London Shopping

In London you need to be strategic about shopping. It is easy to wear yourself out trying to take in the large number of shops and boutiques. Two good tips are to focus on one area at a time and to wear comfortable shoes. These three shopping districts are recommended.

Savile Row
A step away is Savile Row, synonymous with English customized tailoring. Savile Row is no longer the old fashioned gentleman's club it used to be, thanks to a new generation of innovative tailors, including Richard James at number 29 and Ozwald Boateng at number 12a. For shirts, ties, hats and handmade shoes head for Jermyn Street in St James behind Piccadilly.

Soho and Covent Garden
Soho is a maze. You never exit where you think you will, and you never really know where you've been. But the area has fun shops; prepare to shoulder an ever-increasing number of shopping bags. Many of the shops around Covent Garden cater to teens, especially those interested in skate and street fashions. On Neal Street, the sneaker shops line up, and the Seven Dials shopping mall houses even more of the same. This area is also home to high-class jeweller Laura Lee. Paul Smith, by far the most successful British fashion designer, opened his first shop in Floral Street in Covent Garden in 1979 and now has a whole string of shops there. Another shop worth mentioning is Aram, 110 Drury Lane, which has five floors with furniture classics by names such as Eileen Gray, Charles & Ray Eames and Alvar Aalto alongside the latest pieces by Ron Arad, Jasper Morrison and Philippe Starck.

Chelsea, South Kensington and Knightsbridge
This is the area mostly known for its high end fashion shopping. On Sloane Street in Knightsbridge you'll find Prada, Gucci, Giorgio Armani, Dolce et Gabbana, Fendi and many more. But in recent years it has also attracted a lot of excellent furniture and interior design shops.
Amongst the best are B & B Italia's cathedral-like shop at 250 Brompton Road in South Kensington, designed by the famous minimalist architect John Pawson. Nearby is The Conran Shop at 8 Fulham Road, founded by Sir Terence Conran and one of the first lifestyle shops in London. If
you're feeling hungry, have some oysters in the Bibendum Oyster Bar, located to the left of the main entrance. Make sure to visit David Gill at 60 Fulham Road. He's the first stop for London's leading interior designers and displays exquisite pieces such as ceramics by Jean Cocteau and Pablo Picasso, mirrors by Line Vautrin and silver furniture by Bonetti. A bit further down the road, at No 175- 177, you will find Kelly Hoppen,
currently Britain's leading interior design guru with several books to her name. There are also plenty of markets in London, some of the most known being Camden Market, Covent Garden Market and Old Spitalfields Market. If you have time to spare you should definitely visit one of these local markets, you won't regret it!

Greenwich Market
Packed of unique arts and crafts, this market is well known for items that cannot be found anywhere else. Browse any of the 120 arts and craft stalls, enjoy the continental food court and take in some of the music performed by students fromnearby Trinity College of Music.

Conduit Street and Bruton Street
Just around the corner from Bond Street, have emerged as new contenders and amongst those who have opened stores here are Vivienne Westwood, Stella McCartney, Yohji Yamamoto and Matthew Williamson. Also, do not miss the seriously hip Dover Street Market near Dover Street.

Harrods
You can buy virtually anything here: furniture, home electronics, pets, books, etc. But Londoners tend to concentrate on two things - food and clothes. The food hall is legendary, with its old style décor and its enormous sections of bread, sweets, vegetables, meats, coffee and tea.
And the fashion departments are some of the best in town, with clothes ranging from traditional to distinctly cutting edge.
Address: 87 - 135 Brompton Road, SW1.
Underground: Knightsbridge.
Phone: +44 (0)20 7730 1234.

Harvey Nichols
The emphasis here is on fashion, so it's no small surprise that it's a favourite among London's fashionistas. Harvey Nix as it's known locally, stocks not only the best of the well-known designer labels but also collections from new, young talent.
Address: 109 - 125 Knightsbridge, SW1.
Underground: Hyde Park, Knightsbridge.
Phone: +44 (0)20 7235 5000.