One of my absolute favorite places to shop when in London. I'll never pass up a chance to trek down…read moreto Carnaby street as the shopping and dining options are elite. For any one of my friends traveling into London I always recommend veering off a little to Carnaby. Over the years some shops have come and go but some of my favorites remain open. I'm a huge Great Frog lover and their shop is nearby, also for us rock n rollers I can't help stopping into The Rolling Stones Uk store. Lots of major branded stores but also cute local vendors and stores. It's a very walkable street and safe. Plenty busy so come earlier in the day to beat the crowds. Another pro tip is catching a reservation at dishshoom down here as I've found it easier to snag a reservation here than at their other locations. Plenty of dining options though and local stalls like Starbucks and Joe & the juice. It's a touristy street of shops but I love it - definitely bookmark this area on your must shop / see list when on this side of town.

Fun one mile shopping area and eating area in SOHO located in the west end of Westminster. No cars…read moreallowed, only pedestrians. After having a tasty snack at Pizza Pilgrims, went to the two story Rolling Stones store which was my favorite place on Carnaby Street. A bunch of boutique shops and found one bathroom and a drinking fountain. There was an old English style red phone booth containing an unspeakable object on the floor inside, good conversation piece for the rest of my trip. Welcome to London.

What a beautiful area of London! In 2015, I stopped into a Jamie Oliver restaurant with my auntie,…read moreher friend, and my American cousin for another round of drinks with some food. Loved seeing the array of shops, eateries, and just take in the beauty of the architecture as well. Everyone we came into contact with was friendly, and prices were comparable to what you'd get around London. Lots to see and peruse!

We enjoyed our week stay in Covent Garden. We took full advantage of the Covent Garden Market,…read morevisiting in several occasions. The Market is picturesque with lovely flower carts by the entrances. Historically, Covent Gardens were the gardens for the convent. Today, the beautiful enclosed market hosts various vendors that change regularly. The market is a great way to connect with locals. We went to the market four times during our visit. On Sundays, various art vendors set up and we visited with a local fossil dealer and purchased a couple fossils. We loved our dinner in one of the nearby cafes. On Mondays, antique dealers set up and sell various treasures. My husband bought me a vintage bracelet. We also watched a quintet play in the atrium. We found a few reasonably priced souvenirs to take home for gifts. Plenty of great restaurants surround the Market. We ate at several places and enjoyed our meals. The Market always seems to be new and people were friendly.

Great food hall with many options. Stairs on multiple sides and an elevator for easy 2nd and 3rd…read morefloor access. Tried the excellent Iman's Syrian Kitchen (casual but classy restaurant) and want to come back to try more restaurants!

This was such a fun spot! Lots of great eateries from pizza to cocktail bars to pub style fare, the…read morecourtyard was vibrant and casual. Great atmosphere and many choices! The restaurants span three floors, so be sure to look up to see the additional choices before deciding. We loved our visit here and how alive and happy it was.

THE quintessential aesthetic London department store…read more Harrods is for tourists with a lot of money. Liberty is for anybody with taste. An authentic London shopping experience that offers unique items you can't find elsewhere. A long history of beautiful design in a stunning Tudor-esqu building without a single escalator! (There are elevators) Gorgeous fabric from designers like William Morris. Come here for genuine London products, and for an authentic only-in-London shopping experience.

I was so excited to have the opportunity to visit liberty - with several floors, many offering the…read morewide array of floral materials, and others - perfumery, dining, housewares and haberdashery at premium pricing. While the staff are plenty, they are busier trying to appear busy, rather than assisting guests. I do admit to being somewhat underwhelmed. But for someone, I'm certain that Liberty will check all of their boxes.

Very big Primark & first Primark I have visited outside of the US…read more They have 4 shopping floor here, where you'll find women's, kid's, & men's clothing! Lots of makeup + pajamas, etc. I mean, they've got literally every and anything you'd be looking for to buy for every day or even clothes for occasions, at very affordable price.

Another good trip to this location. They have so many festive items, including; homeware, clothing…read moreand decorations. Great place for stocking stuffers and their bath bombs selection is one of the best! So many to choose from, including Disney and Christmas designs, all either £1 or £1.50! Staff on the floor are a bit useless and unwilling to help but the register staff were pleasant. As always - come early to avoid the crowds!

We were visiting London from Chicago in October when a cold snap hit. We didn't bring clothes for…read morecolder weather and I needed a coat. A few locals we met recommended Selfridges so we went. Comparing it to US stores, Selfridges is like a more upscale Macy's. They have a very wide selection of products from food to clothing, from furnishings to collectibles. They are also known for a huge shoe department. We made a beeline for men's clothing. Within the clothing areas, the divide by designer more than anything. At first, we were "sticker shocked" by the prices we saw. But we were looking at the big name brands and wanted to find something a little more reasonable. After looking around, we found a section with winter coats that, while still a little more than we wanted to spend, were more in our range. I found a very nice winter coat, bought it, and wore it out of the store. While I was on my way out, with my wife still looking around, I passed their cafe. They have a nice menu with a good variety of foods for meals or snacks. I simply had a cup of coffee and people watched until my wife caught up with me. Selfridges is a really nice store. I'm not a big shopper so I didn't want to just walk around the store. I will say that, if I did enjoy looking around in a big department store, Selfridges fits the bill.

