Borough Market via Bermondsey Street
The most famous food market in London, approached via the quietest back-street. Walked and written by the editor.

1. Hay's Galleria
A covered nineteenth-century wharf, now a lightly commercial arcade. Five minutes of vaulted glass and a bronze ship sculpture.

2. Bermondsey Street
The street itself is the stop. Fifteen minutes long, independent shops, a very good coffee place, and a design museum halfway down.

3. White Cube Bermondsey
Free, usually excellent, and properly huge. Whatever's on, give it twenty minutes.

4. Maltby Street Market
The smaller, weekender-run sibling of Borough. Ropewalk Saturdays are chaotic and good. Eat here, don't at Borough.

5. Borough Market
Arrive with your appetite already spent. Walk the whole hall once; buy bread and olive oil only; leave before the lunch rush if you can.

6. Southwark Cathedral
Duck in for five minutes. Free, quiet, a William Shakespeare memorial by the door. The best antidote to a food market's buzz.

Borough Market via Bermondsey Street