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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 favorite, 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.
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.
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.
London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom (UK) is Britain's largest and most populous metropolitan area. London is a leading global city, being the world's largest financial centre alongside New York City, and has the largest city GDP in Europe. London's influence in global finance, apart from education, fashion, entertainment and the arts and culture in general contributes to its global position. A major tourist destination for both domestic and overseas visitors, London is preparing to host the 2012 Summer Olympics. The Wimbledon Tennis Grand Slam tournament attracts tourists in the June-July summer holiday season. London Heathrow Airport is the world's busiest airport by number of international passengers.
London generates almost 20% of the UK's GDP and the economy of the London metropolitan area—the largest in Europe—generates approximately 30% of the UK's GDP. London's largest industry is finance, the use of which makes up most of the UK's balance of payments. London has close to 500 overseas banks, more than any other city in the world. Ironically, due to its prominent global role, London's economy has been affected adversely by the global financial crisis of 2008–2009.
Tourism is one of London's prime sources of income and almost 350,000 full-time workers in London earn their bread and butter in this industry. Annual spending by tourists is estimated at £15 billion. Nearly 15 million international tourists visit London yearly, making it the world's second most visited city after Paris. Since 2007, high-speed Eurostar trains link St Pancras International with Lille, Paris, and Brussels. Journey times to Paris and Brussels of 2hrs 15 and 1hr 51 respectively using the Channel Tunnel have shrunk transit times radically.
Markets
London is world famous for its shopping areas and shops of renown.
Oxford Street: London’s busiest shopping district lies in the heart of central London, running from Marble Arch to St Giles’ Circus. Oxford Street is two and a half km end to end. Most shops open 10 am until 6 or 7 pm. Some open Sunday 12 to 6 pm with late nights on Thursday. Moving from Marble Arch Eastwards, on the Northern side of the road, you cross Cumberland Hotel, Barratts shoes and boots for men, women and children, Swishy, with clothes and accessories for men and women, Ann Summers, Next, New Look for sizes 16 to 24, Monsoon, Russell and Bromley, with shoes for women and men, La Senza, for branded lingerie, Clarks for women’s shoes and River Island.
After the renowned Marks and Spencer is the massive landmark that is Selfridges, the ultimate 21st century shopping experience spread over 540,000 square feet (50,000 m2); Accessorize and then Gap, selling American style casual clothes and H + M for womens fashion. Then comes Mexx, the huge Debenhams, House of Fraser, John Lewis, Ann Harvey, BHS, Zara, H + M’s 2nd store, NikeTown for sportswear, Top Shop, Top Man, Miss Selfridge, Urban Outfitters, H + M's third branch, Uniqlo, La Senza, Aldo, American Apparel, Esprit, Benetton and Intimissimi, with some more stores to follow, like Argos, etc.
On the Southern side you pass Evans, for women’s wear, Wallis, Mothercare and Dorothy Perkins, which includes specialist brands for smaller women, pregnant women and young girls; French Connection, Jane Norman for women’s wear, The Disney Store Children's toys, gifts and all things Disney, and HMV.
Some other major shopping centres:
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.
Portobello Road: One of London’s best-known and most popular tourist attractions is Portobello market, a veritable flea market famed for it’s antiques and second-hand bargains. The market has been a centre for trade for two centuries and the local architecture reflects this period. As London grew into the metropolis of today, Portobello Road’s businesses lived on custom from surrounding well-to-do areas.
Top Shop: Top Shop has 3 branches in London, at Westminster, Oxford Circus and Kensington.
Much cheaper than H&M, Zara or Mango, the Top Shop is loaded with neat accessories and
Low-cost tees. Kate Moss is currently on show and Top Shop's boutiques have plenty on offer around this brand.
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