Camden Town is a sea of entertainment. It overflows with a variety of colourful markets, shops, restaurants, bars, pubs, clubs, theatres and cinemas. The town attracts enormous crowds of Londoners and tourists alike.

Camden Lock Market, by the canal, was the original craft market, established in 1974, but now has a much wider spectrum of goods on sale. Both this and the ever popular Camden Stables Market - centre of the alternative fashion scene, Camden (Buck Street) Market, the recently improved Camden Lock Village and Inverness Street Market - which thrived on local trade long before tourists discovered Camden, are all open every day, making the area well worth a mid-week visit.

But it is at the weekend that the market scene jumps fully into life with all stalls and shops at the markets fully trading. The indoor fashion market at the Electric Ballroom opens on Sunday only. There is always something happening in the centre of Camden Town. Multitudes of shops and restaurants spill out on to the busy Main Streets. Days in Camden start slow and easy - shops and stalls open around 10am usually until 6pm, although some traders do stay open later. In the evening the theatres, bars, clubs, pubs and restaurants continue to swing until at least 11pm. How to get to Camden

You can get to Camden by tube on the Northern line. Many people travel to Camden Town station itself, but a good alternative is to alight at Chalk Farm, which is also close to the markets.

At the weekend catching the bus is a better option than taking your car because, as in most parts of London, parking spaces are few and far between. A walk along the pretty canal towpath from Regent's Park will also take you into the middle of the markets.