shopping in london; part five

RANDOM STORES:

Harrods: How can you go to London and not visit Harrods? Well, you can’t. It’s a must-see. There is a big chance that you can’t afford much in the store as it’s very expensive, but the food-hall is just amazing! You can buy fudge, tea, fish or pretty much anything you want. It’s all of great quality, of course. The store also sells a lot brands, such as Gucci, Marc Jacobs, Burberry, Luis Vuitton and Miu Miu. Harrods is a very popular place for tourists and the store is located in Knightsbridge. For more information: http://www.harrods.com/harrodsstore/



Fopp: Another great store for music and film! Fopp are slightly cheaper than HMV in some cases and you can buy books at Fopp, with prices starting from just £2! Fopp also sells merchandise such as t-shirts and it’s a great store. I always end up buying movies or records there, because some products are cheaper than at HMV and other stores. I love the store and I always go there when I’m in London. It’s located on Earlham Street in SOHO.


Waterstones: Waterstones is a great bookstore and the one on Piccadilly Circus is absolutely huge. I love books and books are a lot cheaper in England in comparison to Sweden, which is great. Waterstones has pretty much every single book and they often have great campaigns, such as “Buy 3, Pay For 2”. It’s a brilliant store for people who love books and even if you don’t, you should go there. You always find a book; at least I know I do. For more information: http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/

shopping in london; part four

OXFORD STREET:

Oxford Street must be one of the most famous shopping-streets in the world. The street is very big and there are hundreds of stores on it. Many of the stores are also located in areas like Covent Garden, Camden or Knightsbridge. I’ll give you a guide to my favourite stores on Oxford Street, plus some stores that you just have to visit.


ZARA: Spain’s version of H&M. Zara has fashionable clothes to an affordable price and their clothes are very popular. They also have shoes, which I’m a big fan of.


TOPSHOP: Welcome to shopping heaven! TOPSHOP has everything a girl needs, and I really mean everything. They have clothes, bags, accessories, lingerie, shoes, make-up and even candy! How much better can it get? It simply can’t. The store is HUGE. The store is four floors big, with one floor for men (TOPMAN). The ground floor is filled with accessories, jewellery and candy and if you take the escalator down a floor, you reach the clothes and the shoes. It’s absolutely brilliant! If you continue down the store, you find the vintage clothes plus the brands that TOPSHOP sells. The store is amazing, but it’s often very crowded so I’d recommend you visit it early on the day when most people are working or in school. Every time I visit the store, I always end up with bag filled with stuff. You'll always find something; a necklace, a bag, a pair of socks, some candy or a dress. TOPSHOP is the perfect place for shoppers.


New Look: One of my favourite stores in London! New Look is the home of cheap, fashionable clothes with great quality. They also sell accessories and shoes. Their shoes are absolutely brilliant. They look like they cost £90, when they really cost £25. They have perfect summer dresses, often from just £8. I always go there when I’m in London and I never get disappointed!


Primark: Another one of my favourites! Primark is the ideal place to spend a few hours shopping, because you simply can’t look through all the clothes quickly. The store on Oxford Street is huge, with two gigantic floors and thousands of products. Their clothes are incredibly cheap, with prices from just £1! You can buy an entire wardrobe for under £60, which is brilliant. However, you should take into count that the quality is not like say, TOPSHOP’s, but with prices like £8 for a pair of jeans or £2.50 for a vest-top, you can’t really expect that, can you? Primark also have great shoes, from sneakers to high-heels. Just like the clothes, the shoes are very cheap. Sneakers are available from just £2, which is perfect for me, as sneakers are something that I use everyday! Primark also sells make-up and accessories and I love the store. The clothes are very fashionable and I love the fact that I can buy a lot of things, and still end up paying less than £40. It’s brilliant! Primark also has clothes for men, with the same cheap prices! Primark also have stores in the suburbs, such as Wembley and Hammersmith.


HMV: My all time favourite store in London! I’m a big musicholic (I practically love for music!) and this store is a place where I can spend hours. They have tons of records, dvds, merchandise and games. I love their band t-shirts and their campaigns, which means that sometimes you can buy records and movies from just £2.99. It’s an amazing store. On Oxford Street, there are two HMV stores, but the one closest to Tottenham Court Road is the biggest one. A smaller HMV-store is also located next to the Disney Store. HMV also have stores in Covent Garden and close to Piccadilly Circus. HMV is the perfect store for a musicholic, film lover or game-addict. I promise you’ll find something. I always do.


