Camden Market: A Cultural Melting Pot For All Tastes

Camden Market overview

Camden Market is north London's bastion of culture, attracting hippies, goths and even celebrities with its vibrant pubs and eclectic market stalls.

Dating back to 1974, the market attracts nearly 100,000 visitors on a weekly basis and has played a central part in rock history over the last few decades.

The members of Blur got together in a local Camden pub, Kate Moss and Amy Winehouse are often seen drinking the local watering holes (although not together) and the Camden Crawl festival attracts some of the UK's coolest acts.

However, it is not all cool Britannia. Camden market is the capital's fourth most popular tourist attraction and on a Sunday afternoon even stalls selling the most generic of items are packed with crowds of visitors eager to get a slice of Camden.

Camden Market Location

The easiest way to reach Camden Market during the day is the Underground. The nearest tube station is Camden Town, which is on the Northern Line.

However, on a Sunday after 1300 BST due to congestion problems Camden Town becomes an exit only station, meaning that visitors have to walk to Chalk Farm station to get a tube out of the area.

Alternatively, visitors could use one of the bus routes, which run from Camden in and out of central London – the fare for which is often covered by the cost of the tube ticket.

Why Visit Camden Market?

Camden's main attraction is its market. Sprawling down the high street, the market sells clothes, food and a huge range of arts and crafts. Handily, over the years stalls in similar veins have grouped themselves together.

In the underground Electric Ballroom, which doubles as a music venue by night, a range of second hand and homemade clothes are sold, leaning towards the vintage punk side of fashion. There is also a well-stocked music market in the ballroom, selling CDs cheaply. Further down the road is a traditional outdoor market selling a wide range of memorabilia that would largely appeal to tourists.

For those seeking good quality inexpensive craft works, Camden Lock is for the more professional stall holders. Here visitors can buy all types of wacky art work, clothes made from hemp and jewellery in a range of styles for a fraction of the price paid on the high streets of central London.

Come night time, music fans should get themselves to the Camden Barfly where bands such as the Kaiser Chiefs have wowed crowds and earned themselves rave reviews en route to stardom. This venue's small, blackened rooms are the ultimate place for any indie scenester to find the next big thing.

Alternatively, the ever-eclectic Camden is also home to the Jazz Café where music lovers can see more laid back acts perform. The Underworld is also just around the corner, showcasing the best in metal, electronica and punk, to name but a few genres to grace its stage.

However, for those who visit Camden in the hope of spotting Winehouse's beehive, the best place to head would be the Dublin Castle, which is where Madness formed and is a favourite with celebrities.