London – Day 04 - Mister Lapin

On this fourth day in London, we decided to dedicate a whole day to shopping, with a particular focus on Oxford Street.

This is the place to go for shopping. Before setting off, we looked up the stores we wanted to see on the map and then planned our itinerary. We went to Marble Arch station and walked up Oxford street. We ended the day in Piccadilly.

I’m not going to tell you about the clothes stores, as that’s not what we were interested in, but you’ll come across plenty of them if you follow this itinerary (including the famous Primark).

As we exited the metro, we came across a geek store, the perfect place for any pop culture fan… who isn’t too price-conscious. Very expensive compared to other stores in London. To be reserved for the pleasure of the eyes, then.

On our way we passed a number of department stores, including Selfridges, Marks and Spencer and John Lewis. A visit to one of these stores will ensure a quiet moment away from the tourists, as they are not overly crowded.

Selfridges is a must-see, particularly for its facade.

I found some magazines there.

We took the opportunity of our visit to Marks & Spencer to stock up on birthday cards. Marks & Spencer is most interesting for its food section. It’s a shame they’ve closed their grocery stores in Paris. We picked up typical English products like Marmite and Golden Syrup.

At John Lewis we found more birthday cards. I also found a tape dispenser just the way I wanted it: it’s pretty and above all you can use it with one hand as it’s heavy enough to be quite stable. England is a bit of a stationery kingdom, so make the most of it.

We decided to have lunch in an Indian restaurant. So we went in search of one in the neighborhood. Manthan is a very small restaurant in a very quiet street. The food was very, very good (be careful, some dishes are very spicy!) and the waitress was lovely. As we were complete novices, she explained the dishes to us.

Once we’d had our fill, we continued our stroll. Of course, we stopped off at Liberty of London. This is one of the stores you have to see, if only for its architecture. If you love fabrics and sewing, this place is a bit of paradise.

I bought a few coupons for my mom and would have taken some for myself, but I don’t know how to sew at all, so I had to fall back on the stationery aisle. I found a really big book of stickers.

If you’ve got kids, I recommend a visit to Hamleys. It’s a great toy store, a real institution.

There are animators to present the games, and the decor is very nice – in short, it’s a children’s paradise.

Impossible to leave without a few purchases.

We stopped off at Minalima for some eye candy. This is the store of the designers who created the entire graphic universe for the Harry Potter films. There are lots of lovely items (books, cards, etc.) and, above all, a decor that immerses us in the world of the famous wizard.

We finished our walk at Fortnum & Mason. It’s a beautiful store, full of beautiful things. We had a snack first, and arrived just in time as they stopped taking orders at around 5.45pm. It was very good, but it’s rather expensive, so be warned before settling in. As it was late, this was our dinner.

We then strolled through the store. It’s a real must-see, as it’s very elegant, as are the objects sold there. Of course, the prices are high, but take a look if only for the pleasure of your eyes.