Disney Store: The name really says it all, doesn’t it? It’s a store filled with things from Disney, but it’s really good. It doesn’t matter if you’re into the Old Disney such as Mickey Mouse or the new stuff like Hannah Montana, the store has something for everyone. They sell stuffed animals, jewellery, stationary, clothing and things for the home. They have all things Disney! (There is also Disney Store's located at Westfields (the giant mall) and in Covent Garden)


UniQlo: UniQlo have a great selection of clothes for men and women. They have a lot of cute clothes but also a lot of funny t-shirts, with prints from Warner Bros, Pokémon and Star Wars for example. UniQlo is pretty much the Japanese H&M and their clothes are not very expensive. You can get a t-shirt for £12 and a cardigan for £14, which is quite cheap!


Claire’s: If you want fun and different jewellery, you should head to Claire’s. They have a huge selection of fun accessories and I always end up picking up something in there. They have punk-influenced jewellery and accessories as well, which is quite fun! They also have products with Spongebob, Hannah Montana and such things. The products at Claire’s are all very affordable and they often have offers to make the products even cheaper. In short, it’s a great store for fun accessories!


Urban Outfitters: Urban Outfitters have boho-chic clothes and a fantastic selection of girly dresses and cool t-shirts. They also sell accessories, jewellery and shoes. Their prices are a bit higher than say, H&M, but the quality is great and they have a lot of great clothes. For men, they have a lot of cool printed t-shirts, and when I pop into the store I often end up picking up a t-shirt from the men’s department.


River Island: River Island sells clothes, accessories and shoes for men, women and children. Their clothes are affordable, fashionable and of great quality. They have great ranges of jewellery and shoes, especially for women. They have a lot of cute clothes and they are great at knowing what women want to wear at the time.


Dorothy Perkins: Affordable clothes with great quality can be found at Dorothy Perkins and they also sell accessories and shoes. They have a wide range of clothing, which means that they attract women in all ages.


Miss Selfridge: Miss Selfridge sells clothes with great quality and they are always in fashion. The clothes are not too expensive, either, which is great. The store also sells accessories and shoes, and it’s a very popular store. They have cute dresses, cool t-shirts and feisty shoes.


TOPMAN: The perfect store for men! It’s located on the top floor on TOPSHOP and TOPMAN have a great selection of jeans, t-shirts and accessories. I love their printed t-shirts, and they also sell a lot of brands such as Amplified and House of Gods. Both those brands make rock tees, with that special vintage look that everyone adores. TOPMAN’s own t-shirts however, are cheaper than the brands and just as cool. They have funny and cool prints and the prices start from £12.


For more information on Oxford Street and the full list of all the stores there, go to http://www.oxfordstreet.co.uk/

shopping in london; part three

REGENT STREET

Regent Street is famous mainly because it’s the home to Hamley’s, one of the world’s biggest toy stores. Regent Street is home to a number of stores, such as French Connection, Burberry, Benetton, Karen Millen, H&M, Mango and Oasis.


Hamley’s: The store is not just for kids; that should be said. Even adults find a visit to the store fun, because the store really does have a lot of fun things. You can find anything there, from big teddy bears to The Simpson miniatures.


Apple Store: I’m a big fan of Apple and their products, but that’s not my main reason for going to their huge store every time I’m in London. I go there because you can try one of their computers for free, which is very popular. People update their facebook-statuses, their twitter… It’s perfect, plus you get to use a MacBook, which is brilliant if you’re not one of the lucky people with a MacBook at home.


H&M: We have H&M in the city where I live in Sweden, but I have to say that going to the store on Regent Street is totally different. The store is much more organised and they have a lot more clothes than they do here in Sweden. H&M has great clothes to great prices and the clothes are always very fashionable. The store also sells shoes, accessories and lingerie.


For more information on Regent Street and the stores there, please visit http://www.regentstreetonline.com/

shopping in london; part two

CARNABY STREET:

American Apparel: This is definitely one of my favourite stores in London. The store has a lot of clothes, most of them without prints, which makes them very casual-looking. The prices are great and the quality is superb. Their clothes are very popular and their t-shirts are perfect for everything! Whenever I’m in London, I always pop into American Apparel and buy a few shirts.

Ben Sherman: Great clothes for men, often with Union Jack-prints. They also have a lot of bags, in various sizes.



David and Goliath: When I first went to London, I fell in love with this store. I fell in love with their funny prints and slogans. ‘Boys are stupid’ are their bestselling print and the store has a lot of funny items. The prices are great, just like the quality. In both the store on Carnaby Street and Covent Garden, they have a special section of rock ‘n’ roll t-shirts. They also sell accessories, stationary, underwear and socks.


Levi’s and Levi’s Vintage Store: Levi’s are famous for their jeans and their t-shirts and both these stores are filled with jeans and quality products from the brand. The Vintage Store is a good choice if you want to find the more odd products.


Lazy Oaf: Just like David and Goliath, this store has a lot of funky prints and odd t-shirts. They also sell jewellery and accessories, and the price varies a lot from the different products. The quality is great and my favourite products from there are definitely their tote bags.


