A hidden gem in Hampstead. The Hampstead Antique and Craft Emporium is easy to walk past as you…read morewalk down the main road. And looking down the section that it is located doesn't look like there is much there but there is. They have a lovely little coffee shop outside, then once inside there are rows of antiques, furniture, collectibles, and jewelers. I also found the people working there to be very friendly.

I passed by Hampstead Antique Emporium when we were there for lunch at Villa Bianca (reviewed…read moreseparately). When I walked in I was stunned at the lovely things you can buy there and such reasonable prices! There are about 20 traders & stalls here offering antiques and crafts; textiles, art deco jewellery, glass, china, miniatures and so much more. I especially liked 3D greeting cards, depicting miniature worlds produced by Karrie Barron cards. At another stall, they sell some stunning miniature boxes. I especially loved the art deco and Victorian style jewellery - and will go back to buy!! There are some lovely porcelain pieces for avid collectors. It is such a hidden place that you can easily miss it. I was really happy I found this place - it's such a collector's heaven and the prices are so much better than what you would pay in Portobello market or elsewhere in London. Also all the stallholders are so friendly and helpful! This is one of those secret London attractions that you have to discover for yourself and I highly recommend you do! It's amazing!

My family has been coming here for years! Well before I was born. We're not local-we're Americans,…read moreand on every visit this was a must stop. There are many antiques from Alfies in my home that we inherited from my mother and smaller special keepsakes from my time living in London in my 20s. My husband & I spent part of our honeymoon in London, and it was his first time in the city (September/October 2024) and this was a nonnegotiable stop for me. Plan to spend a few hours wandering around and exploring-it's humongous! Also, generally speaking not on the inexpensive side but you can always find some gem's. I can remember on one visit when I was 19, we stumbled on a vendor that didn't realize what he had, it was a 20 year old authentic bubblegum pink Kelly (Hermes) and he had it priced under $1000. I still to this day regret not buying it for resale alone (bubblegum pink is not for me lol)

It would be an understatement to say that I am besotted with antiques. I love them. Can't get…read moreenough of them. Know London's antique and vintage purveyors like the back of my proverbial hand. And Alfie's is one of my favourites, a veritable antique market located in trendy Marylebone. With dealers selling clothes, fine and costume jewellery, furniture, textiles and collectibles, Alfie's should satisfy the needs of even the most ardent collector. And with a surprisingly accessible atmosphere at odds with the sometimes rarefied world of antiques and vintage, Alfie's is perfect for a browse for the expert and neophyte alike. I visited Alfie's just before Christmas last year and spotted cute as a button Mark Owen from Take That looking incredibly dapper. This is the place for vintage/antique fans to find unique Christmas presents without recourse to the high street.

I visited this shop in 2013 while on vacation and it was magical. I was led to a small red pouch…read moresitting atop a small red book. Inside the pouch contained a set of Runes and the book of instructions for beginners. Today 2024 those Runes I absolutely love.

OK, so the name is a bit silly and incongruous and Mary Queen of Shops would definitely have a…read morefield day with this place's branding but This Shop Rocks actually has some very nice vintage pieces if you dare to look inside. I have the feeling This Shop Rocks has been under new management for the last few months, that, or the shop's buyer has simply increased their skills exponentially. Once upon a time I wasn't terribly impressed with This Shop Rocks' stock but now I'm routinely tempted by its great array of high quality vintage finery every time I step through the door. Yes, you can pay £100 for a pure silk fifties dress or twenties beaded slip, but if you like your vintage high-quality and eschew designer pieces in favour of the very best vintage you can afford, then you should visit This Shop Rocks next time you're on Brick Lane.

Grays is a multi-level, huge building filled with stalls of antiques that remind one of the…read moreManhattan Art Antiques Center in NYC or the now closed Louvre des Antiques in Paris Two floors of costume & fine jewelry alike. There are vintage pieces, new pieces, signed pieces and watches. The vendors are all super-friendly and there is no sales pressure. Some stalls offer VAT back and some do not but prices are negotiable so there are fantastic deals to be had either upfront or through VAT refunds so choose your scenario I could not resist this fabulous bee brooch from Lisbon & while there was not VAT back offered, the appraisal I obtained after I got back home to the US more than satisfied the price I paid. Lots of patrons & chatter & banter among the vendors & visitors - huge fans & we'll be back for sure!

I could spend all day looking around Grays Antique Market. The indoor market is ideal for cold and…read morerainy days. The two floors are filled with various stalls and exploring can keep you warm and dry for hours. There are about 200 antique dealers inside the market, not all were open but the vast majority were doing business and happy to help you. Most of the stalls seemed to sell jewellery and watches. I saw lots of pretty shinny things, but the price tag on some might preclude excess buying. The good thing is that the dealers are willing to make a deal. A watch I had my eye on for a Christmas gift was out of my budget but after a chat at the counter I was able to talk the owner down a bit to something I felt a little more comfortable parting with. If you go to the market the two things you must check out are the sliver shop on the first floor and the lost River Tyburn!! The silver shop has really beautiful pieces and I feel in love with an antique silver compact. As for the River Tyburn I thought it was just a little water for the sake of decoration until I was told it's the River Tyburn. I don't know how true that is but I left believing it was true.

