Shopping in London
From Oxford Street's flagships to Portobello's stalls, London's shopping is as varied as its neighbourhoods. The best streets, markets, department stores and what to know about tax and returns.
London is one of the great shopping cities of the world, and it offers far more than big brands. Alongside the flagship stores of Oxford Street and the famous department stores, you will find weekly markets, small boutiques, antique dealers, bookshops and some of the best vintage and second-hand shopping in Europe.
Each area has its own character. Knightsbridge is home to Harrods, Covent Garden and Seven Dials are full of smaller shops, and the markets of Portobello Road, Camden, Spitalfields and Columbia Road each have their own best day of the week. Our guide to vintage and second-hand shopping covers Brick Lane, Portobello Road and the charity shops where Londoners find their bargains.
Before you shop, it is worth knowing how tax-free shopping works for visitors today, since the rules in Great Britain changed some years ago.
51 guides in this section.
Streets and department stores
Oxford Street
Flagships, side streets and when to avoid the crowds.
Harrods
The Food Halls, and what to see without buying anything.
Liberty, Selfridges and London's Department Stores
The great stores compared, and what each does best.
Shopping in Covent Garden and Seven Dials
Market stalls, Neal's Yard and independent boutiques.
The Best Bookshops in London
Hatchards, Daunt and Charing Cross Road.
Photos in this list: photographer and licence for each image are listed on our image credits page.
Markets and vintage
Vintage and Second-Hand Shopping in London
Brick Lane, Portobello Road and the best vintage stores.
Portobello Road Market
Antiques on Saturday, and what is on the other days.
Camden Market
The market areas, the food and the weekend crowds.
Old Spitalfields and the Brick Lane Markets
What is on which day, and where to eat nearby.
Columbia Road Flower Market
Sunday mornings among the flowers.
Greenwich Market
Crafts, antiques and food in a covered market.
Photos in this list: photographer and licence for each image are listed on our image credits page.
Smart shopping
Outlet Shopping near London
Bicester Village, Wembley and whether the savings are real.
Tax-Free Shopping in the UK: What Visitors Should Know
What changed, and what options remain for visitors.
London Souvenirs Worth Buying
Tea, books, museum finds and what to avoid.
Photos in this list: photographer and licence for each image are listed on our image credits page.
Streets and stores
Liberty
The fabric hall, the staircases, and what is worth buying.
Fortnum & Mason
Hampers, the tea counter, and whether the tea room is worth it.
Selfridges
The food hall, the windows, and how not to get lost.
Hamleys and Toy Shops
Floors of noise, and the quieter shops children prefer.
Carnaby Street and Soho Shopping
The arch, the record shops, and the streets behind them.
Regent Street
A curve of flagships, and which ones repay a visit.
Bond Street and Mayfair
Jewellers, galleries and arcades, free to walk through.
The King's Road and Chelsea
What is left of the street that invented the mini-skirt.
Westfield: Stratford and White City
The two largest in London, and which is easier to reach.
Charity Shops in London
Where the good second-hand is, and what it costs.
Record Shops in London
Where to dig for vinyl, and who will ship it home.
Antiques Markets
Portobello on Saturday, Bermondsey at dawn, and the arcades.
Savile Row and Jermyn Street
What a bespoke suit costs, and what you can buy off the peg.
Christmas Shopping in London
The markets, the late openings, and the weeks to avoid.
Photos in this list: photographer and licence for each image are listed on our image credits page.
Compared, and where the bargains are
Harrods or Selfridges?
Different customers, different food halls. Pick one properly.
Camden Market or Borough Market?
One is for lunch, one is for shopping. Neither on a Saturday.
London Sample Sales
How to find them, and whether the queue is worth it.
Photos in this list: photographer and licence for each image are listed on our image credits page.
Markets the guidebooks miss
Broadway Market, Hackney
Saturday only, food-first, and best before noon.
Maltby Street and the Bermondsey Markets
Three markets, ten minutes apart, on three different days.
Brixton Village and Market Row
Caribbean grocers and small kitchens under one roof. When to go.
Tooting Market
Two covered markets, one road, and some of London's best cheap food.
Ridley Road Market, Dalston
A working market, not a destination. What is actually on the stalls.
Chapel Market and Shopping in Islington
Fish and cheap socks one street, antiques the next.
Leather Lane and Shopping in Clerkenwell
A weekday market for workers, and Hatton Garden round the corner.
Berwick Street and the Markets of Soho
The last of Soho's fruit stalls by day, and a market that runs until ten.
Petticoat Lane and the Markets of the City Fringe
Four hundred years of Sunday trading, and the City's own lunch stalls.
London Markets by Day of the Week
A table by day, so you do not arrive at a closed market.
Photos in this list: photographer and licence for each image are listed on our image credits page.
Shops for a particular obsession
Photos in this list: photographer and licence for each image are listed on our image credits page.
Markets and malls the guides skip
Camden Market in the Rain
Most of it is covered. Which parts, and the dry route between them.
Shepherd's Bush Market
A century old, under the arches, with a redevelopment hanging over it.
Alfies Antique Market and Church Street
Four floors of dealers, and shut on Sundays and Mondays.
Brent Cross and London's Suburban Shopping Centres
Britain's first out-of-town mall. When it beats Oxford Street.
Photos in this list: photographer and licence for each image are listed on our image credits page.
Shops for a particular errand
Football Club Shops in London
What a shirt really costs, and which shops open on a non-match day.
Museum Shops Worth a Visit
Some of the best shops in London are inside free museums.
Art Supplies and Stationery Shops
Paper, pigment and pens: the shops that still know what they sell.
Tea and Coffee to Take Home
Loose leaf and fresh beans. What travels, and what customs allows.
The Boxing Day and January Sales
What opens on Boxing Day, and when the real reductions land.
Photos in this list: photographer and licence for each image are listed on our image credits page.