What is it? One of London’s most visually appealing markets that overflows with bucketfuls of beautiful flowers every Sunday.
Why go? Because it’s a weekend institution in east London, and one of the best places to buy flowers, bedding plants and even a banana tree – if you’ve got the patio space at home. Turn up early to avoid the crowds or late to pick up a bunch of bargains.
No matter what your view on the scenester’s paradise that is east London, it’s likely you’ll still have been lured there at least once or twice. Finding yourself on a Shoreditch side street in the early hours of the morning, a handful of craft beers down and searching for night buses home is a London right of passage, after all.
But, amid the gimmicky themed cafes and ping pong bars, east London packs in some of the city’s very best museums, historic houses, markets, restaurants and green spaces. Plus, there are more than a few London institutions here: from teeth-stickingly chewy, late-night bagels on Brick Lane, full English breakfasts with a side of Italian/cockney banter at E Pellici and Columbia Road’s flower market (aka the best way to spend a Sunday morning in London).
Whether you’re looking for brilliant restaurants like Lyles and Pidgin, lovely green spaces like Dalston East Curve Garden and Walthamstow Wetlands, or dazzling London history like Dennis Severs’ House and the Museum of the Home. Whatever your tastes, here’s our edit of the most enticing attractions, as picked by east London-loving Time Out editors.
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