Below the splendid columned entrance to Greenwich Market, one might expect to find a sign touting a huge sale or stating hours of operation. Nope. The sign tells you to watch your handbag and/or wallet. That's a tourist place in London for you.

Nevertheless, Greenwich Market is a great place to wander around to find a Persian rug, a porcelain Dennis the Menace figurine or that rare live Menudo LP.

When to visit and what's there

Timing is everything when it comes to visiting the market - it's in full swing Thursdays through Sundays. On Thursdays, you can find all sorts of collectibles and antiques such as jewellery, paintings and whatnot. On weekends, you'll find up to 160 merchants hawking arts and crafts in the central courtyard. Even when the courtyard merchants are absent, most of Greenwich Market's shops and cafes stay open all week. On summer Sundays, the market is flooded with bargain-hunters of all ages. The worst time you could possibly pick to visit the market would be early in the week during the winter months. You'll be there, but very few merchants will.

Aside from the courtyard market, there is an antiques market next to Greenwich Cinema and a flea market across from the Ibis Hotel. The former is for serious antique hunters, while the latter has a livelier variety of wares such as clothing, music, mirrors and furniture.

The market has several pubs including The Admiral Hardy, The Coach & Horses and The Cricketers. If you don't feel like pub food, there is a cafe, a food court by Natwest Bank, a bakery and a health food shop.

Market history

Greenwich has had a market for nearly 1,000 years, but not always on the present site in the covered courtyard at the centre of the borough. Farmers would bring cattle and produce while fishermen hauled in the day's catch. William III granted a Royal Charter to the Earl of Romney in the early 1800s, allowing the establishment of a market on the present site.

At the north exit by College Approach, traders are warned by an inscription declaring in large friendly letters - not unlike 'DON'T PANIC' on the cover of the Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy - that ‘A FALSE BALANCE IS AN ABOMINATION TO THE LORD BUT A JUST WEIGHT IS HIS DELIGHT.' So next time you think of skimping on that pound of pig brain special you've been advertising, remember you've been warned.

Getting there