ndon where you can buy souvenirs, clothes, and
so on. The good news about shopping at Oxford Street is that so many big retailers
are represented here that you will be spoilt for choice. The bad news is that
you may have to be prepared to struggle from store to store. During
the busiest times so many people are milling around that the street looks like
an anthill.Picture
Just off Oxford Street, less known and less crowded, but more expensive are New Bond Street and Old Bond Street. These streets have designer shops ready to dazzle you. Most stores have a doorman who is there to open the doors for you, smile at you and wish you a nice day. The main difference with these two streets compared with the Oxford Street is the friendliness of staff working there and the price of the things they will try to sell you. So if you are looking to buy designer clothes, expensive furniture, paintings, or maybe go to an Auction then this is the right place for you to be in. Near to these two London streets is Savile Row. The one and only thing they do here is to make and sell you clothes; especially custom-made shirts and suits for men. For a "good" suit you will have to make a reservation up to six months in advance and pay up to 20,000 pounds.
Leaving it all behind, a few minute`s walk is Shaftesbury Avenue from where Soho and the world famous Carnaby Street, Covent Garden and Chinatown are waiting for you. Soho is infamous for being seedy or sleazy but this reputation is overstated, out of date and neglects the many other things that this area has to offer. Yes, in the past it was a bad place to find yourself in, but night life there in recent years has been improved and made safer. Any time of the day or night there is always something going on. You have contrast such as; an old fruit and vegetable market and Old Compton Street where gay people meet and have fun. Covent Garden with its market is a trendy place to have cup of coffee or maybe something stronger. A huge number of cafes gives you chance to explore different foods. If you can force yourself to rise early, go there on Sunday morning, sit outside and just watch surrounding streets waking up.
If you are interested in buying an artwork from an unknown artists please go to the Bayswater Road (nearest tube station Lancaster Gate). Just on the northern side of the Hyde Park you will come across couple of hundred of artists who bring their paintings here so you can appraise them and maybe buy from them. Although many of whom of these artists are amateurs you may be pleasantly surprised by the craftsmanship displayed.
Exiting from Knightsbridge tube station which is situated south of Hyde Park, we have two options to choose from. If you take the left exit from the tube station you will emerge at one end of Brompton Road. Harrods store, the most famous shop in London is here. The shop is a red terracotta building which was completed in 1905 and its interior decoration includes Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles. It began, in 1849, as a small grocer`s shop and was further developed by the son of the founder, Henry Harrods. It can boast that it is the store that has delivered an elephant to Ronald Reagan, gooseberries to Saudi Arabia and a skunk to an American`s ex-wife. This was the first store in the world to install an escalator and Victorian customers were so overcome by the experience of riding a "moving staircase" that the store posted attendants at the top of the to administer brandy to gentlemen and smelling salts to the ladies. Currently it is owned by the Egyptian Mohamed Al Fayed and employs in excess of 3000 staff. It is four acres in size and with more than 300 departments, bars, restaurants and even own pub this store is London`s third top attraction with around 30,000 customers passing it trough on daily basis. Most of them just pass trough, though simply because of the expensive nature of the things. All along Brompton Road that runs into Fulham Road you can see a wider variety of shops. Picture
Sloane
Street is
the second street that starts also from the Knightsbridge tube station but on
your right side as you exit the tube.
Sloane Street is packed with designer shops and runs all the way to Sloane Square, which is
at the top of the Kings Road. Our restaurant suggestion for this area is Peter
Jones - huge department store in Slone Square. You can have a coffee/lunch in
the restaurant and enjoy great view over the whole area. The Kings Road has all kinds of shops that you would
expect to find in such an expensive and luxurious area, but mainly the things
that make it special and well known are antiques and clothes boutiques. If that
is what makes your heart beat faster then go to Sloane Square tube station and
you will come out at the top of this street.
If you truly want to flash your money go to Hatton Gardens, EC1, (nearest tube stations Chancery Lane or Farringdon - tube and Thameslink). This is the place in London to buy diamonds. Like they say, "Diamonds are a girl`s best friend".
Just a quick word about shopping centres.
Whiteley`s - in Queensway, not too many shops on offer here so don't go if your intention is purely just spending the whole day out doing shopping.
Brent Cross - (off the North Circular, Brent Cross tube station) is on the other hand a much better choice with plenty of shops, but then again further away from the centre of London.
Lakeside shopping centre - (take the train from Southend or Fenchurch Street that runs every 30 min). This is even bigger shopping centre than Brent Cross but is further away from central London.
The Bluewater Centre, which consists of 320 shops, restaurants, leisure centres, and cinemas, is situated in Dartford and to reach it by car go on the A2 one mile from M25 junction 2 or take the train to Greenhive where every 15 minutes you will be greeted by the shuttle that takes you on a 3- minute journey to the centre.