A Street Full Of Shops (Oxford Street (W1))

Member Name: AJ26

Product:	Oxford Street (W1)
Date:	19/02/09 (333 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots of shops, large department stores,

Disadvantages: Mainly just high street shops you can find elsewhere, very busy, not great in the rain!

Oxford Street in London is one of the busiest shopping streets boasting around 300 shops and running over 1.5 miles in length. As you might expect with that number of shops you will find most of the high street stores here. There are also several large department stores. Getting to Oxford Street is fairly easy as there are lots of buses running along it and also several tube stations nearby including Marble Arch, Bond Steet and Oxford Circus.

If you are after department store shopping then Oxford Street is the place to go as most of the major names are here (unless of course you are looking for your higher end stores such as Harvey Nichols and Harrods in which case Oxford Street is not for you!).

John Lewis have their flagshop store which opened back in 1864, it is huge and offers a wide range of products over many floors. Marks and Spencer also have their largest store on Oxford Street and you will also find Debenhams and House of Fraser here too.

Selfridges also have a big department store here and this is one I like to look round as we don't have a Selfridges in Scotland so its something new to see even if a lot of what they sell you can find in other department stores. Everything seems to be well spaced out and not crowded and the first time I visited here I even got my make-up done in the cosmetics section which was a nice bonus. They have a huge ladies clothing selection (although I only looked and didn't buy) and an impressive kitchen department. Their distinctive yellow bags can be easily spotted as you make your way along Oxford Street.

Apart from the department stores you can find pretty much everything else you would find in your local high street but just on a much bigger scale. The Topshop here again is massive but not a store where I tend to shop so didn't visit. You will find all your usual clothes shops, bookstores, shoe shops and sport shops.

Primark also have a large store here situated towards the Marble Arch end of Oxford Street. It is spread out over 2 floors and has a huge range of cheap and cheerful clothing and accessories for you and your home. You can see lots of people walking along Oxford Street with their big brown paper bags full to the brim with bargains.

As you make your way towards the west end of Oxford Street near Marble Arch the shops do become a bit cheaper and you find the shops selling cheap tourist rubbish and cheap clothing and accessories. This gives a less enjoyable feel to the shopping experience.

Oxford Street is a busy place, with lots of people on the pavements and buses and cars going up and down and across. You find you have to keep stopping at roads and waiting for the green man to get across which can be a bit annoying at times.

Oxford Street is a shopping destination that offers lots of choice of high street stores and department stores. However it does lack the more specialised unique shops or the more upmarket designer stores for these you will have to venture elsewhere. The street is always busy and I can imagine at Christmas time it is just a nightmare. As someone who doesn't live in London but has visited a few times Oxford Street is a place I would go to access a particular shop or store but not somewhere that I would spend lots of time browsing because it is just so busy and noisy and most of the shops are high street stores you can find at home. However if you are looking for lots of shops and don't mind getting wet when it rains then Oxford Street might just be the place for you.

Summary: Oxford Street for all your high street shopping