London - Camden Town

Camden Lock Market, which started in the mid 1970s, has grown from a small venue near the lock to a large scale market, attracting millions of visitors each year. Most of what visitors will find here is inexpensive tourist oriented merchandise. The Camden Market now runs seven days a week but is busiest on weekends with huge numbers of people walking through the area. Midweek is a much more pleasant time to visit but not all of the stalls are open during the weekdays. Crafts, clothing, souvenirs and knickknacks can all be found here, with merchandise spewing out of the stalls onto the sidewalks.

The Camden Passage Market is a great place for visitors looking for antiques, collectibles, and other rare finds. The area around the market is a mixture of antique shops, bookstores, and restaurants. With cobbled walk ways the market has a very quaint feel. Some of the shops are only open on Wednesdays and Saturdays so you may want to schedule your visit around those days. The book market falls on Thursday mornings. There is also a Sunday farmers market adding fruits and vegetables to the possible shopping options at Camden Passage Market.

The area is located off Islington High Street, from Angel to Islington Green.

The Jewish Museum, formerly at the Woburn House in Bloomsbury, is now located in Camden Town. The museum discusses the history, culture and religion of the Jewish people. The Ceremonial Art Gallery is home to a vast array of religious pieces, including books and documents, ceramics, metal, and wood pieces. The History Gallery describes the history of the Jewish population in Britain. The Jewish Museum also contains a collection of paintings by Jewish artists, including works by Thomas Hudson, Tilly Kettle, Solomon Hart and Abraham Solomons.

In addition to this location in Camden Town, the Jewish Museum also maintains a second site in Finchley which it aquired in 1995 during an amalgamation with the London Museum of Jewish Life. This is where visitors will find the museums collections related to social history and changing exhibitions.

St Pancras Station is worth a stop if you are passing through this area. The St Pancras Station connects to St Pancras Chambers, formerly known as the Midland Grand Hotel. It was built in the 1870s and was one London's most luxurious hotels. In the 1930s it became the railway office building and was called the St Pancras Chambers. The building failed a fire inspection in the 1980s and has been closed since that time but is open to the public for tours.

Great brick supports hold up the massive arching girders, and might walls are decorated with great red and white arches. The former hotel along with St Pancras Station are considered to be some of the finest Victorian Gothic architecture in England.