London shopping ranges from the world's most famous department stores to sprawling street markets full of antiques, vintage and street food. Whether you want luxury flagships on Bond Street, the spectacle of Harrods and Liberty, or a Saturday hunt down Portobello Road, here are 8 of the best places to shop, with opening hours and tips to shop smart.
Luxury Department StoreHarrods
Area
Knightsbridge
Type
Luxury Department Store
“Even window-shoppers should see the opulent Egyptian escalator and the world-famous Food Halls.”
Department StoreSelfridges
Area
Oxford Street
Type
Department Store
“The famous window displays and the Shoe Galleries are highlights; the Corner Shop hosts fun rotating pop-ups.”
Department StoreLiberty London
Area
Carnaby / Soho
Type
Department Store
“The mock-Tudor building alone is worth the trip; browse the iconic Liberty-print fabrics and haberdashery.”
Luxury Food StoreFortnum & Mason
Area
Piccadilly
Type
Luxury Food Store
“Pick up the signature tea and biscuits in the eau-de-nil hampers, and watch the clock's figures chime on the hour.”
High StreetOxford Street
Area
West End
Type
High Street
“Shop the quieter, smarter west end near Bond Street; avoid Saturdays when the crowds are overwhelming.”
Antiques / Street MarketPortobello Road Market
Area
Notting Hill
Type
Antiques / Street Market
“Go Saturday for the full antiques market, but arrive by 09:00 to beat the crowds along the famous pastel street.”
Food MarketBorough Market
Area
Southwark
Type
Food Market
“Come hungry and graze the samples; go on a weekday for a calmer visit and easier access to the stalls.”
Alternative MarketCamden Market
Area
Camden Town
Type
Alternative Market
“Best for vintage fashion, indie labels and global street food; explore the canal-side Stables Market especially.”
London shopping in detail
1.Harrods
Harrods is the most famous department store on earth, a terracotta-tiled Knightsbridge landmark covering seven floors and over a million square feet, illuminated by thousands of lights after dark. Founded in 1834, it sells everything from high fashion and fine jewellery to a grand piano or a made-to-order hamper, wrapped in a sense of theatre few shops can match. Even if you're not buying, it's a genuine attraction: wander the ornately tiled, Egyptian-themed halls and escalator, marvel at the designer boutiques, and above all explore the spectacular Food Halls, whose art-nouveau ceilings arch over counters of pâtisserie, chocolate, cheese, seafood and tea. There are numerous cafés and restaurants inside, plus the famous Harrods hampers and souvenirs. It's touristy and prices are steep, but the sheer spectacle makes it worth a visit for the experience alone. Note the (relaxed) dress standards and expect crowds, especially during sale season. Set in luxury Knightsbridge, it pairs with the V&A and Hyde Park nearby. For window-shopping, people-watching or a splurge, Harrods is a quintessential London stop — go for the Food Halls if nothing else.
Hours
Mon–Sat ~10:00–21:00, Sun ~11:30–18:00
Price
Free to browse
Getting there
Tube: Knightsbridge (Piccadilly line), directly outside
Insider tip: Even window-shoppers should see the opulent Egyptian escalator and the world-famous Food Halls.
2.Selfridges
Selfridges is Oxford Street's grandest and most fashion-forward department store, opened in 1909 by the pioneering American retailer Harry Gordon Selfridge, who transformed shopping into entertainment — the story dramatised in the hit TV series. Behind its imposing Edwardian façade, crowned by the Queen of Time statue, spreads a vast, buzzing emporium of designer fashion, beauty, accessories, homeware and food, laid out with real flair. It's celebrated for its theatrical, often provocative window displays, its enormous shoe department, an excellent food hall and restaurants, and the Corner Shop space that hosts imaginative rotating pop-ups and installations. More design-led and playful than its rivals, it's as much a cultural experience as a shop, and it consistently ranks among the world's best department stores. It sits at the western, Bond Street end of Oxford Street, the best stretch of London's busiest shopping thoroughfare, near the boutiques of St Christopher's Place and Marylebone. Entry is free and browsing is a pleasure even without buying. For a stylish, all-under-one-roof shopping hit with a sense of occasion, Selfridges is a London essential.
