These are unusual times, and the state of affairs can change quickly. Please check the latest travel guidance before making your journey. Note that our writer visited pre-pandemic.

It’s tough out there in retail. In order to drag people off the sofa and away from their smartphones, and tempt them out into the real world, stores in London have really started to up their game – so much so that shopping in the city is now as much an experience as it is a necessity, frequently made all the better by some artisan refreshment.

London, of course, has many many shops – far too many to list here – and there are the obvious haunts like Oxford Street for all the high street big-hitters. Here though, we’ve focused on a selection of absolute London classics and new shopping delights that you simply must try. Crucially, we’ve chosen places that reside in stellar shopping areas to enable you to continue your experience with ease.

Central

Liberty

There are department stores, and then there is Liberty. First opened in 1875, when it sold fabrics and ornaments, this truly special emporium – with its unique British eccentricity – continues to wow. The iconic haberdashery is still going strong, along with innovative collections across fashion, homeware (housed in a Downton Abbey-style kitchen), stationary and beauty. Enter on Great Marlborough Street via the florist and begin a magical tour through the rickety warren of mock-Tudor, wood-panelled rooms. Don’t miss the rug collection, and for a bit of pampering head to Margaret Dabbs for a pedicure, or Ruffians barbers for a beard trim, depending on your needs.

Contact: 020 7734 1234, libertylondon.com
Prices: £££

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Coal Drops Yard

This hip new development in King's Cross is a one-stop retail experience that brings together design, shopping, eating and drinking in a genuinely exciting way. Originally established in 1850 to handle the eight million tonnes of coal delivered to the capital each year, architects Heatherwick Studio have interwoven a contemporary design within the surviving structures. It’s an arty, experiential retail offering with concept stores from the likes of Tom Dixon, Paul Smith, Samsung and Cos, alongside independent British clothing and design brands that have environmental sustainability and ethical manufacturing at their heart.

Contact: 020 3479 1795, coaldropsyard.com
Prices: ££

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Dover Street Market

Dover Street is something of a focal point for the fashion obsessed. It is the brainchild of Commes des Garçons designer Rei Kawakubo, so you will find all of the Commes collections here, artfully arranged in a space that’s styled on a Japanese shopping complex. As well as uber-luxury brands like Gucci, Valentino, and Givenchy, DSM is a champion of London’s brightest homegrown fashion talents, such as Molly Goddard and Charles Jeffrey. For quirk, you’ll also find treasures like Labour and Wait, Redchurch Street’s old-school hardware shop, and a vending machine that dispenses Dover Street Market-branded T-shirts. Refuel in the pleasingly minimalist top-floor Rose Bakery.

Contact: 020 7518 0680, doverstreetmarket.com
Prices: £££

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Fortnum & Mason

Easily recognised for the 'Eau de Nil' green of both its décor and packaging, Fortnums is a classic London shopping experience and the perfect place to shop for gifts, in particular its gourmet products (it holds a Royal Warrant for groceries and provisions after all). A grand spiral staircase sweeps through the four-storey building, where you’ll find impeccable homeware, fine fragrance, jewellery, luggage and writing materials. There's an array of world-class teas, biscuits, preserves and chocolates to devour in the ground-floor food hall, and taking afternoon tea, or a trip to the ice cream parlour, are also must-dos.

Contact: 020 7734 8040, fortnumandmason.com
Prices: £££

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Alfie’s Antiques Market

Housed across four floors in a huge Egyptian-style art-deco building, Alfies Antique Market is a bustling and lively centre for decorative and unusual antiques. There’s no place like it for a curiosity-filled wander with more than 75 specialist dealers selling antique furniture, retro clothing, jewellery, memorabilia, homeware and decorations. Visit Dream Retro for vintage records, barware and glassware, Gillian Horsup for vintage jewellery, bags and hatpins, and Duncan Clark for African and Oriental arts and textiles. To top the experience off, head to the Roof Top Kitchen for panoramic views.

Contact: 020 7723 6066, alfiesantiques.com
Prices: ££

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Daunt Books

This booksellers is a treasured London institution, and the Marylebone High Street branch is especially stunning thanks to its elegant Edwardian interior. It has the feel of an old university library with a mezzanine complete with oak balcony, stained glass window and conservatory ceiling. Talk about wow factor. It’s a huge space, too, so perfect for browsing books and taking time to contemplate, well, life and possibly your next adventure. Though not a travel bookshop per se, this outpost has an extensive travel offering with guidebooks and maps sitting alongside history, politics, travelogue and related fiction organised by country. Bookshop heaven.

Contact: 020 7224 2295, dauntbooks.co.uk
Prices: £

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East

Spitalfields Market

A big selling point for Spitalfields Market is the fact there is so much other retail action going on around it. The market hall itself – filled with an eclectic mix of stalls offering everything from vintage fashion to art, crafts and food – is flanked by a perimeter of boutiques. You have Benefit, Kiehl’s and Chanel London Studio for beauty. For fashion, there’s NY brand Rag & Bone, serving up cool casual pieces by way of the Big Apple; Superga for footwear; and, if you take a two-minute walk to Brushfield Street, you’ll find classy high-street favourites Cos, Whistles and Anthropologie.

Contact: 020 7375 2963, spitalfields.co.uk
Prices: £

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Modern Society

Modern Society is a good place to start a morning’s shopping on Redchurch Street – home to Folk, Le Labo, Sunspel and Aesop to name a few. Founder Nazifa Movsoumova has hit the slow-Saturday-shopping sweet spot with her super-tight edit of pieces for men and women, arranged beautifully together in vintage display cabinets, so you feel inspired and calm whilst you browse. Mondo Mondo jewellery sits alongside Susan Alexandra beaded bags, 'Salt Surf' witty slogan tees and hoodies, and arty coffee table tomes. There is also Modern Society's own line of cashmere and linen pieces, and artfully worn-in denim items from Anine Bing and Re/Done. Oh and there’s coffee.

Contact: 020 7729 0311, themodernsociety.com
Prices: ££

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Beyond Retro

There’s a lot of vintage in East London but one that is definitely worth making the trip to is this, the largest of Beyond Retro’s outposts. Housed in a huge art deco warehouse, complete with mosaic interiors – it was once a Daks suiting factory in the late 1920s - the store evokes the feel of a vintage department store. There is a huge but well-edited selection of second-hand and vintage fashion pieces for both men and women, an amazing denim selection, and plenty of shoes and accessories. The ranges tend to nod to current trends, too. After you’ve found a one-off gem, celebrate in the café over a vintage tea set.

Contact: 020 7729 9001, beyondretro.com
Prices: £

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The Goodhood Store

"It’s a lifestyle, baby" goes the strapline for this much-loved Curtain Road concept store. Spread over two floors, the interior has Scandi-style display structures, a log cabin (because why not?) and exhibition spaces for the numerous hipster-type events they host. The fashion is exceptional – for women there are super-cool pieces from Ganni, Wood Wood and LF Markey that don’t break the bank. The men’s selection of streetwear brands is unrivalled, with cool collaborations and exclusives to keep going back for. Then there’s the homeware – from dreamy ceramics to Seventies-style storage and groovy tea towels (amongst many other covetable items).

Contact: 020 7729 3600, goodhoodstore.com
Prices: ££