8am to 7pm, with traders usually operating from 8:30am to 6pm.
