WhyWaitForever - London
WhyWaitForever - London - Images of Shops
This page contains images of famous London stores along Oxford Street, Regent Street and Knightsbridge and describes the most famous shopping areas of London. Click here to go directly to the introduction to the shopping areas.
WhyWaitForever - London - Shops has links to the web sites of the famous London fashion shops and department stores.
WhyWaitForever - London - My Home contains links to the shops that Londoners use for furnishing and maintaining their homes.
Shopping in Oxford Street and the West End is an experience. Here are images of some of the largest department stores.
A nice walk
These stores are on the route from Tottenham Court Road along Oxford Street with a diversion down Regents Street and then back along Oxford Street to Marble Arch. There are taxis, red buses or the Underground to take a visitor to Knightsbridge. On a warm day there is nothing than a nice walk from Marble Arch across Hyde Park.
Shopping Areas
In napoleonic times England was described as a nation of shop keepers. Though the civil service and military stores which equipped the servants of the empire have long gone the ethos and the presence of shops having goods to service the needs of anywhere on the globe remains.
It is not surprising that London has many fine shopping areas. Each shopping area used to be clearly distinquishable in mood and ambience. The distinctions are less clear now. Doormen are unlikely to turn away customers who fail to dress or behave in a manner acceptable to the particular shop as they once were.
The highest standards of service and expectation are in Bond Street and Knightsbridge including Sloan Avenue. Regents Street, Piccadilly and St James are grander than Oxford Street. The Kings Road is more "chic" than the Fulham Road or Covent Garden which are in turn less "parvenue" than Notting Hill and Islington.
Oxford Street west of Oxford Circus is where most of the large department stores are located. Just south of Selfridges is Grosvenor Square which is where the US Embassy is located. Near Grosvenor Square is Berkeley Square both offer a tranquil haven of rest to the tired shopper. The grand buildings of Mayfair calm the busied eye. Oxford Street east of Oxford Circus is more bustling and disparate than the end closest to Marble Arch and Hyde Park. The point where Oxford Street becomes New Oxford Street is crossed by Tottenham Court Road. This is the home of books and music south of Oxford Street and electronics north of Oxford Street.
High Street, Kensington and Kensington Church Street are less brash versions of Oxford Street and Bond Street. At the north end of Kensington Church Street is Notting Hill. Kensington Gardens and Holland Park offer quiet havens of calm to the tired shopper.
London has many street markets. Berwick Street in Soho, East Street near Walworth Road and Lots Road, Fulham have mainly fruit, vegetable and food stalls. For clothes, antiques and other goods Camden Lock on the Regents Park Canal, Portabello Road in Notting Hill and Leather Lane near Liverpool Street station are world famous.
WhyWaitForever - London - Travel - Maps has links to street maps of London.
A West End Walk
This walk is designed to be long and exhausting but it reveals the heart of West End shopping.
Start at Marble Arch Tube station and walk down Oxford Street.
Pass Marks & Spencer and Selfridges on your left.
Turn right into Bond Street and walk to the end.
Turn left into Piccadilly, note St James in parallel streets on your right and walk to the statue of Eros.
Turn left into Regents Street noting Saville Road on the left and walk to Oxford Circus.
Rejoin Oxford Street by turning right and walk to the end.
Turn right into Tottenham Court Road and walk to the end.
Continue along Charing Cross Road noting China Town on your right and turn left into Long Acre.
Turn right into Covent Garden and walk through to the Strand.
Turn right into the Strand and head towards Trafalgar Square.
Walk across Trafalgar Square passing the National Gallery on your right and turn right into Haymarket
Continue to the end of Haymarket and turn right into Leicester Square.
At the theatre booking office purchase reduced price tickets, see a show and relax.
WhyWaitForever - London - Theatre has links to theatres and shows in London.