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London is one of the world’s great shopping cities with over 30,000 retail outlets dotted across the capital.
Typically for London, particular areas of the city have their own shopping
characters. The King’s Road in Chelsea, SW1, has a long-standing reputation
for fashion. Old and New Bond Streets, W1, harbour some of the city’s
most exclusive designer outlets and high-powered art galleries. Saville Row
and Jermyn Street, W1, remain the homes of bespoke tailoring. Knightsbridge,
SW1, boasts world-famous Harrods, with its legendary sales and heavenly food
hall.
Oxford Street and Regent Street, W1, attract swarms of shoppers to well-known
high-street clothing shops and megastores, including the immense and exclusive
Selfridges department store and Hamley’s toy emporium, which now offers
the unique chance for children to ‘sleep over’ for the princely
sum of £10,000.
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, while London’s largest
bookshop, Waterstones, is situated at Piccadilly, W1.
Covent Garden is one of the most popular areas of town. The Piazza, WC2, once
the site of the fruit and vegetable market, is now filled with specialist shops,
cafés and craft stalls, while street performers and musicians entertain
the crowds. Shoppers on the lookout for trendy clothes and shoe shops should
head for Neal Street, WC2.
Malls are not favoured in the city centre, where High Street shopping still
dominates. However, out-of-town malls are becoming increasingly popular due
to the difficulty of parking and traffic congestion within London. The massive
Bluewater (website: www.bluewater.co.uk),
one mile off the M25 ring road, is the biggest of this new type of shopping
experience.
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). More
upmarket gifts can be found at the luxury department stores, such as Harrods
and Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge, Selfridges and Liberty in Oxford Street
and Regent Street, and Fortnum and Mason in Piccadilly.
Visiting one or more of London’s markets is a way of combining shopping
with a cultural experience. The vast weekend market at Camden Lock, Chalk Farm
Road, NW1, is one of the city’s top attractions (daily but primarily
Saturday and Sunday 1000-1800). Visitors also flock to the Friday and Saturday
(0800-1500) antiques and flea market on the Portobello Road, W10. In the East
End, Sunday markets – selling everything from fruit and vegetables to
jewellery and junk – are held on Petticoat Lane and Brick Lane, E1 (open
0900-1400 and 0600-1300 respectively), while Columbia Road, E2, also on Sundays
(0900-1300).
Spitalfields Market, E1, is under threat, but continues to thrive, with its
Sunday market (1000-1600) having expanded from organic produce to arts and
crafts, antiques, records and clothes. Antiques are available from Camden Passage
(in Islington) N1 (Wednesday 0800-1600, Saturday 0900-1700), and Greenwich
Market, SE10 (weekends 0900-1700). For foodies, Borough Market, SE1, is still
the best (Friday 1200-1800 and Saturday 0900-1600), while, Brixton market on
Electric Avenue, SW9, offers the biggest selection of Caribbean food in Europe
(open Monday-Thursday, Saturday and Sunday 0900-1800, Wednesday 0900-1500).
A new arts and crafts market recently opened in Docklands at West India Quay,
E14, specialising in paintings, sculpture, glass, soft furnishings and quirky
clothes.
Standard shopping hours are 0930-1800 Monday to Saturday (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 openings are held on different days of the week, depending on the
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 40 Oxford Street retailers, accepting the currency alongside
the Pound Sterling in September 2002.
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