Liberty, Selfridges and London's Department Stores

Published 18 September 2026 · By the Guide to London editorial team · Editor: Terje Moy

London's great department stores are worth visiting even if you buy very little: Liberty for prints and its Tudor-style building, Selfridges for fashion and beauty, Fortnum & Mason for tea and hampers, John Lewis for practical everyday shopping and Harvey Nichols for luxury fashion in Knightsbridge. Each does one thing better than the others, so pick by what you want rather than by fame.

A department store is a large shop that sells many kinds of goods under one roof, usually arranged in separate departments on several floors. London has some of the oldest and grandest in the world. Several of them are more than a century old, and their buildings, window displays and food halls attract as many sightseers as shoppers.

This guide compares the main stores in central London, explains where each one is and what it does best, and gives practical advice on opening hours, Sundays and VAT. Harrods, the most famous of them all, has its own page: see our guide to visiting Harrods.

How the big stores compare

The stores overlap, but each has a clear personality. If you only have time for one or two, this table is a quick way to choose.

For gifts to take home, Liberty and Fortnum & Mason are the strongest. For fashion, it is Selfridges or the two Knightsbridge stores. For the things you forgot to pack, or need for a longer stay, John Lewis is usually the most sensible choice.

Liberty: prints, fabrics and a Tudor-style building

Liberty was founded in 1875 by Arthur Lasenby Liberty, who began by selling fabrics and decorative objects from Japan and the East. Its famous black-and-white building, just off Regent Street near Oxford Circus, looks like a Tudor house but was built in the 1920s, partly using timber from two old Royal Navy ships. Inside, wooden galleries rise around open wells of light, and the building alone is worth the visit.

Liberty is best known for its printed cotton fabrics, often small floral patterns, which are sold by the metre and made into scarves, shirts, bags and notebooks. It is also strong on beauty and fragrance, homeware and carefully chosen fashion brands. The fabric and haberdashery floor is a highlight for anyone who sews.

Liberty lists its opening hours as 10:00-20:00 Monday to Saturday and 12:00-18:00 on Sunday, with browsing from 11:30. From 24 November to 26 December it stays open until 21:00 from Monday to Saturday (September 2026). Check the Liberty store information page for changes.

Liberty sits between Regent Street and the lanes around Carnaby Street, so it combines well with the smaller fashion shops and cafés of Soho.

Selfridges: fashion, beauty and the food hall on Oxford Street

Selfridges opened on Oxford Street in 1909. Its founder, the American retailer Harry Gordon Selfridge, wanted shopping to be an enjoyable day out rather than a chore, and the store still works that way. The long classical facade, with its giant columns, fills a whole block near Bond Street station.

Inside, Selfridges is strongest on designer and contemporary fashion, shoes, accessories and a very large beauty hall. The food hall is excellent for chocolate, baked goods and deli items, and there are many places to eat and drink. The window displays change with the seasons and are a sight in their own right, especially at Christmas.

It is a very busy store, particularly on Saturdays and in December. Arrive soon after opening if you want to browse the fashion floors in peace. Selfridges' website did not allow us to read its opening hours in September 2026, so check them on the store's own site before you go. Our guide to shopping on Oxford Street covers the flagships and quieter side streets around it.

Fortnum & Mason: tea, hampers and a Piccadilly institution

Fortnum & Mason has traded on Piccadilly since the early 18th century (it dates its founding to 1707), and it is the most traditional of London's department stores. The shop is at 181 Piccadilly, between Piccadilly Circus and Green Park, opposite the Royal Academy. Look up at the clock on the front of the building, which has figures of Mr Fortnum and Mr Mason.

The ground floor is the part most visitors come for: tea in beautiful tins, biscuits, jams, marmalade, chocolate and sweets, all in the store's pale blue-green packaging. Downstairs is a food hall with wine and fresh food, and upstairs there are rooms for homeware, gifts and accessories. The store is famous for its hampers, which are wicker baskets packed with food and drink.

Fortnum & Mason lists its Piccadilly hours as 10:00-20:00 Monday to Saturday and 12:00-18:00 on Sunday, with browsing only from 11:30 to 12:00 (September 2026). Several restaurants inside the store serve breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea; our afternoon tea guide explains what to expect and how far ahead to book.

Fortnum's is a natural stop on a walk through Mayfair and St James's, and it is only a few minutes from Piccadilly Circus. The parks are close too: our guide to St James's Park and Green Park is useful if you want somewhere to sit afterwards.

John Lewis: the practical choice on Oxford Street

John Lewis began as a small drapery shop on Oxford Street in 1864, and its flagship still stands at 300 Oxford Street, just west of Oxford Circus. The company is owned by its employees, who are called Partners, and it has a reputation for helpful staff and a calm atmosphere.

It is less glamorous than Selfridges or Liberty, and that is its strength. It is the store to visit for a phone charger, an adapter, a suitcase, children's clothes, a warm jumper you forgot to pack, or good-quality kitchen and home goods. The haberdashery department, with fabric, wool and sewing supplies, is one of the best in London.

