Camden Market

Camden’s sprawling collection of markets offers a real smörgåsbord of street culture. Wander past loitering goths and punks to join the throng of tourists, locals and random celebs fighting it out at the vast and varied selection of shops and stalls. Saturdays are not for the faint-hearted – crowds craving lava lamps, skull rings, fashion, interiors, music and vintage swarm about. To avoid the rough and tumble visit on a weekday, though weekends are better for variety and atmosphere. Camden Market proper (on the junction with Buck Street) is the place for cheapo jeans, T-shirts and accessories and the same goes for Canal Market, now happily reopened after being destroyed by a fire in February 2008. Down the road, a multimillion-pound redevelopment project is in the midst of transforming the once boho Stables Market into something a little more sterile. Still, vintage threads can still be found here alongside crafts, antiques and the now-sprawling Proud gallery and bar. Next door at the pleasant, waterside Camden Lock you’ll find everything from corsets and children’s clothes to Japanese tableware and multicultural food stalls.