Shopping in London: Main Streets and London markets

Shopping is as popular with visitors to London as sightseeing. Six days a week, thousands of people come to Oxford Street in the west end to shop for clothes and visit the big stores like Liberty and Selfridges.Oxford Street is the most famous shopping street in London. It is the place to go for big department stores and popular British shops. With over 300 shops covering 2.4 kilometres, you can always find what you’re looking for. The little streets off Oxford Street have their own attractions too. Here you’ll find smaller shops such as jewellers selling gold and silver, small boutiques selling the latest fashions, little antique shops where you can buy collector’s items like silver matchboxes, and even specialist shops. Hamleys of Regent St is the place for children. It’s one of the biggest toy shops in the world. And at Harrods of Knightbridge it is said that you can get anything from a piano to an elephant. Charing Cross Road is the place for bookshop-lovers. From old books to new, cheap books to expensive, the shops on this road have got them all.

Tottenham Court Road is the place for electrical shops. Are you looking for an MP3 player, a TV, or a computer? Then this is the street for you!

London Markets

Petticoat Lane is the biggest market in London and has got over 1,000shops. You don’t want to miss it!

Portobello Market in West London is one of the most famous street markets in the world. It is a popular destination for Londoners and tourists alike. Portobello Road goes straight through the heart of Notting Hill, the trendy area of London made famous by the film: the blue door, the travel bookshop, the garden fence and so on.

Camden Town overflows with a variety of colourful markets, shops, restaurants, bars, pubs, clubs, theatres and cinemas. The town attracts enormous crowds of Londoners and tourists alike. Camden Lock Market, by the canal, was the original craft market, established in 1974, but now has a much wider spectrum of goods on sale. It is at the weekend that the market scene jumps fully into life with all stalls and shops at the markets fully trading. The indoor fashion market at the Electric Ballroom opens on Sunday only. There is always something happening in the centre of Camden Town. Multitudes of shops and restaurants spill out on to the busy Main Streets. Days in Camden start slow and easy - shops and stalls open around 10am usually until 6pm, although some traders do stay open later. In the evening the theatres, bars, clubs, pubs and restaurants continue to swing until at least 11pm