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London is one of the world’s great shopping cities. In the west, the King’s Road in Chelsea, SW1, has a long-standing reputation for fashion and the Notting Hill area abounds with fashion boutiques.

In the east, the Brick Lane area, E1 is home to up-and-coming fashion designers’ studios with many designers opening shops alongside those selling vintage furniture, second-hand clothes and other quirky finds.

More centrally, Oxford Street (the busiest shopping street in Europe) and Regent Street, both W1, attract swarms of shoppers to well-known high-street clothing shops and megastores, including Hamley’s toy emporium.

Department stores (such as trendy Selfridges, reliable Marks & Spencer, and back-to-basics John Lewis) are mostly located along Oxford Street. High-fashion Liberty is on Great Marlborough Street (off Regent Street) and just behind it sits Carnaby Street - popular in the swinging ‘60s; it is now enjoying a revival, although it is mostly filled with chain stores.

Tottenham Court Road, WC1, is the place to go for electrical goods, while, Charing Cross Road, WC2, has long been the center for bookshops in London, with enticing second-hand shops and bigger stores including Foyles which has a great selection of specialist works.

Covent Garden, WC2, is one of the most popular shopping areas. Its Piazza, once the site of the fruit and vegetable market, is now filled with specialist shops, cafes, craft stalls and street performers, while Floral Street is home to trendy clothes shops and Neal Street cool shoe shops.

Old and New Bond Streets, W1, are home to the flagship stores for big international designers, such as Prada and Gucci, with nearby Conduit Street providing a home to more off-the-wall designers, such as Issey Miyake and Vivienne Westwood. All these rub shoulders with the home of bespoke tailoring on Savile Row.

Harrods, Knightsbridge, SW1, attracts huge numbers of tourists (and locals) every year, with its legendary sales and heavenly food hall, decked out in Arts and Crafts tiles. Another good place for typical British foodstuffs is Fortnum and Mason, W1.

The vast market at Camden Lock, NW1, is one of the city’s top attractions. It is open daily but primarily Saturday and Sunday. (Note: The market was partially destroyed by fire in February 2008). Visitors also flock to the antiques and flea market on the Portobello Road, W10, on Friday and Saturday.

In the East End, Sunday markets sell everything from fruit and vegetables to jewelry and junk, such as Petticoat Lane and Brick Lane, E1, open 0900-1400 and 0600-1300 respectively, as well as the Sunday morning flower market at Columbia Road, E2. Newly redeveloped Spitalfields Market, E1, continues to thrive. Focused around extensive organic produce stalls, there are also stalls selling arts and crafts, antiques, records and clothes.

Antiques are available on Camden Passage, Islington, N1, on Wednesday and Saturday, and Greenwich Market, SE10, on Saturday and Sunday. One of the most wonderful places for shoppers to find 20th-century antiques is the massive maze of Alfie’s Antique Market, 13-25 Church Street, NW8, open Tuesday to Saturday.

For foodies, Borough Market, SE1, is still the best, open Friday and Saturday, while, Brixton Market, SW9, offers the biggest selection of Caribbean food in Europe, open every day except Friday.

Standard shopping hours are Monday to Saturday 0930-1800, although some shops stay open as late as 2000. Many are also open Sunday 1200-1800. Late-night opening (usually until 2000) is on Thursday in the West End and Wednesday in the Knightsbridge area.

Most major stores and shops in the West End are part of the Tax-Free Shopping scheme run by Global Refund (tel: 0800 829 373; website: www.globalrefund.com), which offers VAT (currently charged at 17.5%) refunds to visitors from outside the EU. To encourage European visitors, the Euro is now increasingly accepted in major shops.

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