Rick Steves' London 2014

So much of its outlets name the Queen their landlord, as she owns a lot of the land right here. whereas it’s the neighborhood retailers and boutiques that make Regent road recognized, American chains are definitely a part of the scene. for instance, the Apple Store—a half-block uphill from Liberty at #235 Regent Street—is in a development that appears extra like a palace. It’s well liked by Londoners, who're astounded via its carrier. The English are able to strong carrier too, yet, as a Londoner positioned it to me, “not the obsequious butt-kissing a few american citizens anticipate, simply because that makes you're feeling like a servant. ” additionally on Regent road (just downhill from Liberty, left aspect, at #188-196), keep on with the giddy teenagers to Hamleys, Britain’s greatest toy shop. In 2010 it marked its 250th anniversary of delighting kids. Seven flooring buzz with 28,000 toys, controlled via a employees of 2 hundred. staff, a few wearing playful costumes, supply demos of the most recent instruments. It used to be right here at Hamleys that the realm first received to grasp the Build-a-Bear Workshop (now a fixture at shops far and wide) and London’s genteel Paddington endure. in this stretch of Regent highway, positive bits of outdated England type dominate. Hackett (right, at #143-147) is where to move for preppy younger English menswear. Mappin and Webb (left, at #132) is the Queen’s jeweler. Penhaligon’s (right, at #125) is the critical English perfumery, the place royals store (note the coat of hands on the door) for traditional English scents like lavender and rose (fine sampler present packs and unfastened sniff samples). as soon as dowdy—it’s a dressmaker of the royal family—Burberry (on the correct, at #121) is now hip. • Regent highway arcs seductively into the ever-vibrant... Piccadilly Circus London’s so much touristy sq. obtained its identify from the fondness ruffled shirts—picadils—made locally some time past. within the past due twentieth century, the sq. veered towards the gimmicky and tacky—look no additional than the gargantuan Ripley’s Believe-It-or-Not Museum. yet lately, it’s trending again. until eventually only a few years in the past, this was once a famously busy site visitors circle, with vehicles and massive purple buses spinning round the tipsy-but-perfectly balanced Eros statue within the heart. Now—though nonetheless busy with cars—it’s additionally a packed humans sector. At evening, whilst neon pulses, the 20-foot-high Coke advertisements paint the vintage Georgian facades purple. Black cabs honk, travelers crowd the points of interest, and Piccadilly exhibits off big-city London at its glitziest. Piccadilly Circus is the place universal tastes steamroll the splendor of Regent road. Lillywhites (at the ground of the sq., close to the Eros fountain) is a activities shop renowned as a spot to shop for the jersey of your favourite soccer (soccer) crew. Farther left (at the beginning of Coventry road) is Cool Britannia, a cheesy palace of English kitsch and a Union Jack fable for somebody desiring to shop for a Brit-themed reward. • For a few extra attribute London shops—and an opportunity for a tea break—we’ll do some loop to the west. From Piccadilly Circus, flip correct and wander down the busy... Piccadilly road After a block in your left (at #203), get away from the rush of Piccadilly into the quiet of Waterstones, Europe’s biggest book shop and the flagship shop of its frequent chain.