Top 10 Shopping Streets of London
September 25, 2007
Shopping Streets have always been a center of attractions for people visiting London. These streets carry a long history along with them as well provide shoppers one stop destination for all their needs. There are many amazing shopping joints and streets in London that has been long cherished and still has same charisma of pulling shoppers toward itself. Here we list some few top shopping streets of London:
1. Oxford Street
One of the busiest streets of London, Oxford Street started as a Roman road which crossed London to south east coast. This street has many restaurants and bars along with the largest store of Selfridges that was established in 1907. The restaurants in Oxford Street provides every type of food ranging from international to modern British cuisine. Oxford street is also the home for the flagship store of H$M which offers latest quality fashion designs in very cheap price. You can also get great labels like Dior
and Gucci in very cheap rate in this store. Oxford Street is famous for cloth shops, record shops and department stores. It has every thing that a traveler wants in his tour.
2. Regent Street
Regent Street is the most elegant steert in London’s West End. It has a long lineup of Regency Building and is home for two most popular stores called Liberty & Co and Hamleys. The best way to see Regent Street is through front seat of a double decker bus. Regent Street is the best place to be in Christmas. Each and every tree is lit up in Christmas by a Celebrity which brings a new wave to Regent Steert. This street is the best place for shopping art objects in London. Regent Street has large space for office accommodations in the upper floors of its building and is features as standard location on London version of Monopoly board game.
3. Covent Garden
Covent Garden is situated in the eastern part of City of Westminster and southwest part of London Borough of Camden. It is popular for its shopping stores, street
performers and entertainment houses. The Royal Opera House and St Paul’s Church both are located here. Covent Garden was a market for flower, fruit and vegetables from 1500 to 1974 and when it was relocated to New Covent Market this place has becomes a for shoppers paradise for all kinds of goods. Soho, Holborn and Bloomsbury are
few extraordinary place located around Covent Garden. It is the center point of retail business for fashion focused young people. You can find almost any kind of dress and design in this street.
4. Bond Street
Bond Street is one of the major London shopping street that run from Mayfair to Piccadilly in the south to Oxford Street in the north. It is an up market street with lots of classical stores and joints available here. It is one of the main streets in West End district. Bond Street is known to be the most fashionable street since 18th century. Bond Street was named after Sir Thomas Bond who purchased a mansion in Piccadilly. Bond Street was once popular for art dealers and antique shops which remained in Bond Street for hundred of years but now these places have been taken by fashion boutiques and upmarket designer showrooms.
5. Chinatown
London’s Chinatown is located in the Soho area of Westminster City. It holds many Chinese restaurants, supermarkets and gifts shops and many other stores run by Chinese. London’s Chinatown may not have charm as Chinatown of San Francisco but it is a good place where you get quality food and can pass you time easily in evenings. It is a bit different place than any other shopping street in London. The center of attraction in Chinatown is the Chinese ambiance and feel of eastern culture. You can find lots of high quality souvenir shops in this street which are primarily run by Chinese community. You can find a mix-up of British and Chinese culture in Chinatown with phone booths in pagoda style sloping roofs.
6. Tottenham Court Road
Tottenham Court Road is a eclectic shopping street which is popular for its electrical shops which sells products ranging from cables to high end computers components. It also had many furniture shops including the famous Habitat and Heals. It is located in central London, running from St. Giles’ Circus to Euston Road. This road is one way and all the lanes in the road are northbound.
7. Carnaby Street
It is situated in the district of Soho and is near to Regent Street. It was named after a large building located to its east which was built in 1683. This street was built in year 1685 to 1687. In recent days Carnaby Street is one of the popular joint among young people because of its chain stores and popular restaurants. Carnaby Street is famous for having every type of clothing ranging from street wear, designer dresses to vintage clothing and house wares. You can find many authentic and normally affordable cloths for every one and every class in this street.
8. Leicester Square
Leicester Square is the heart of London. With more than 22 million people visiting this place every year, it is the center point of London. It consists of one of the biggest cinemas with largest screen and a capacity of almost 1600 people. This square is one of the main locations for film premiers. Every year this square hosts the London Film Festival and is also surrounded by floor mounted plaques of celebrities’ names and cast handprints.
9. Piccadilly
It is a significant London Street which is situated from Hyde Park Corner in the west to Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is located in the City of Westminister. Piccadilly consists of Fortnum & Manson, the Royal Academy and The Ritz hotel. It has many legendary clothing stores including the Simpson which was opened in 1930s but the shop closed in 1999 and since then it is the place for booksellers Waterstone’s. Piccadilly has some great mansions like Claredon House, Berkeley House, Sir John Denham’s House which were built in 17th century. Piccadilly is a historical place in London has all the features required for a complete street.
10. Queensway
Queensway is a major street in the Bayswater district of West London. There are significant numbers of hotels and restaurants usually run by Chinese, Asian and Mediterranean people. It also has many upmarket stores pubs and fashion joints. You can see lots of young people in this street as it a major attraction for fashion focused people. The popular Whiteleys Shopping Center is also situated in this street which was first built in 1867. Moreover the Queensway Shopping Arcade offers everything on sell from army and navy supplies to footwear and jewellery.
Shopping Streets in London are a great place to be if you ever visit London. They give you the real feeling of living London. You can admire the history of London as well do modern day shopping together at same time. The above list is an example of some good quality shopping street in London. You can find almost every type of shopping street in London that caters specifically to your need.
