Shopping in London

[ChatwithJacq]

I am off to London soon with some girlie friends for a girlie day of shopping....we will be there for 6 hours in total...arriving at and departing from Victoria bus station. How can i make the most out of my 6 hours please...would like to do a bit of sights/classy shops/markets/wine bars. Just don't want to waste alot of the day not knowing where i'm going...

Thanks in advance

[nuoyg]

Get a little map book...Also work out what you want from your experience (i.e. - touristy - Oxford St and West End...Expense...Kings Road etc etc). It'll all be busy and rammo and I would be surprised if you got shopping, sightseeing, markets and wine bars in six hours! I would imagine queues will take up half the time! I think if it was me I would have a perusal in one of the big department stores in oxford st/regent st (I like Dickens and Jones as it's never too busy) and then i may even have a little look around covent garden as it can be quite interesting round there with the little street acts and market stalls and round that way there are some pubs etc. And then you could always walk to Charing X where you have traf sq or walk over the bridge to the Ldn eye. I would imagine there would be a website somewhere which tells you what's on. I think it all depends what you want from the day. Hope you have a good one...wear comfy shoes and be prepared for crowds!

[ChatwithJacq]

Thanx

xxx

[nuoyg]

Hope you have a great time! :o)

[wilsarnie]

Like the others said, not sure if you'll have time to do both but really do try;

Portebello Market on Portebello Road. It has a little bit of everything but if you're more interested in clothes then start up the Ladbroke Grove end (it's a really loooooong market!)

Camden Market. You'll see the massive difference between the two markets. Mind you, don't go if you have an aversion to hard house music and punky, clubby clothes but do try to walk up to around the Lock area. Make sure you're hungry, there's food from all over the world!

Have fun!

[atolhurst]

Covent Garden. Love it. But I agree with the posts about the shoes. Before I moved down here, I came down for a day and ploughed up and down Oxford Street, in the most beautiful shoes thinking I was great. HUGE blisters soon followed, and I wore slippers for the rest of the week in recovery. Ouch.

[lilyfrog]

If you are going to do the Oxford street mainly in shops thing then dont bring a big coat as you will end up with it off and in the way all the time.

A route I would do would be

Selfridges on Oxford Street, stop off in top shop and or noke town on Oxford Circus.
Nip down charing cross then up long acre to covent garden Piazza for lunch and street entertainers, Neal Street and seven dials for more shopping, emmmmmmm sorry you dont have anough time six hours for a tourist thingy unless tyou just want a wander round trafalgar squ and picadilly circus. Sorry not much help there

[Drusilla]

I would suggest you buy an A-Z guide of London before you go. When you get to Victoria, get an all day travel card which you can use on all trains and buses. (Check prices on London Undergrounds web page and decide which zones you want to travel in and print off an Underground map.)
From Victoria suggest you head for Covent Garden via Green Lane. Get off at Leicester Sq because Covent Garden is very crowded at weekends and passengers are advised to avoid the station. It's only a few minutes walk from Leic. Sq.
Leic Sq is good because you can head south on Northern line to Waterloo to see the London Eye and north to Camden and the market. (Check which tube lines are closed for repairs, because that's been happening a lot recently, especially the northern line)
I wouldn't recommend Oxford Street, especially near Tottenham Court Road because it's a dirty dump with appalling shops.
The Northern line also takes you to Charing Cross tube and exits straight onto Trafalgar Sq and the National Portrait Gallery.
Basing yourself around Leic Sq, also lets you catch the Piccadilly line to Knightsbridge and depending on which exit you take leads you straight to Harrods, or the much better, Harvey Nicks.
If you manage all that in 6 hours, you'll sleep for a week! I really hope tube repairs don't mess things up for you, but DO check before you go.
Best wishes

[gucciman]

your not going to have time to do everything you want to in 6 hrs, london is such a massive city.

if its serious shopping you want, then head to knightsbridge where you will find harrods, harvey nicks, gucci, prada etc etc. after that head to bond street where you will find all the top designer stores.

oxford street is rammed full of your usual high street stores.

for trendy wine bars try soho or covent garden.

[smurfchops]

Why don't you book a weekend break? I am sure you could find a cheapie hotel near the centre and it would give you more time. Hotels like the Hilton advertise breaks in the weekend national newspapers, sometimes with an evening meal included. London is so big, you could do Oxford Street, Regent Street, etc one day, at Trafalgar Square you could get on the Open Top Bus for a tour and give your feet a rest. If you don't want to pay for the Open Top Bus, lots of buses run from Oxford Street (on your Travelcard) which will take you as far as St Pauls, Fleet Street, etc. all through the centre of London. You could go to Portobello or Camden another day, maybe even fit in Soho one evening (near Trafalgar Square) and have a meal in Chinatown. If you are coming a long way, it's not worth it for just six hours .. make the most of it but as everyone says, so near Christmas it will be very very crowded. Have fun !

[ChatwithJacq]

Thanks so much everyone.....you have been most helpful. This was my first 'post' and have had an unbelievable response.

Have taken it all on board.

Thanks again

Jacqx

[funnywebsite]

Start with Oxford street it can take a while. You do need a lot of energy though. You can have a walk around Hyde Park which is at the top of Oxford Street/Marble Arch if the weather is nice. Off Oxford street you can walk down Regent street, Bond street that takes you to Piccadilly. Get a bus to Trafalagar Square, one of my favourite places. Take some seed and feed the pigeons. You can take some funny photos of you and your friends with pigeons on your head. Obviously thats if you like that sort of thing, not everybody likes pigeons. From Trafalgar Square it is a 10 minute walk to Housing of Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Bridge. Walking there you will pass St James Park, Horse Guards Parade. London is endless of things to do and see.

[nuoyg]

Per Drusilla's note, Oxford Street is quite long, so try to go near Oxford Circus tube and go towards Bond Street and Marbles Arch (or it may make sense to start up that end and then work your way down). Defo wouldn't really go near the Tot Ct Rd end as it's not too impressive for people here for the day.