World City Guide

Shopping

London is one of the world’s great shopping cities, with over 30,000 retail outlets dotted across the capital (3,000 of which in Central London alone). Typically for London, particular areas of the city have their own shopping characters. In the west, The King’s Road in Chelsea, SW1, has a long-standing reputation for fashion, although is now mainly high-street chains, while the Notting Hill area, once primarily antiques, is now also very popular for fashion boutiques, in particular along Westbourne Grove and Ledbury Road, W11. In the east, the Brick Lane area, E1 and E2, has long been home to up-and-coming fashion designers’ studios but now the area is really taking off, with many designers opening shops alongside shops selling vintage furniture, second-hand clothes, design objects and other quirky finds (Cheshire Street is especially good for this).

More centrally, Oxford Street (the busiest shopping street in Europe, with 200 million visitors a year and a turnover of £5 billion) and Regent Street (website: www.regentstreetonline.com), both W1, attract swarms of shoppers to well-known high-street clothing shops and megastores, including Hamley’s toy emporium, 188-196 Regent Street. Department stores (such as the enormous and trendy Selfridges, the reliable Marks & Spencer, and the back-to-basics John Lewis) are mostly located along Oxford Street, although the high-fashion Liberty is just down Regent Street. Just around the back of Liberty, Carnaby Street, popular in the swinging ’60s, is enjoying a revival, although it is mostly filled now with chains. The parallel Newburgh Street has independent trendy boutiques.

Nearby, Tottenham Court Road, WC1, is lined with electrical shops, while directly south, Charing Cross Road, WC2, has long been the centre for bookshops in London, with enticing second-hand shops and bigger chains. London’s largest bookshop, Waterstones, is situated on Piccadilly, W1. Covent Garden, WC2, is one of the most popular shopping areas. Its Piazza, once the site of the fruit and vegetable market, is now filled with specialist shops, cafés, craft stalls and street performers, while Floral Street is home to trendy clothes shops and Neal Street trendy shoe shops.

Old and New Bond Streets, W1, are home to the flagship stores for big international designers, such as Prada and Gucci, with nearby Conduit Street providing a home to more off-the-wall designers, such as Issey Miyake and Vivien Westwood. All these rub shoulders with the home of bespoke tailoring, Savile Row, while high-powered art galleries are scattered throughout the area, particularly Cork Street.

Visitors looking for a gift that is representative of London need look no further than the number of tacky shops and souvenir stalls that line Oxford Street, Piccadilly Circus and other tourist-attracting areas. Passers-by are assaulted with all manner of kitsch, cute and colourful souvenirs, toys and clothes (mostly sporting a Union Jack or member of the royal family). Harrods, Knightsbridge, SW1, sells more upmarket souvenirs and attracts huge numbers of tourists (and locals) every year, with its legendary sales and heavenly food hall. Another good place for typical British food stuffs as gifts is Fortnum and Mason, on Piccadilly, W1, a classic from the early 20th century.

High-street shopping still dominates in the city centre, however, out-of-town shopping centres are becoming increasingly popular. The massive Bluewater (website: www.bluewater.co.uk), one mile off the M25 ring road, is the biggest of this new breed.

Visiting one or more of London’s markets is a way of combining shopping with a cultural experience. The vast market at Camden Lock, Chalk Farm Road, NW1, is one of the city’s top attractions, open daily but primarily Saturday and Sunday. Visitors also flock to the antiques and flea market on the Portobello Road, W10, on Friday and Saturday. In the East End, Sunday markets sell everything from fruit and vegetables to jewellery and junk, such as Petticoat Lane and Brick Lane, E1, open 0900-1400 and 0600-1300 respectively, as well as the Sunday morning flower market at Columbia Road, E2. Despite the imminent redevelopment of half of the original market building, Spitalfields Market, E1, continues to thrive. Focused around extensive organic produce stalls, there are also stalls selling arts and crafts, antiques, records and clothes, with a pared-down market on Wednesday. Antiques are available on Camden Passage, Islington, N1, on Wednesday and Saturday, and Greenwich Market, SE10, on Saturday and Sunday. One of the most wonderful places for shoppers to explore for mainly 20th-century antiques is the massive maze of Alfie’s Antique Market, 13-25 Church Street, NW8, open Tuesday to Saturday. For foodies, Borough Market, SE1, is still the best, open Friday and Saturday, while, Brixton Market, Electric Avenue, SW9, offers the biggest selection of Caribbean food in Europe, open every day except Friday.

Standard shopping hours are Monday to Saturday 0930-1800, although some shops stay open as late as 2000. Shops rarely close for lunch and many are now also open 1200-1800 on Sunday. Late-night opening (usually until 2000) is on Thursday in the West End and Wednesday in the Knightsbridge area. Most major stores and shops in the West End are part of the Tax-Free Shopping scheme run by Global Refund (tel: (0800) 829 373; website: www.globalrefund.com), which offers VAT (currently charged at 17.5%) refunds to visitors from outside the EU. To encourage European visitors, the Euro is now increasingly accepted in major shops, with over 45 Oxford Street retailers accepting the currency alongside the Pound Sterling.