John Lewis listed the Oxford Street hours as 10:00-20:00 on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 10:00-21:00 on Thursday and 11:30-18:00 on Sunday (September 2026). On level 6 there is a rooftop bar and kitchen with views over the West End. For more ideas, see our guide to London's rooftop bars.

The John Lewis Partnership also runs Peter Jones on Sloane Square, a smaller department store in Chelsea that is handy if you are staying in the south-west of the centre.

Harvey Nichols: luxury fashion in Knightsbridge

Harvey Nichols stands on the corner of Knightsbridge and Sloane Street, a few minutes' walk from Harrods and next to Knightsbridge station. It is smaller and more focused than Harrods, with the emphasis on designer fashion for women and men, accessories and beauty.

For fashion lovers it can be an easier place to shop than Harrods, because the layout is simpler and it feels less like a tourist attraction. It sits at the top of Sloane Street, one of London's main streets for luxury boutiques. The Harvey Nichols website did not load for us in September 2026, so check its opening hours directly before you visit.

Harvey Nichols and Harrods make an easy pair: visit one in the morning and the other after lunch, with the free museums of South Kensington a short walk away if you want a change of pace.

Opening hours, Sundays and Christmas

Every store sets its own opening hours, but the law shapes them. Under the Sunday Trading Act 1994, a large shop in England (more than 280 square metres of sales space) may open for only one continuous period of six hours between 10:00 and 18:00 on Sunday. This is why so many department stores offer 30 minutes of browsing before the tills open at 12:00, as Liberty and Fortnum & Mason do. Large shops cannot open on Easter Day or on Christmas Day.

On other days the big stores usually open around 10:00 and close around 20:00, often later on Thursdays and in the weeks before Christmas. Bank holidays can have different hours. Our page on bank holidays and opening hours lists the dates for 2026 and 2027.

In November and December the department stores compete with their Christmas windows and grottoes, and they become very crowded. See our guide to Christmas in London for the lights and displays worth seeing.

VAT, paying and sending things home

All prices in British shops include VAT, which is 20% on most goods. The old system that let visitors claim VAT back at the airport was withdrawn in Great Britain on 1 January 2021. Today the only way to buy without VAT in Great Britain is for the shop to deliver the goods directly to an address outside the UK, and stores do not have to offer this.

If you are buying something large or fragile, ask whether the store can ship it abroad, and compare the cost with carrying it yourself. Our guide to tax-free shopping for visitors explains the rules, including the separate scheme that still exists in Northern Ireland.

All the stores in this guide accept cards, and contactless payment is normal. The usual contactless limit is £100, but it now depends on your card issuer, so larger purchases may need your PIN.

Planning a department store day

The stores are spread across three areas, so it makes sense to group them:

• West End: Selfridges and John Lewis on Oxford Street, Liberty near Oxford Circus, and Fortnum & Mason a short walk or bus ride south on Piccadilly.
• Knightsbridge: Harrods and Harvey Nichols, a few minutes apart, with the South Kensington museums nearby.
• Chelsea: Peter Jones on Sloane Square, with the boutiques of King's Road beyond.

Department stores are also among the best places to spend a wet afternoon, with cafés, toilets and plenty to look at under one roof. Our guide to London on a rainy day has other indoor ideas. For something different after the big stores, try the smaller boutiques of Covent Garden and Seven Dials, or see our shortlist of London souvenirs worth buying.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best department store in London for tourists?

It depends on what you want. Harrods and Selfridges are the most famous and the busiest. Liberty is the most beautiful building and the best for unusual gifts, while Fortnum & Mason is the classic choice for tea and British food to take home.

Is Liberty or Selfridges better?

Liberty is smaller, historic and best for prints, fabrics, beauty and gifts. Selfridges is much larger and better for designer fashion, shoes and a big beauty hall. They are about fifteen minutes' walk apart, so many visitors see both in one day.

What time do London department stores open on Sundays?

Large shops in England may trade for only six hours on a Sunday, between 10:00 and 18:00. Most department stores therefore open around 11:30 or 12:00 and close at 18:00, sometimes with a short browsing period before the tills open.

Can I get VAT back on purchases from London department stores?

No, not by claiming a refund at the airport. That scheme ended in Great Britain on 1 January 2021. You can only buy without VAT if the store sends the goods directly to an address outside the UK.

What should I buy at Fortnum & Mason?

Tea is the classic purchase, along with biscuits, jam, marmalade and chocolate in the store's distinctive packaging. These travel well, are easy to pack and make good gifts. Hampers are popular too, but they are heavy and expensive to take home.

Sources

• Liberty - Store information and opening hours (checked September 2026)
• Fortnum & Mason - Piccadilly store (checked September 2026)
• John Lewis - Oxford Street shop (checked September 2026)
• legislation.gov.uk - Sunday Trading Act 1994, Schedule 1 (checked September 2026)
• GOV.UK - Tax-free shopping (checked September 2026)
• Financial Conduct Authority - Greater flexibility on contactless limits (checked September 2026)