by Annette – Astor Museum

London has a wide variety of shopping areas. From markets to high street and luxury, the city can satisfy everybody and anybody’s needs.

Looking at the core of the city center Oxford Street is the most visited area when it comes to shopping. With more than 300 shops, you’ll find a range of famous department stores such as Selfridges, John Lewis, and Debenhams. The all-time favorite stores of tourists are Primark, with one shop at each end of Oxford St. and the gigantic Topshop with 4 floors – any shopaholic’s dream.

You can easily spend an entire day on this street, but since the shopping areas in the very center are walking distant, you could for an instant start at Tottenham Court Road, at Primark’s Harry Potter Store, walk to Oxford Circus and take a left on Regent Street. Here you will find slightly more elegant stores and some of the oldest stores in London such as Liberty and Hamley’s. Take a left again on Great Marlborough St. and a right and you will enter Carnaby, an area of 13 small streets with a mix of independent stores, heritage brands, cafes, pubs, and bars.

Head off to Covent Garden for more shopping experience, including arts and craft in the Covent Garden Market. Don’t miss Neal’s Yard and Seven Dials nearby for more independent boutiques, and small cafes. Luxury areas in the center of London include Bond Street and Mayfair, but that’s not all – if you head southwest, in Knightsbridge, you’ll find much more, including the famous department store Harrods.

To finish off in style, a must on your list should be Notting Hill, made famous from the movie of the same name. You’ll find in this area unique shops, vintage clothing, antiques, gifts, books, organic food, and finally the popular Portobello Road Market.