Office: One of the biggest shoe chains in England, and the store won’t let you down. They have sneakers for men, but also the more classy shoes. For women, they have wide selection of high-heels, sneakers or flats. I can guarantee that you will find at least one pair of shoes that you like there. They sell a lot of brands, such as Adidas, Converse, Nike and Vans. The own brand, Office, has a lot of fashionable heels that both attracts celebs and “normal” people.


Size?: Another shoe store, but it’s different from Office in such ways that it has the more special designs. The store is filled with special designed Adidas shoes that you probably won’t find anywhere else. If you want to have some statement shoes that will make you stand out, you should visit Size?


Converse Store: Another one of my favourite stores. I own approximately eleven pair of Converse, so it’s no shock that I love this store. The shoes are brilliant and of very good quality. At the store, you might find the more special designs that aren’t available anywhere else, which is a great thing. The store might be hard to find, but it’s just next to Size.


Twenty8Twelve: Sisters Sienna and Savannah Miller’s brand Twenty8Twelve now has a store on Carnaby Street, and the two sisters really know what women want when it comes to clothes. Their clothes are all very beautiful and the price might be a bit high for me, but if you feel like splurging out, you should definitely visit the store.


For more information on Carnaby Street and all of the stores available there, go to http://www.carnaby.co.uk/

The website is easy to use and you will find all the stores very easily. Just like Covent Garden, Carnaby Street is a very famous place in London and there will always be tourists there. Just remember that Saturdays and Sundays are the days where most people visit the street. My recommendation is therefore to visit Carnaby Street early on Monday to Friday, if you plan on taking it easy and just walk around and search the shops. The street often fills up with people, but before noon, it’s not that much people there. At Carnaby Street, you can also find stores like Diesel, Fornarina, Vans, Lush and Puma.

shopping in london; part one

hey! i'm sorry for not updating in ages, but my internet hasn't been working.
but it's all good now and i'm gonna publish a lot of stuff today. first of all; shopping!
i'm gonna start with covent garden, which is one of my favoruite places in london. :)


COVENT GARDEN:
Covent Garden was a flower and vegetable market from the 1500s to 1740s. Today it’s best known for its shops and the market hall. Covent Garden is a very popular place in London and it’s full of tourists every day. The buildings in Covent Garden seem to be very old and that’s what’s so charming about the place. It’s got that ‘old’ feeling over it, but it still feels modern because of all the stores. It’s the perfect place to spend an afternoon, but if you are visiting the place on a Sunday or Saturday, expect it to be crowded!

Here comes a guide to my favourite stores in the area:

Accessorize: Accessorize has pretty much everything a girl needs, such as jewellery, accessories, shoes, beach-stuff and lingerie. The prices are affordable and the products are of good quality.


The Body Shop: Is there really a better place to buy such things as body lotion and body butter? The Body Shop has everything that goes under the name ‘body care’. The shop is incredibly popular all over the world.


Oxfam Original: Second hand clothing with good quality!


Fred Perry: Fred Perry is known for it's sport influenced clothes and the clothes are of great quality. The store sells shoes, bags and clothes.



It might seem like there are not many stores in Covent Garden, but that’s simply because a lot of my favourite stores in Covent Garden are also located on Oxford Street or Carnaby Street for example. Therefore, you will find stores such as HMV, Waterstones and David and Goliath in my posts about either Oxford Street or Carnaby Street.
For more information about all of the stores in Covent Garden, visit
http://www.coventgardenlife.com/shopping/shopping.asp

The different ways to sightsee

In London, there are a lot of ways to sightsee. I'm going to give you a few tips on the most popular ways to see the most of the city. Why not go by bus or boat? Or perhaps, both of them?

By bus:

The Original Tour: The Original Tour offers not only a bus journey around the city, you also get free walking tours, free Thames River Cruise, free Kids’ Club and the choice of three routes to choose from. This is all included in the ticket price and the ticket is valid for 24 hours. The Original Tour offers three different routes, but the ticket that you buy is valid on all of the routes, so you can see everything in London. The first route, The Original Tour (also called the Yellow Route) gives you the chance to see Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, Big Ben, Downing Street and other famous sights in London. The tour also includes commentary from an English live guide. The second route, The City Sightseeing Tour (also known as the Red Route), has no live guide, but digitally recorded multi-lingual commentary. The tour gives you a chance to see some of London’s most famous places, such as London Bridge, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus and Buckingham Palace. The third route, The Museum Tour (also known as the Blue Route) doesn’t offer a live guide, but digitally recorded commentary in various languages. The tour gives you the chance to see some of London’s finest museums, but also a lot of popular places, such as Kensington Gardens, Harrods, Royal Albert Hall and Leicester Square.

