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 has a long-standing reputation for fashion. Old and New Bond Streets harbour some of the city’s most exclusive designer outlets and high-powered art galleries. Saville Row and Jermyn Street remain the homes of bespoke tailoring. Knightsbridge boasts world-famous Harrods, with its legendary sales and heavenly food hall. Oxford Street and Regent Street attract swarms of shoppers to well-known clothing shops and megastores, including the immense and exclusive Selfridges department store and Hamley’s toy emporium, while the nearby Tottenham Court Road is lined with electrical shops. Just south from here, Charing Cross Road has long been the centre for bookshops in London, with enticing second-hand shops and bigger chains, while the world’s largest bookshop, Waterstones, is situated at Piccadilly. Covent Garden is one of the most popular areas of town. The Piazza, 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.

Malls are not favoured in the city centre, where High Street shopping still dominates. However, out-of-town malls are increasingly becoming popular due to the difficulty of parking and traffic congestion within London. The massive Bluewater Mall ( 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 High Street. A number of outlets and souvenir stalls line Oxford Street, Piccadilly Circus and other tourist-attracting areas, assaulting passers-by with all manner of kitsch, cute and colourful souvenirs, toys and clothes (mostly sporting a Union Jack or member of the royalty). More upmarket gifts can be found at the luxury department stores such as Harrods and Harvey Nichols in Knightsbrige, Selfridges and Liberty in Oxford Street and Regent Street, and Fortnum and Mason in Piccadilly (Green Park).

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 (Monday to 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, is brightened with a flower market (Monday to Friday 0900-1700). Antiques and crafts can be found at Spitalfields, E1 (Monday to Friday 1100-1500, Sunday 1000-1500), Camden Passage (in Islington) N1 (Wednesday 0800-1600, Saturday 0900-1700), and Greenwich Market, SE10 (weekends 0900-1700). Finally, 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).

Standard shopping hours are 0930-1730/1800 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 by Global Refund (tel: (0800) 829 373), which offers VAT (currently charged at 17.5%) refunds to visitors from outside the EU.