Shopping in London London has some of the best shopping in Europe. Whatever you are looking for you should be able to find it here. Here are the main London shopping streets and places that you are most likely to visit.
Oxford Street is the best known shopping street in London. All major retailers can be found on Oxford Street, with a wide range of clothes, shoes, accessories, cosmetics, souvenirs, etc.. However, if you do not want to struggle through the crowds of shoppers, you should try to be there as early as 9am or 10am on a week day. Saturdays and Sundays are bad no matter what time of day it is.. The nearest tube stations are: Marble Arch, Bond Street, Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road.
Another London street that you may want to visit to do your shopping is Regent`s Street, which is a dividing line between Mayfair and Soho. The main shopping section of the street lies between Oxford Circus and Piccadilly Circus, where you can find a number of large outlets offering everything from toys and trench coats to fabrics and food. Perhaps the street’s most famous shop is a department store Liberty, which sells fashions, cosmetics, accessories, gifts etc. in addition to its homewares and furniture, both instore and online. If you have children, visit the other famous Regent’s Street resident – the Hamley`s store. This is arguably the world’s best toy shop stacked from floor to ceiling with excellent toys. It is a wonderful place to take a child, and fun for adults as well.
Just off Oxford Street, less crowded, but more expensive are New Bond Street and Old Bond Street, where you can buy designer clothes, expensive furniture, paintings, or maybe go to an auction. Not far from these two London streets is Savile Row. Savile Row is a shopping street in Mayfair famous for its traditional men’s bespoke tailoring. It is also known as the “golden mile of tailoring”, where customers have included Winston Churchill, Lord Nelson and Napoleon III. For a “good” suit you will have to make a reservation up to six months in advance and pay up to 20,000 pounds.
Leaving it all behind, a few minute`s walk is Shaftesbury Avenue from where you can reach Soho and the world famous Carnaby Street, Covent Garden and Chinatown. Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Soho had a reputation for being seedy or sleazy, but this reputation is out of date and neglects many important things that this area has to offer. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable transformation. It now is predominantly a fashionable district of upmarket restaurants and media offices, with only a small remnant of sex industry venues. Soho never sleeps and there is something going on at any time of the day or night. There is a range of things that you can buy here, ranging from an old fruit and vegetable market, record and fabric shops in the area around Berwick Sreet and a few sex shops around Old Compton Street. Covent Garden with its market and many independent shops is a trendy place to stroll, shop and have a cup of coffee. Covent Garden Market reopened as a retail centre in 2010. The central hall has shops, cafes and bars alongside the market stalls selling antiques, jewellery, clothing and gifts; there are additional casual stalls in the Jubilee Hall Market on the south side of the square. Long Acre has a range of clothes shops and boutiques, and Neal Street is noted for its large number of shoe shops.
If you are interested in buying an artwork from an unknown artists please go to the Bayswater Road (nearest tube station Lancaster Gate). Just on the northern side of the Hyde Park you can find numerous unknown artists selling their paintings here. Although many of these artists are amateurs you will be pleasantly surprised by the craftsmanship displayed.
The most famous London (luxury) department store and London’s third top attraction is Harrods, which is located in Brompton Road, right next toKnightsbridge underground station. The shop is a red terracotta building which was completed in 1905 and its interior decoration includes Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles. It began, in 1849, as a small grocer`s shop and was further developed by the son of the founder, Henry Harrods. This was the first store in the world to install an escalator. Harrods store occupies 20,000m2 site and has over 330 departments, as well as bars, restaurants and even an own pub. Products on offer include clothing for women, men, children and infants, electronics, jewellery, sporting gear, bridal trousseau, pets and pet accessories, toys, food and drink, health and beauty items, packaged gifts, stationery, housewares, home appliances, furniture, and much more. Up to 300,000 customers visit the shop on peak days, but many of them come to window shop only, since most of the items on sale here are very expensive.
Sloane Street is another shopping site close to Knightsbridge tube station. This street is packed with designer shops and runs all the way to Sloane Square, which is at the top of the Kings Road. Kings Road has a variety of shops, but its best-known for its antiques shops and clothes boutiques. The further away from Sloane Square you walk, the greater the number of smaller, independent clothes and shoe shops there are, as well as contemporary furnishing stores. The nearest underground station is Sloane Square.
The last of the luxury addresses that you may want to visit in London is Hatton Gardens, EC1, (nearest tube stations Chancery Lane or Farringdon – tube and Thameslink). It is one of the world’s finest and most renowned jewellery locations, and the centre of London’s diamond trade.
There are also a few shopping centres that may be worth visiting. Here are some of them:
Westfield London – This is the largest London shopping centre, with a retail floor area of 150, 000m² and some 300 stores. It is situated in White City / Shepherd’s Bush in West London. The centre promises”the ultimate shopping and leisure experience” in a luxury environment. It is a showcase for five anchor stores: Debenhams, Next, M&S, House of Fraser and Waitrose. The development also includes a high-end retail area called The Village. Westfield also has some 50 numerous restaurants, bars and casual dining outlets. The nearest London Underground stations are Wood Lane, White City, Shepherd’s Bush and Shepherd’s Bush Market.
Brent Cross – Although much smaller than Westfield, it has some 120 shops, restaurants and cafes. Shops include John Lewis, Fenwicks and M&S. It is situated further away from central London, just off the North Circular. The closest underground stations are Brent Cross and Hendon Central.
Lakeside shopping centre – This is another very large shopping centre, with some 250 shops. It is located in West Thurrock, in the borough of Thurrock, Essex just beyond the eastern boundary of Greater London. Chafford Hundred train station is a few minutes walk from the Centre via a covered pedestrian bridge. C2C trains run direct services from London Fenchurch Street every 30 minutes. It is also connected to the M25 motorway which is London’s outermost ring road, as well as to the A13 road which connects central and east London to Basildon and Southend-on-Sea.
The Bluewater Centre – Bluewater is also an out of town shopping centre, located in Greenhithe, Kent, England and 17.8 miles (28.6 km) south-east of London. The centre features some 320 shops, restaurants, leisure centres, and cinemas. To get there from London – trains depart from Charing Cross, Waterloo East, London Bridge or Cannon Street travelling to “Greenhithe for Bluewater”, and run approx every 15 minutes. On arrival at Greenhithe take a 3-minute shuttle service to the centre. By car – if you are travelling on the M25, follow signs to Dartford Crossing, this is signposted along the entire length of the M25 in both directions. Lookout for Junction 2 (A2/M2), then follow the signs to Bluewater. The M25 is numbered clockwise from Dartford Crossing (J1 through to A13 (J30).