Henry Gregory is a standalone shop, that's a part of the Portobello Road Antiques Market. It sells…read morea range of goods though there is something of a focus on sporting and leather goods. It is pretty expensive but if you are looking for vintage leather luggage it is worth the trip. More generally if you like the sound of a shop that sells eighty year old footballs, aircraft propellers, antique globes and opera glasses it is worth at least coming to look around.

Nigel was incredibly gracious in helping me to find a silver tiered curate stand. The shop was…read moreclosing, and though he was already late to leave for the theatre, he took his time to wrap it carefully while energetically talking to me and my daughter about musical theatre. Although this is a high-end antiques shop, it is not stuffy at all. Truly, it is carefully curated and you will likely find something in this shop that you couldn't find anywhere else in London. The quality here is incredible, and Nigel goes the extra mile to answer questions and to be of service. I am so glad I stopped by. If you will be visiting Portobello Road, stop in to see Nigel and his shop. So fabulous!

Located in historic Notting Hill, Portobello Road, this is one the coolest antique souvenir stores…read morewe discovered on our trip to London. I bought a few items that look great in my office.

Though this shop might feel a little small, it has items in every nook and cranny, so it's a little…read morebit like a treasure shop. When there in early June, it has everything from new mugs to vintage glass bottles to old road signs to bigger trunks and furniture-like items. For printing, it seemed to be mid-range. Some of the vintage bottles were in the ballpark of £10-12, mid-sized trunks and other vintage items were £50-100 (depending on what it was), while some more noteworthy items were several hundred pounds. I definitely recommend taking a look if you like vintage items since its a bit of a treasure trove.

If the plague were to start ravaging the world tomorrow, I think I would probably gather a decent…read moreamount of food and water and then hunker down in Beyond Retro, because I'd want to spend the last of my plague-free days treating Beyond Retro as my personal closet. (Yes, I have been told that I need to reevaluate my priorities.) Beyond Retro is honestly the best thrift store I've ever walked into. It's tucked away on a side street just a stone's throw away from the bustling Brick Lane Market. My first impression was that the store was extremely well-organized and clean... like so clean that it could've matched the standards of a soulless corporate chain. But the clothing here was nowhere near as sterile as whatever you can find at your dime-a-dozen Zara. Every single item in here was high in quality and had its own vintage, retro character. Hands down, Beyond Retro has the most well curated, eclectic selection of clothing ever. A lot of thrift stores suffer from the musty, outdated '70s closet syndrome, where you'll have to do a godforsaken amount of digging to find that single diamond in the rough. That won't happen at Beyond Retro. I wish I could have had a shopping spree here, but I guess I'll just have to wait for the next plague.

I've lived in Shoreditch five years and it took a newly made Northern friend to introduce me to the…read morewondrous Beyond Retro not long ago. A sprawling vintage emporium with more of an emphasis on clothing than its obvious rival, Absolute Vintage, Beyond Retro sells vintage from the twenties through eighties at very reasonable prices. Its friendly staff are a breath of fresh air; its resident cat adorable; its stock varied and good quality; and its pricing so right on you'd be forgiven for thinking it was run by a philanthropist. Particularly noteworthy is Beyond Retro's premium vintage section which has a beautiful selection of vintage silk chiffon prom dresses and twenties beaded shifts and its astonishing Kimono rail which will not disappoint. As the name suggests, Beyond Retro is more than polyester sixties frippery and faux-vintage rock t-shirts. This place is the real deal and vintage fanatics would be mad to pass it up.

Disclaimer that I did NOT get up at ass-o'clock or whatever to go to this market. We got there at…read morelike 9am because I was on VACATION thank you very much. So maybe getting up at 4am is the best, as visiting at 9am (A REASONABLE HOUR, THANK YOU) meant that that Square was perhaps 1/2 full of stalls. Maybe the early bird does indeed, catch the worm but I shall never know. Anyway, this Market happens on Friday AM's. There are stalls selling acres of china, silver cutlery, lace and that one stall that sells royal commemorative tat that I salivate over. Not much furniture, mostly small collectible things. There's also a food stall or two, plus a nearby (slightly ghetto) Sainsbury's.

I am being completely truthful when I say that 5am on a Friday is really the only time to go to…read morethis market. Because it is an antique dealers' market and not a regular vintage/antique market, deals go quickly. There are hundreds of high quality and reasonably priced stalls selling an overwhelming array of goods. I have only done it twice when it first opens but it is best seen before dawn when you see people examining their goods with torches and the lights from their phones.