The UK’s great markets are where to find the best local food, and to eat your way around it standing up. Many of them are held in grand Victorian halls with glass roofs and iron columns, built in the days when every town had a covered market. Some have been trading for centuries.
These seven are worth a special trip. Most are busiest, and best, on Saturdays, and some close on certain days of the week, so check before you go. Bring a bag, an appetite and some cash, as a few small stalls still prefer it. Opening days change, so check before you go.
1. Borough Market, London
Borough Market, beside London Bridge and Southwark Cathedral on the south bank of the Thames, is London’s most famous food market. There has been a market in the area for about a thousand years. It is one of the oldest and largest food markets in London.
The market is set under the arches of railway viaducts, with trains rumbling overhead. Its stalls sell fruit and vegetables, meat, fish, cheese, bread, cakes and food from around the world. Many of the traders are small producers, some of whom grow or make their own food.
The market is also a great place to eat, with street food stalls serving everything from grilled cheese sandwiches to curries, oysters and paella. Many people come to graze their way around. The atmosphere is lively and bustling.
Borough Market is very busy, especially on Saturdays and at lunchtime. It has appeared in many films. It is a short walk from London Bridge station and across the river from the City.
2. Leeds Kirkgate Market
Leeds Kirkgate Market is one of the largest covered markets in Europe. Its grand Edwardian market hall, built in 1904, has an ornate front and a glass roof supported by decorative iron. Inside, hundreds of stalls sell food, clothes and household goods.
The market is famous as the place where Marks and Spencer began. In 1884, Michael Marks set up a stall here selling goods for a penny, and later went into business with Thomas Spencer. A clock unveiled for the company’s centenary stands in the market to mark the spot.
The market’s fish, meat and fruit and vegetable stalls are some of the best in the North, with prices often lower than in the supermarkets. The food hall has street food from around the world. It is a great place for lunch.
Kirkgate Market is at the eastern end of Leeds city centre. It is busiest on Saturdays. See our Leeds guide.
3. Grainger Market, Newcastle
The Grainger Market, in the heart of Newcastle, is a grand covered market hall opened in 1835. It was built by the developer Richard Grainger as part of his rebuilding of the city centre. At the time, it was one of the largest markets in Europe.
The market has stalls selling fresh meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, flowers, clothes and much more. It has a lively, traditional atmosphere. Many of the stallholders have been trading for years.
The market is home to the smallest Marks and Spencer in the world, the original penny bazaar, which still trades much as it did more than a century ago. It is a charming piece of history. The market also has cafés and street food.
The Grainger Market is a short walk from Grey Street and Monument. It is usually closed on Sundays. See our Newcastle guide.
4. St Nicholas Market, Bristol
St Nicholas Market, in the old city of Bristol, is one of the best places to eat in the city. It is housed partly in the Corn Exchange, an eighteenth century building, and in the Glass Arcade, with its glass roof. It has been a market for centuries.
The market is famous for its street food stalls, which serve food from around the world, from pies and curries to falafel and burritos. At lunchtime, office workers queue at their favourite stalls. There are also stalls selling books, records, antiques and curiosities.
Outside the Corn Exchange on Corn Street stand four bronze pillars called the Nails, where merchants are said to have paid their debts, giving rise to the phrase to pay on the nail. The old city around the market is full of history. There are also weekly markets for local produce.
The market is closed on some days of the week, so check before you go. It is a short walk from the harbour. See our Bristol guide.
5. Cardiff Market
Cardiff Market, in the heart of the city, is a Victorian covered market with a glass roof and a gallery running around the upper floor. It has been trading since the late nineteenth century. It is a great place to feel the life of the city.
The market sells fresh fish, meat, cheese, fruit and vegetables, as well as books, clothes and household goods. It is the best place in Cardiff to try Welsh food. Look out for Welsh cakes, cooked fresh on a griddle, and laverbread, a traditional seaweed dish.
Upstairs, a record stall has been selling vinyl to music lovers for years. There are cafés and food stalls serving everything from traditional Welsh dishes to street food. The atmosphere is lively and friendly.
The market is close to Cardiff Castle and the Victorian arcades. It is busiest on Saturdays. See our Cardiff guide.
6. Mackie Mayor and Altrincham Market, Greater Manchester
Mackie Mayor and Altrincham Market are two food halls in Greater Manchester run by the same team. Altrincham Market, revived in 2014, started a boom in food halls across the region and beyond. Mackie Mayor, opened a few years later, is in a restored Victorian meat market on the edge of Manchester’s Northern Quarter.
Both halls have independent kitchens serving food from around the world, with shared tables where everyone eats together. There are bars serving beer, wine and cocktails. The atmosphere is relaxed and sociable.
Mackie Mayor’s grand hall, with its glass roof and iron columns, is one of the most beautiful places to eat in the city. Altrincham Market has an outdoor market of produce and crafts on several days of the week. Both are great for groups.
Mackie Mayor is a short walk from Victoria station and the Shudehill tram stop, and Altrincham is at the end of the tram line south of the city. Both are busy at weekends. See our places to eat in Manchester.
7. Swansea Market
Swansea Market, in the heart of Swansea, is the largest indoor market in Wales. It has a history going back centuries, and the present hall, with a huge glass roof, was rebuilt after the old one was destroyed in the Second World War. It is a lively place full of character.
The market is famous for its cockles, gathered from the sands of Penclawdd on the Gower Peninsula, and for laverbread, a traditional dish made from seaweed. Together, they make a traditional Welsh breakfast. Welsh cakes are cooked fresh on griddles.
The market has stalls selling fresh fish, meat, fruit and vegetables, as well as cafés and street food. The stallholders are friendly and happy to talk about their produce. It is a great place to try local food.
The market is a short walk from Swansea station. It is open most days of the week. See our Swansea guide.
Buying more than you can carry is the whole point of a market. Add the bags when you book and a car with the room will be waiting.
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