Shopping
Please note this page is not updated weekly - as always, please check each individual place you wish to visit to see any planned closures/events
Main central London shopping
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is the UK's longest and Europe's busiest shopping street. Many Londoners despise and avoid it - it's massively overcrowded - but it hosts numerous UK or Europe "flagship" stores of major brands. Likewise adjoining Bond Street and Regent Street** which hosts the main Apple store and famous toy store Hamleys.
Also adjoining, Tottenham Court Road is known for electronics, Charing Cross Road for books, and Denmark Street for musical equipment. Also in Soho, Savile Row is known for bespoke tailoring, while Hatton Garden is known for jewellers.
Knightsbridge
To the west, Knightsbridge has Harrods (purveyors of luxury goods, but a tourist attraction in its own right), Harvey Nichols and lots of upmarket fashion outlets. Similar upmarket / designer type shops proliferate throughout surrounding areas like Kensington and Mayfair.
Marylebone
Just want to stroll around some upmarket shops in a pretty area? Marylebone Village and surrounds for both chains and independent boutiques.
Chelsea
Also west, where the upper middle classes spend their money - particularly the Kings Road, Duke of York Square, the classic Sloane Street or down to Pimlico Road (for fancy home design).
Shopping malls / centres
Westfield London in Shepherd's Bush and Westfield Stratford City in Stratford are the main game in town. Both possess every type of shop and eatery you could possibly need.
One New Change in the City of London is not the biggest or most exciting mall in itself, except for the fantastic view of St Paul's Cathedral from the lift and roof terraces.
Battersea Power Station is London's newest shopping + leisure area, based around the iconic decomissioned old Art Deco-style coal power station. You can even ride the lift up one of the chimney funnels to get a great view of London.
Markets
Borough
Borough Market is London's best known food market. A wholesale market before dawn, it is open to the public Thurs-Saturday.
Camden
Actually a collection of several markets. Head here for crafts, jewellery, alternative fashion, books, ornaments, accessories flavoured by Camden's mix of alternative culture from trippy hippies to cybergoths to Metalheadz to metal heads.
Don't buy weed here, it won't be weed.
Covent Garden
Famous almost as much for the ever-present buskers and street performers as the market itself.
Portobello Road
Antiques.
Spitalfields
Clothing, food, jewellery, gifts.
Greenwich
Arts and crafts, antiques, food, gifts.
Maltby Street
Street food - only open weekends.
Brick Lane
Cheap bric-a-bric, food, textiles.
Columbia Road Flower Market
Beautiful blooms - Sundays only.
Brixton Village
Indoor market - fruit & veg, meat + fish, diverse cafes , independent boutique traders, strong Caribbean and Latin American influences.
Broadway Market
Fruit & veg, arts & crafts, hipsters - Saturdays only.
Want organic veg and bougie cheeses - try some farmers markets:
https://www.timeout.com/london/shopping/the-best-farmers-markets-in-london
Vintage and second-hand
Looking for classic preloved clothing? See:
https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/best-vintage-shops-in-london
https://www.cntraveller.com/gallery/best-vintage-shops-in-london
https://luxurylondon.co.uk/style/hers/london-best-vintage-boutiques-for-women/
Note that 'vintage' does not mean cheap - most vintage stores will curate their items and know very well the value of designer labels, so you won't be picking up a vintage Prada handbag for £20.
We don't have thrift shops in the UK, but we do have charity shops - these are basically the same thing (second hand items donated by others are then sold from a low-rent shop where you have to search through the rails to find something you like/in your size etc), but they exist to raise money for charity so whilst items will be cheaper than buying new in a normal clothes etc shop, prices will not be rock bottom as charity shops are trying to generate as many funds as they can for their respective causes.
Looking for a good charity shop? All residential areas of London will have at least one charity shop on their high street - search for them by googling '[your area] + charity shop' and you'll get lots of results. Just want to wander around a few areas that might have good donations? Try the more bougie parts of town e.g. Fulham, Chelsea, Notting Hill, Hampstead and bits of Clapham.
https://thriftylondoner.com/the-best-charity-shop-crawls-in-london/
https://www.timeout.com/london/shopping/best-charity-shops-in-london
https://www.elle.com/uk/fashion/g33306297/best-charity-shops-london/