Napoleon called England a 'nation of shopkeepers’ and it's true to this day that the UK and Ireland are peppered with fabulous stores, popular shopping destinations and stylish boutiques. From the hustle and bustle of London’s Oxford Street to the historic quirkiness of Chester’s Rows, and from the unique specialities of Ireland’s craft emporiums to the welcoming Scottishness of a tartan mill, there's a retail outlet for everyone!

Harrods of Knightsbridge

London is one of the most famous shopping destinations in the world, with seemingly everything you could wish to purchase! Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street with around 300 stores, welcomes more than 200 million visitors a year. World famous establishments such as Harrods and Harvey Nichols in upmarket Knightsbridge, Fortnum & Mason, which has been on the same site in Piccadilly for over 300 years, and Selfridges – voted the best department store in the world – are popular tourist destinations in their own right. 

Fashionable Carnaby Street was at the centre of the Swinging Sixties and is a popular shopping district to this day. You can’t miss Liberty of London in its distinctive black and white Tudor-revival building, known the world over for its exclusive fabrics. Savile Row in Mayfair is still the place for bespoke tailoring, and lovely old Jermyn Street, the traditional home for shirt making, is one of London’s favourite shopping destinations. Hatton Garden is the go-to place for diamonds, jewellery and watches!

Popular Covent Garden

For a lively buzz, Covent Garden with its elegant piazza, street performers and upmarket restaurants is well worth a visit and, for those who enjoy street markets, cosmopolitan Camden Market – London’s fourth most popular visitor attraction, is a must. Borough Market is a magnet for foodies; undercover Greenwich Market is packed with antiques, fashion and gifts, and exquisite Leadenhall Market oozes Victorian charm. Read more about the capital's hidden retail gems in Mr Londoner's fascinating blog.

Exquisite Leadenhall Market

Historic shopping destinations

The oldest shop still trading in England is to be found in a small village called Boxford in Suffolk and dates back to the 15th century, but there are many other historic shopping districts across the UK and Ireland.

The Shambles in York is one of Europe’s best preserved medieval shopping streets, with its cobbled road and overhanging buildings; The Rows in Chester is a unique series of covered walkways of largely black and white half-timbered buildings dating back over 800 years and bursting with quaint shops and small boutiques.

The Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, offers visitors a true Georgian shopping experience with its elegant colonnade and covered walkways dating back to the beginning of the 18th century. For a quirkier shopping experience try The Lanes in Brighton, a maze of narrow alleyways dating back to the 16th century, which are crammed with boutiques, cafés and pubs, just a stone’s throw from the famous Royal Pavilion.

The Shambles in York

Princes Street in Edinburgh is one of the most famous shopping thoroughfares in Scotland and the historic buildings are occupied by many of the UK’s leading retailers. Overlooked by splendid Edinburgh Castle and with Princes Street Gardens running down one side, this is the perfect destination to shop, explore, relax and enjoy.

Princes Street in Edinburgh © VisitScotland / Kenny Lam

Buchanan Street forms the central stretch of Glasgow's famous shopping district and is the location for the city’s more upmarket stores, while Merchant City is one of Glasgow's oldest and most stylish districts, with shops and cafés in beautiful old buildings. In Wales, the Castle Quarter of Cardiff is made up of three outstanding Victorian and Edwardian shopping arcades.

Lively Grafton Street is one of the principal shopping districts of Dublin and musicians, poets and mime artists often perform for the crowds along the popular pedestrianised thoroughfare. Dating back to 1604, St George’s Market in Belfast is one of the best in the UK and Ireland and one of Northern Ireland’s oldest attractions. Each weekend the market is full of local and independent retailers, selling everything from antiques and crafts to clothing and jewellery, as well as delicious local food and drink.

St George’s Market in Belfast

Antiques, arts and crafts

Across the UK, and especially in tourist destinations, there are hundreds of alluring antiques shops bursting with treasures (at a price)! The Cotswolds boast some of the best and check out nearby Gloucester Antiques Centre – one of the largest and longest established in the UK. Frome in Somerset, Harrogate in Yorkshire and Steep Hill in the historic city of Lincoln are among the best places for antiques lovers to visit.

Out of town, the traveller will come across arts and crafts shops in many places – and invariably where tourists gather! In Ireland, Scotland and Wales there are dozens of small, inviting shops in towns and villages which sell traditional local handicrafts, from tartan and textiles to kilts and quilts!

Inviting craft shops abound in Ireland!

Farm shops in rural neighbourhoods offer some of the most delicious artisan-produced local food, drink and gifts, and of course distilleries, breweries and vineyards often have their own retail outlet for purchasing those delicious tipples you tasted on your tour!

Book lovers will enjoy exploring places such as Hay-on-Wye in southeast Wales and Wigtown in the Dumfries and Galloway region of Scotland, which are famous as ‘book towns’ and are filled with bookshops and book-related businesses.

Bookshops in Wigtown © VisitScotland / Kenny Lam

At the other end of the scale are out-of-town shopping malls such as Westfield in Shepherd’s Bush London – the largest in the UK – the Metrocentre in Gateshead, North East England, Bluewater in Kent or the Trafford Centre near Manchester.

Of course, every big city in the UK and Ireland has its own popular shopping district and, on one of our tailor-made tours, we can point you in the right direction to what you’re looking for. Whether it’s the renowned Jewellery Quarter of Birmingham, the trendy Northern Quarter of Manchester, the historic Royal Albert Dock in Liverpool or the ethnic delights of Brixton and Southall in London.

If you or your group would like to enjoy a tailor-made shopping trip to the UK, visiting the best destinations for all your shopping needs, or perhaps you would just like to enjoy some retail therapy as part of your tour with us, then please do get in touch today.