London's Borough Market reopened this week, 11 days after the terror attack in which eight people were killed and 48 injured.
Now best known as one of the capital's major tourist attractions, this former wholesale trading ground has been around for hundreds of years - it is protected by a 1754 act of parliament that preserves it for public enjoyment "forever", says The Londist.
Despite the attacks, Borough Market will endure - and so it should: a more vibrant testimony to our historic, yet thoroughly modern and cosmopolitan capital you will not find.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Latest Videos FromThe Week
The only question, then, is where to go and what to do now that its delights are once again on the menu. Here are The Week's picks.
Starting the day right
If you're in the area first thing in the morning, you'll probably be in need of a caffeine hit to kick-start your day. In which case, head straight to Monmouth Coffee.
Located opposite the market proper on its western side, Monmouth serves what John Ridding, chief executive of the nearby Financial Times, calls the "best coffee in London" - and you'll typically find the queues to prove it.
If you're after something more substantial, then not far away and perched in the rafters inside the market itself, is Roast.
This popular modern-British restaurant sources produce from the market's stallholders and serves "the best English breakfast in town", says Itamar Srulovich and Sarit Packer, of Honey & Co. We'll vouch for that.
Luscious lunches
Roast is a popular venue for breakfast meetings, but is also open for lunch and dinner - although it has plenty of competition.
Ridding says his regular lunch venues of choice are Brindisa, a Spanish tapas restaurant at the southern tip of the market looking out on to Borough High Street, and El Pastor, a Mexican taco bar a few doors down, opened last year by a team including famous foodie brothers Sam and Eddie Hart.
If you're in the mood for Italian, Jonathan Ford, FT city editor, recommends Padella, "the pasta joint owned by Jordan Frieda, the son of hairdresser to the stars, John Frieda". You'll find it a few doors up from Brindisa, near the Bedale Street entrance.
"Forget the delights of the upmarket restaurants, my true taste of Borough Market has to be the £6 prawn wrap from Applebee's," says the FT's Robert Shrimsley.
In fact, this is one of a number of more rustic options, which includes cheese toasties at Kappacasein, chips and dip at Elliot's cafe and a wild Highland venison burger at the Furness Food Hut - not to be missed.
A bit of shopping
Whether you arrived first thing or in time for lunch, you will be full by now - time for some shopping.
Among the most famous shops in Borough Market's recent history is Neal's Yard Dairy, which is next door to Monmouth and well known not only for its huge variety of cheeses, but also its characteristic yogurt.
Out to stock up for dinners at home? Then the Londonist points you to Turnips, "one of the very best greengrocers in the capital", located right in the heart of the market, baker Bread Ahead in the northern enclave, and the acclaimed butcher the Ginger Pig on the western fringe.
There are a huge number of other stalls selling everything from fresh fish to beautiful bouquets of flowers, but a The Week favourite is the baklava stand to be found in the eastern wing of the market, under the railway line just down the steps from London Bridge, at weekends.
Into the night
The fun doesn't stop when the stalls close - the market's restaurants are all open for dinner, which is when Black and Blue, on the western side of the market, steps into the spotlight.
And if you to turn your day into a night out, you've come to the right place.
Among the many pubs in the area are the Market Porter, over the road from Black and Blue, which is well known for the Harvey's Sussex Best beer - El Pastor co-owner James Somerville's "all-time favourite pint".
A few doors down is the friendly Wheatsheaf, which boasts a funky beer garden and fantastic pub grub, while inside the market, under the railway line, lies The Globe, underneath Bridget Jones's flat in Bridget Jones's Diary.
Outside the market and off Borough High Street is Katzenjammer, a German bierhall of which one of The Week's team has fond memories of his stag do. It also features a traditional "oom-pah" band at weekends.
Finally, what about a visit over the road to the George Inn, set slightly back from the road on Borough High Street? Owned by the National Trust, but managed by the Greene King brewery, it dates back to the 17th century and is the last remaining galleried pub in London.
And if you end up here, you're in good company. Charles Dickens visited this pub and even referred to it in his book Little Dorrit, which is perhaps the best recommendation of all as the market begins writing the next chapter in its story.
