Columbia Road Flower Market
It’d take a hard heart not to be warmed by the joyous sight of thousands of exquisite flowers and exotic plants crammed into one noisy Victorian terraced street. London’s Columbia Road is the capital’s most colourful and sweet-selling market, with flowers, shrubs, bedding plants and other horticultural treats on sale. It’s also a great way to wake yourself up on a Sunday morning, with more than 50 stalls and shops selling everything to cater for England’s obsession with gardening. And despite becoming a bit of a tourist trap in recent years, it’s still a fully charged London market with not only colourful products but also a host of equally colourful characters and accents. With most traders hailing from Essex, many plants and flowers are grown and produced locally, meaning they’ll be some of the best and cheapest you’re likely to find in the city.
Open every Sunday from 8am to 2pm; the nearest Tube station is Old Street.
Harrods, the world-famous department store, is known for its extravagant gifts, but did you know it once sold exotic animals such as lion cubs as pets? In 1975, before becoming US President, Ronald Reagan bought a baby elephant.
