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Shopping in London and shopping centres where you can find bargains and spend your hard earned money are covered on this pages. We will concentrate on main London shopping streets and places that you are most likely to visit.

The best known street for shopping in London is Oxford Street. It is the most famous street in LoOxford Street trafficndon 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. No matter which day you choose to come here your shopping will be hampered by mass of shoppers. To avoid the worst of the crowds you have to be an early riser and come between 9am and 10am - Saturdays and Sundays are bad no matter what time of day it is - when most of the other London shoppers are either in bed or having a breakfast. The nearest tube stations are: Marble Arch, Bond Street, Oxford Circus or Tottenham Court Road. Hotels near Oxford street

The second London street that you are most likely to visit to do your shopping is Regent`s Street. With Oxford Circus tube station on one end, and Piccadilly Circus on the other, this street is packed with all kinds of shops. The main reason for us mentioning this one is, the Hamley`s store. Hamley`s is every child`s dream come true. Packed with all kinds of toys this shop will make a hole in your pocket from demands from your children.
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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. Hotels near Bond street

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. Hotels near Soho

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. Hotels near Paddington - Bayswater

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 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| Hotels near Knightsbridge

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. Hotels near Sloane Square

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". Hotels near Hatton Gardens

Just a quick word about shopping centres.

Westfield shopping centre - The Westfield Group opened its flagship Westfield London shopping centre in the heart of West London. The centre promises to set a new standard for shopping in the UK and Europe, offering a huge range of high quality retailers and public spaces, restaurants, entertainment and customer service in a ‘five-star’ environment. The centre is anchored by leading British retail names such as House of Fraser, Marks & Spencer, Debenhams, Next and Waitrose. It will feature more than 280 shops together with 47 restaurants, bars and casual dining outlets. Situated at Shepherds Bush.

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.

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