London shopping

Sunday trading hours of large stores is limited. Usually they open from 12-6pm only.

Oxford Street
The main shopping street in London is Oxford Street. Here you will find the British favourite, Marks and Spencer’s which sells a huge range of lingerie, clothing, suits, flowers and food. Well priced and fashionable.

Selfridges is another British institution selling beauty goods, gifts, food and clothing. HMV has a huge music shop and the rest of Oxford Street has many internationally known chains such as Body Shop, Gap and Zara.

Knightsbridge
The most famous emporium of all is Harrods. It sells everything from fashion to furniture and has no less than 19 places to eat. The Victorian food halls are magnificent. The beautifully presented foods make welcome gifts and the elaborate plasterwork above the doorways and ceiling is spectacular.

Knightsbridge is full of designer boutiques and fashion houses. The other store of note is Harvey Nichols which sells classy clothes from its well stocked fashion departments.

Chinatown
Chinatown is the unofficial name for the area just south of Soho and between Leicester Square and Shaftesbury Avenue. Hardly any of London’s 60,000 Chinese people live here, as the area is commercial and a focal point for the Chinese community with a number of Chinese restaurants, supermarkets and souvenir shops.

Commercial Street
A defined part of London’s inner ring road, Commercial Street joins Aldgate and Shoreditch, thus acting as a boundary between the well-off City and the poorer East End. The street runs North-South and just around the corner lies the famous Threadneedle Street, home of the Bank of England and major financial institutions, such as Lloyds of London.

Covent Garden
Covent Garden is one of the top shopping and entertainment areas in London and nothing like what one saw in yesteryear’s blockbuster film, My Fair Lady. Now it boasts of exquisite restaurants and big fashion labels, and has become a popular venue for tourists to visit.

Hamleys
Hamley’s is indubitably one of the largest and most famous toy shops in the world over close to sixty years. Situated on Regent Street, one of London’s busiest shopping areas, the huge six-storey store is packed to the rafters with toys and games, and is one of London’s major tourist attractions, attracting more than five million visitors each year.

Piccadilly Circus
Five of London's busiest streets, Piccadilly, Shaftesbury Avenue, Regent Street (on two sides) and Haymarket meet up at Piccadilly Circus, now called London’s answer to New York’s Times Square. Ablaze with neon lights, noise and traffic, Piccadilly Circus is a commercial and entertainment hub in London's West End. Traffic density is high, so do use the subway.

Regent Street
Regent Street divides up-market Mayfair to the West and fashionable Soho to the East. The major shopping section of the street lies between Oxford Circus to the north, and Piccadilly Circus to the south, a kilometre plus stretch.

Soho
Soho lies in the midst of Piccadilly Circus, Oxford Street, Regent Street and Charing Cross road. Soho is an area associated with controversy and best left alone, as sleazy strip joints are strangely located next to designer clothes shops. Be wary of drug trafficking and prostitution.

Tottenham Court Road
Tottenham Court Road, a one-way street originating near Centre Point, the tallest building in the West End, is known for it’s wide range of electrical outlets, with most shop owners being Asian.

Harrods
Spread over seven floors and occupying an estimated 225,000 sq ft of floorspace, Harrods is one of the world’s most famous department stores with a reputation for both quantity and quality, selling everything under the sun. Harrods stocks some of the world’s finest brands. After the Princess Diana tragedy, its owner Mohammed al Fayed lost interest in his baby and, on 9 June 2010, sold Harrods to Qatar Holding.

London Shopping Malls

Westfield Mall is the newest and smartest of London’s malls in White City/Shepherds Bush. It has 265 stores and ‘The Village’, an area of  fashion houses and chic boutiques.

Bluewater
The only sizeable mall is just outside London is at Bluewater, just off the M25 at junction 2 it incorporates dining, cinemas and even a rock climbing wall. It has over 330 shops to choose from.

 

London Markets

Shop at one of the many street markets on Fridays and Saturdays and revel with local Cockneys (Londoners). Carnaby Street, Soho is known for its bohemian clothing. Portobello Road market in Notting Hill sells everything from specialist breads to clothing and antiques. There are always some amazing and unusual things which can be haggled over on this historic street market.

Covent Garden was once the wholesale flower market but now hosts a selection of small shops. It is a great place to browse, as street entertainers make the whole place great fun. Cafés and restaurants abound in this historic cobbled square.

The Borough Market specializes in fine food, fruit and vegetables. It is one of the largest food markets in the world and is held in a beautiful Art Deco building erected in 1851. It is only open to the public on Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings. It is on Stoney Street and Southwark Street close to London Bridge on the South bank of the Thames.