Portobello Road Market Market / Outdoor Activity / Shopping Area

Notting Hill, London –

Although out-of-towners may know it best as the place where Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts found love in the movie Notting Hill, Portobello Road Market is a London institution that is home to the world’s largest antiques marketplace and a cornucopia of art galleries, cafés, and homemade crafts.

Drawing everyone from artifact-loving locals to souvenir-seeking tourists, the market’s central walk – a hilly slope comprised of distinct antiques, food, and flea market sections – is a succession of canopied booths where craftsmen and dealers peddle their wares against a backdrop of vibrantly painted Victorian row houses.

While a mix of grannies and bargain hunters prowl the south end of the market, sifting through silver teaspoons and blown glass snifters in search of that perfect ceramic vase, “it” girls eschew the nearby art houses in favor of Aimé, Darimeya, or one of Notting Hill Gate’s other upscale boutiques.

Further up the road, hungry snackers and early lunchers stroll the middle and northern sections of the market, where the vegan set buys organic produce and meat lovers purchase fresh fish and poultry from country farms.

The northward curve at Ladbroke Grove marks Portobello’s transformation into a trendier flea market, forcing weary shoppers who love offbeat trinkets to decide between vintage designer duds and handcrafted jewelry.

Even though some of its more colorful characters may be more Russell Brand than Hugh Grant, the spirited market and quaint novelties make a trip to Portobello Road Market an easy two thumbs up for savvy shopaholics.