30 Things to See First

Thirty places to see first, in order, for somebody who has never been to London. Each says what it is, whether it is free, whether you must book, and whether the queue is worth it.

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Portobello Road

A long street of antique stalls, arcades and painted houses in Notting Hill. Free; Saturday is the day the whole market runs, and it is full from early.

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Portobello Road runs north through Notting Hill, past terraces painted in flat pastel colours, and on a Saturday its whole length is a market. The antiques are at the south end: stalls in the street and covered arcades behind them selling silver, prints, cameras and jewellery, along with a great deal that is neither old nor valuable. Fruit and vegetables take over in the middle, and under the concrete motorway at the north end it turns to clothes, records and bric-a-brac.

The antiques trade started here after the Second World War and this is now one of the largest antiques markets in the world. It is free and there is nothing to book. Saturday is the only day all of it runs, and it fills early; on other days the stalls thin out and it is a street of shops and cafés.

Where
Portobello Road, W11
Nearest station
Notting Hill Gate · 9 min walk

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Data is compiled from public sources including OpenStreetMap, under the ODbL. Hours change often, so check before making a journey.

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