Hours
Mon–Sat ~10:00–21:00, Sun ~11:30–18:00
Price
Free to browse
Getting there
Tube: Bond Street (Elizabeth, Central & Jubilee) or Marble Arch, at the west end of Oxford Street
Insider tip: The famous window displays and the Shoe Galleries are highlights; the Corner Shop hosts fun rotating pop-ups.
3.Liberty London
Liberty is the most characterful of London's great stores, instantly recognisable by its striking mock-Tudor building near Carnaby Street, constructed in the 1920s partly from the timbers of two old ships. Founded in 1875, it built its name on beautiful imported goods and, above all, its distinctive floral fabrics — the celebrated Liberty prints, still sold by the metre in the atmospheric top-floor haberdashery, remain a design icon. Arranged around galleried wooden atriums, the store feels like a warren of intimate rooms rather than a vast department floor, filled with carefully curated fashion, homeware, beauty, stationery, scarves and gifts with a strong emphasis on craft and design. It's a joy simply to explore, and its Christmas shop and seasonal displays are beloved traditions. More boutique and curated than Harrods or Selfridges, it appeals to those who prize individuality and heritage over sheer scale. It sits beside Carnaby Street's colourful shopping lanes and a short walk from Regent Street and Soho. Entry is free. For fabric-lovers, design fans and anyone who appreciates a beautiful building, Liberty is an unmissable and utterly London shopping experience.
Hours
Mon–Sat ~10:00–20:00, Sun ~11:30–18:00
Price
Free to browse
Getting there
Tube: Oxford Circus (Central, Bakerloo & Victoria), 3-minute walk toward Carnaby
Insider tip: The mock-Tudor building alone is worth the trip; browse the iconic Liberty-print fabrics and haberdashery.
4.Fortnum & Mason
Fortnum & Mason is London's most elegant grocer, a Piccadilly institution founded in 1707 and still the byword for luxury British food and, above all, tea. Behind its distinctive eau-de-nil (pale duck-egg) shopfront and beneath a famous clock whose figures of Mr Fortnum and Mr Mason emerge to chime the hour, spread beautifully merchandised food halls piled with teas, preserves, biscuits, chocolates, honey, hampers and Champagne, all in the store's iconic packaging that makes for perfect gifts and souvenirs. Holder of royal warrants, it's woven into British history — credited with popularising the Scotch egg and supplying picnics to generations of aristocrats. Beyond the groceries, there are floors of homeware and accessories, several restaurants and tea salons (the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon serves a renowned afternoon tea), and an ice-cream parlour. It's a smaller, more refined and more distinctly British experience than the big department stores, ideal for edible gifts and a taste of old-world London. Set among the arcades of St James's near the Ritz and Royal Academy, it's free to browse. For quintessentially English luxury food shopping, Fortnum's is unbeatable.
Hours
Mon–Sat ~10:00–20:00, Sun ~11:30–18:00
Price
Free to browse
Getting there
Tube: Green Park or Piccadilly Circus, on Piccadilly
Insider tip: Pick up the signature tea and biscuits in the eau-de-nil hampers, and watch the clock's figures chime on the hour.
5.Oxford Street
Oxford Street is London's, and Europe's, busiest shopping street — a mile-and-a-half run of around 300 shops stretching across the West End from Marble Arch to Tottenham Court Road. It's the home of the big high-street names and flagship stores: sprawling branches of the major British and international fashion chains, several department stores including Selfridges and John Lewis, and the vast Primark. This is mainstream, high-street shopping at scale rather than boutique or luxury browsing, and it can be relentlessly crowded, particularly on Saturdays and in the run-up to Christmas, when the famous festive lights are switched on above the street. For a more pleasant experience, focus on the smarter western stretch near Bond Street, dip into the calmer side streets like St Christopher's Place and Gees Court, or explore adjoining Regent Street with its grander architecture and stores. The intersecting Regent Street and nearby Carnaby lead to more distinctive shopping. Well served by four Tube stations plus the Elizabeth line, it's supremely accessible. For familiar high-street brands all in one place, Oxford Street delivers, though seasoned shoppers time their visit to dodge the worst of the crush.