It's not every department store that has a Masterpiece TV show made about it. That's just one of…read morethe things that makes Selfridges special. I visited Selfridges with my husband about two weeks ago, when we were visiting London for a few days. This store - their flagship - opened in 1909, and is the second-largest department store in the UK after Harrods. The store was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge, who became the subject of an ITV/Masterpiece showed called "Mr Selfridge," in which Selfridge was played by Jeremy Piven. During the Second World War, Selfridges housed a huge SIGSALY scrambling machine in its basement, which allowed Winston Churchill to call President Roosevelt directly and securely about a mile away from the Cabinet War Rooms. You can see its history in the bones of the building. The store has definitely been updated (it's stunning), but you can see original touches from the 1909 building. But Selfridges is a modern luxury department store with the best brands. You can definitely spend some money at Selfridges. We were just exploring the store, since we were in the neighborhood, but it's an incredible store - for shopping, for having a glass of champagne at their bar, or for checking out their pretty wonderful art pieces around the store.

We walked through this little strip of stores including jewelers, watch stores, and perfume stores…read more These items were all very beautiful and definitely pricy. The layout and architecture were very interesting and amazing as well. I did not know of this place before going, but if I were to visit again I would definitely take a tour to get a better understanding of the history and what each store was. Overall a really nice area to visit when in London!

I wanted to love Burlington Arcade but their selection just wasn't what I was expecting…read more The shops at Burlington Arcade lean mostly to boutique shoes and suits and jewelry, no scarves or wraps or silk, almost nothing feminine. It felt very much like the focused customer base were men (and gifts they would buy for themselves or their wives) and the selection of the lane offered really showcased that. I still think it's a fun walk through if you're visiting, but I wouldn't go expecting to buy gifts for women outside of jewelry.

Brunswick is located in Russell Square and filled with outdoor dining venues, shops you may be…read morefamiliar with and some small boutiques as well. Grab coffee, pastries, sushi, gluten free goodies, cosmetics, shoes and much much more. The marketplace is large with a gorgeous center space for sitting quietly, enjoying conversation, even people watching in peace. Keep an eye open for the flea market which offers local goods from chocolates to tshirts. ~Christy

The Brunswick Shopping Centre, just under half a mile from London Euston Station and really close…read moreto Russell Square Underground Station is a small shopping complex in Bloomsbury, London, located between Brunswick Square and Russell Square it is a fairly impressive building with impressive adaptations to make it seem more modern than old. I called in here to grab some food before getting the tube nearby to Wembley Stadium, there was a decent range of shops and places to eat, including brands such as Superdrug, Starbucks and Nandos', and a Waitrose store. Other stores here include Sainsbury's Local, Boots and 3, or if you're feeling hungry there is also the likes of itsu and Gourmet Burger Kitchen, the latter I only found out about after leaving it appeared to be hidden in the centre - shame! The entrance to the centre up a ramp which soon converted part into chairs looked quite dangerous, for me it looked like an accident waiting to happen with no clear lighting or signs to show it, which is why I can't help but wonder how this part of the building passed health and safety, which I can only guess is there down to it being grade II listed. A small selection of shops and places to eat and drink in decent surroundings, slightly quieter than getting something perhaps inside the Euston Station (or the square outside), and perhaps somewhere easy and nearby to go ahead of grabbing a train so it certainly is worthy of a solid three-star rating.

We had a few fantastic visits to the King's Grocery in London and picked up some Christmas gifts…read morefor our families. Fortnum and Mason is more than a grocery store, they have a variety of other household items, Christmas Ornaments, decorations, etc. There are six floors with elevators and stairs to each floor. However, the elevators can be a bit slow especially if they are busy so if you are on the move and can, use the stairs. The staff here is very friendly. They are helpful, will answer your questions, and will go out of their way to assist you with your needs.

I made a visit to Fortnum & Mason when my husband and I were visiting London a week or so ago and…read morehad such a great time. Fortnum & Mason is department store, but it's not your average department store. It's a food department store? I don't even know if there's a word for that! Founded in 1707 in the St James's/Piccadilly area of London, the store is modern but has retained some really incredible historic details: the mechanical clock on the facade, a double-helix staircase, and more. They sell tons of biscuits, tea and coffee, hampers (we call them gift baskets in the US, I think?), candy, chocolates, and more. Everything is beautiful and beautifully displayed. In the biscuit section of the store ("The Biscuitorium"), they sell roughly 70 flavors of biscuits and have an incredibly intricate replica of the store made from biscuits - like a most beautiful biscuit doll house you've ever seen. If you head downstairs, there's also a fantastic food hall and their fancy Wine Bar & Restaurant. After buying a few tins of biscuits upstairs, we went downstairs to the wine bar, where we ordered their Oysters & Champagne deal (6 Carlingford oysters and two glasses of Blanc de Blancs). Other than the oysters taking a bit of time - they brought us some extra Blanc to make up for it and the oysters' adductors muscles not being disconnected prior to making it to us, it was a great little break/snack during our first day of touristing around London! I'm not usually a shopper on vacation. But I make exceptions for stores with history, and Fortnum's has that in spades. It's a great place to stop for some edible souvenirs!

For my kids, this was a highlight of our trip. 7 floors with really well organized and wide…read moreselection of toys. A ton of demonstrations happening with fun staff as well to make it very special. The staff definitely give off a "Disney" vibe. Pricing was a little higher than I'd like to pay, but overall the experience added to it so we bit the bullet and bought a few toys on our trip. It's well worth it for your kids if you want to visit - nothing like it in the US

I heard this was the toy store of all toy stores and it indeed was. There were 7 floors of product,…read moreeach dedicated to a theme. Suitable for all ages. There were many photo opportunities and lots of demonstrations as well. The sales people worked for the store and there was no pressure at all. We were there a little under an hour and discovered many new items. Our kids really enjoyed the lego and Wicked themed areas. There is also a cotton candy machine where you can watch it being made through the glass, all automated. We somehow left without purchasing anything due to our inability to take it back home.