The Big Bus Tour: The Big Bus Tour offers you two routes on an open-top bus, a River Thames Cruise, three walking tours and discounts at top restaurants and attractions. It’s all included in the ticket price! The Big Bus Tour has two different routes. The Big Bus Blue Tour gives you the chance to see Harrods, Kensington Palace, Madame Tussaud’s and Notting Hill. The route offers a digitally recorded commentary in 8 languages and headphones are provided. The Big Bus Red Tour offers a live guide that guides you through the city and describes sights such as Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey and The Tower of London.

Both companies offer a hop-on, hop-off facility.

By boat:

A popular way to see a bit more of the city is to board one of many boats that sail on the Thames River every day.

City Cruises: One of the many sightseeing boats that sail Thames River is the City Cruises, which has an open upper deck and a lower saloon with big windows. The lower saloon offers refreshments and snacks to make your journey pleasant. The City Cruises also offer and hop-on, hop-off facility between four major piers (Westminster, London Eye, Tower and Greenwich). Timetables and prices can be found on their website; http://www.citycruises.com/

Thames Clippers: Thames Clippers gives you the chance to see popular attractions from the sea. A few of the attractions that you will see is London Eye, Tower Bridge, Tower of London and The O2 Arena. The Thames Clippers offer free Wi-Fi the first 15 minutes, and after that it’s just 99p per hour. The cruises also offer a wide selection of drinks and snacks, but also cakes and light food. The Thames Clippers also has a bar that you can visit during the journey.
For more information, go to http://www.thamesclippers.com/

Thames RIB Experience: Are you brave and want to see a lot of London? Then you should g on the Thames RIB Experience! The Thames RIB Experience offers you a chance to travel by speedboats and see a lot of London’s most famous sights. You’ll be seeing such sights as Shakespeare’s Globe, Canary Wharf, London Bridge and Tate Modern. The Thames RIB Experience is a fun way to sightsee and it’s the fast and exciting way to see the attratcions along the River Thames!
More information can be found on: http://www.thamesribexperience.com/

If you are up for something a bit different, you should try the London Duck Tours. The London Duck Tours offer you a chance to see such sights as Trafalgar Square, Big Ben and the House of Parliament, but if also gives you the unique chance of a trip along River Thames, without leaving your seat! Yes, you read right; it’s a bus, but also a boat! It’s very popular to tourists in all ages and can anything really compare to driving from the road straight into the River Thames? If you want to find out more about this stunning way of experiencing London, go to http://www.londonducktours.co.uk/

(The three pictures above are all taken by myself when I was on the Thames Clippers in 2009. It was absolutely amazing, it was a great way of seeing London. I really recommend it!)

the popular markets in london

In London, a very popular thing to do is to visit all the markets that are located all over the city. I will give you a brief guide to some of the most famous and popular markets that you can visit. My favourite market has to be Camden Market, which brings cultures from all parts of the world together.

Camden Market used to be the place where the sassy youth used to hang out back in the days. Now Camden is the place for anyone, as you can find all sorts of people in Camden. A lot of people are attracted by the market in Camden, which features jewellery, second-hand clothing, rockabilia and crafts. You can also find vintage clothing, textiles from the Middle East and a lot of food courts. You can taste food from India, China or pretty much wherever you feel like, because there is food from all over the world gathered at the Camden Market. At the indoor-hall, you find the more exclusive items such as antiques and hand made jewellery. Camden Market is open Monday – Sunday 10am to 6pm

Borough Market is located under the railway near the Thames River and London Bridge. Its food market is one of the largest in the city and also one of the oldest markets. Every Saturday there is a farmer’s market where you can buy fresh and organic products. The architecture that is surrounding Borough Market is a popular set for many British films, such as Bridget Jones’ Diary and Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels. Borough Market is open every Thursday 11am-5pm Friday 12pm-6pm and Saturday 8am-5pm.

Portobello Road Market is one of the most famous markets in London and mostly because it has diversity of products. It also has a lot of small shops and it’s known as a great place to shop for jewellery and antiques. There are also a lot of cheap second-hand clothes there, but you have to be prepared for a very crowded place. Portobello Road is a favourite for tourists and on Saturdays and Sundays, the market is filled with tourists dying to see what the hype is all about. It is open Saturdays 8am to 5pm, but some stalls are open every day.

Spitalfields Market is a fruit and vegetable market that is located opposite Liverpool Street Station. It has over the past five years transformed into a bohemian weekend market, which is said to be at its best on Sundays. Organic vegetables, art and books can all be found at Spitalfields. A lot of people go to Spitalfields to eat their Sunday lunch at one of the restaurants, and one of the most popular ones are ‘Meson Los Barilles’, which is a Spanish tapas house.

(The photos above are all taken by myself and they show:

Camden Market and the river; Portobello Road Market on a Saturday; and the last two pictures both show some of the interesting food there is to find at Camden Market)