Hours
Shops ~10:00–21:00 (later Thu; shorter Sun)
Price
Free to browse
Getting there
Tube: Oxford Circus, Bond Street, Marble Arch or Tottenham Court Road
Insider tip: Shop the quieter, smarter west end near Bond Street; avoid Saturdays when the crowds are overwhelming.
6.Portobello Road Market
Portobello Road Market is one of London's most famous and photogenic markets, running for over a mile through the pastel-painted streets of Notting Hill made globally familiar by the film of the same name. Saturday is the big day, when the road hosts the world's largest antiques market — hundreds of dealers selling silverware, jewellery, vintage cameras, prints, curios and collectibles from the southern, Notting Hill Gate end. Head north and the market changes character, shading into fruit and veg stalls, then vintage and second-hand fashion under the Westway flyover, and a lively strip of street food, giving you antiques, clothes and lunch in a single walk. Even on quieter weekdays the street's colourful houses, independent shops and cafés make it a lovely wander. It gets extremely busy on Saturdays, so arrive early — by nine — for the best browsing and photos before the crowds descend, and haggle politely with the antiques dealers. Combine it with a stroll around leafy Notting Hill and nearby Hyde Park. Free to explore and full of character, Portobello is a quintessential London market experience and a treasure-hunter's delight.
Hours
Sat is the main day ~09:00–19:00 (antiques); other days smaller
Price
Free entry
Getting there
Tube: Notting Hill Gate or Ladbroke Grove, then walk to Portobello Road
Insider tip: Go Saturday for the full antiques market, but arrive by 09:00 to beat the crowds along the famous pastel street.
7.Borough Market
Borough Market is London's most celebrated food market, trading in various forms for around a thousand years beneath the railway arches beside Southwark Cathedral near London Bridge. Today it's a foodie pilgrimage: a bustling, aromatic maze of stalls selling artisan cheese, charcuterie, fresh bread, seafood, wild mushrooms, spices, oils, cakes and produce from British and international specialist traders, many offering generous samples. Alongside the ingredients, a superb array of street-food stalls serves everything from salt-beef sandwiches and raclette to Ethiopian wraps and fresh oysters, making it one of the best lunch destinations in the city — come hungry and graze your way around. The market has become such a landmark that it's ringed by excellent permanent restaurants and shops too, including the famous Padella pasta bar. It's liveliest and fullest Wednesday to Saturday, and can get shoulder-to-shoulder busy at weekend lunchtimes, so a weekday visit rewards you with more space. Free to enter and packed with atmosphere, it sits moments from the Shard, Tate Modern and the South Bank walk. For food lovers, Borough Market is an essential and delicious London experience.
Hours
Tue–Sat ~10:00–17:00 (full market); limited Mon & Sun
Price
Free entry; food priced individually
Getting there
Tube/Rail: London Bridge station, 2-minute walk
Insider tip: Come hungry and graze the samples; go on a weekday for a calmer visit and easier access to the stalls.
8.Camden Market
Camden Market is north London's alternative shopping mecca, a warren of interconnected markets running from Camden Town Tube along Regent's Canal to Chalk Farm, and one of the capital's biggest visitor draws. For shopping, it's the place for vintage and alternative fashion, punk and goth clothing, band tees, records, indie designers, jewellery, art, leather goods and quirky homeware, spread through cobbled yards, converted Victorian horse stables and canal-side arches — the Stables Market being the most atmospheric section. Woven through it all is a legendary international street-food scene, where dozens of stalls dish up cuisines from around the world, so you can shop and eat your way around in one visit. The setting, beside Camden Lock and the canal, adds a lively waterside energy, and you can take a canal boat or walk the towpath toward Regent's Park. It's grungier, cheaper and more eclectic than West End shopping, which is exactly its appeal to a younger, style-hunting crowd. It's free to browse but heaving at weekends, so weekdays are calmer, and it pays to keep valuables secure. For vintage finds, indie fashion and street food with real character, Camden delivers.
Hours
Daily ~10:00–19:00 (food later)
Price
Free entry
Getting there
Tube: Camden Town (Northern line) or Chalk Farm
Insider tip: Best for vintage fashion, indie labels and global street food; explore the canal-side Stables Market especially.