Petticoat Lane Market

Petticoat Lane is London's world famous Sunday market and sells mainly clothes for men, women and children, from street-cred clubwear to over-orders of designer goods and last year's must-haves. One of its specialities is leather wear at the Aldgate East end and there's bric-a-brac, household goods, in fact everything you could possibly think of plus some other bits and bobs too. The market is held in and around Middlesex Street on Sundays from 9am to 3pm, with a smaller market open on Wentworth Street from Monday to Friday. Confusingly, Petticoat Lane doesn't actually exist any more - we have the Victorians' prudishness to thank for that, wishing to avoid any reference to undergarments they changed the name to Middlesex Street in 1846. With more than 1,000 stalls lining the streets on a Sunday bargain hunters come in their droves, it's a great scene worth the trip even if you're not shopping. Nearby areas of interest include Brushfield Street where Spitalfields Market is held and which offers more in the way of quality. Petticoat Lane may be London's biggest street jumble sale but for bargain hunting, with a bit of haggling thrown in, it's the original and the best.