The people's 101: shopping

Discover the best things to do in the capital as recommended by real Londoners

Monday 21 November 2016

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After creating our own list of 101 things to do in London we decided to let you have your say. We asked Time Out readers, Facebook fans and Twitter followers to tell us their top things to do in the capital. Kayak tours, daytime clubbing, rooftop cinema and candlelit gigs – Time Outers named them all. Check out the people's 101 and explore this city like a true Londoner.

What's missing from the list? Have your say: on Facebook | on Twitter using #BestofLondon or in the comments form below

Been there, done that? Think again, my friend.

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Shops and markets in London

Stroll down Brick Lane on a Sunday

Shopping
Markets and fairs
Brick Lane

According to Noemi Fumagall, Brick Lane on a Sunday offers ‘brilliant food and shopping’. She’s not wrong – the UpMarket has rare treats from Lithuania, Venezuela and Tibet; the Boiler House food hall has great Gujarati and Cuban dishes, the Tea Rooms boast vintage fashions and characterful collectibles, and the Backyard Market can’t be beaten for handmade clothes and accessories.

Shopping
Home decor
Bethnal Green

Fill your home with flowers from Columbia Road Market

Bohemian shopping joins forces with ‘yours-for-a-paaand’ Cockney patter to ensure this Sunday flower market remains a firm favourite among readers.

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Indulge with cakes and Comme des Garçons at Dover Street Market

Shopping
Womenswear
Leicester Square

The sole department store to bag a gong from our readers, Dover Street Market mixes designer labels with a market-style layout. A large number of respondents cited the cakes at Rose Bakery on the fourth floor as being worth the visit alone.

Shopping
Perfumeries
St James’s

Readers including Vicky Dennis and Samantha Doyle follow in the footsteps of Florence Nightingale and Mary Shelley in frequenting this Jermyn Street seller of fragrances, established in 1730.

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Lose yourself in a book at Foyles

Shopping
Bookshops
Charing Cross Road

It’s tempting to mourn the dusty, disorganised charm of twentieth-century Foyles, but modernisation has been a rewarding process for London’s most famous bookshop. While its rivals struggle to stay alive, Foyles continues to delight our readers with its enormous collection and laid back coffee shop.

Shopping
Bookshops
Piccadilly

Follow in Byron's footsteps at Hatchards

London’s oldest bookshop is also one of its best, a temple for collectors in search of rare and signed editions. Current patrons include a large swathe of the Time Out massive: past patrons include Lord Byron and Oscar Wilde.

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Get your facts straight at the London Review Bookshop

The capital’s foremost purveyor of non-fiction. Everything you’d expect from a shop owned by the London Review of Books, plus brilliant cakes.

Shopping
Music and entertainment
Brick Lane

Put the needle on the record at Rough Trade East

When Virgin and Tower Records folded and everybody predicted the death of the record industry, legendary London label Rough Trade didn’t merely fight for survival. It responded by raising its game, opening a large new home in east London, staging fantastic in-store gigs, and leading London’s vinyl revival.
Read more about Rough Trade East

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Say cheese at Paxton & Whitfield

Shopping
Specialist food and drink
St James’s

Having sold cheese from the same Piccadilly location for more than 200 years, Paxton’s (‘where the Queen gets her cheese’ according to @Mariacos82) stakes a convincing claim for the title of Britain’s Greatest Fromagerie. Sublime.

Shopping
Bookshops
South Bank

Discover literary gems at South Bank book market

‘A badly hidden secret’, says Amir S of a book market that occupies prime tourist territory under Waterloo Bridge and yet never feels crowded. Expect well-thumbed paperbacks and an unpredictable assortment of out-of-print titles and manuscripts.

Been there, done that? Think again, my friend.

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Been there, done that? Think again, my friend.

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The people's 101: shopping

Shops and markets in London

Stroll down Brick Lane on a Sunday

Fill your home with flowers from Columbia Road Market

Indulge with cakes and Comme des Garçons at Dover Street Market

Find your signature scent at Floris

Lose yourself in a book at Foyles

Follow in Byron's footsteps at Hatchards

Get your facts straight at the London Review Bookshop

Put the needle on the record at Rough Trade East

Say cheese at Paxton & Whitfield

Discover literary gems at South Bank book market