Your ultimate guide to Oxford Street, the ultimate shopping, entertainment and foodie destination for music enthusiasts, art lovers, fashionistas and more.
You can’t mention music without mentioning HMV. Originally opening their first ever store on Oxford Street in 1921, they disappeared from the high street for a few years, before re-opening their flagship store two years ago to much rejoice. They are still the best destination for shopping your favourite vinyls and CDs but equally have their finger on the pulse when it comes to the latest in gaming, film, TV and music trends. For enhancing your listening experience, stores like Currys and John Lewis offer the newest in speakers, headphones, record players and more. For live music, Outernet is a must. As well as offering cutting-edge technology for audio and video installations, including art exhibitions, it also hosts live DJ and music events, showcasing emerging talent.
As previously mentioned, Outernet showcases breathtaking immersive digital art on its giant screens, all for free. Currently, you can catch artist Agustín Vidal Saavedra’s latest installation, The Intelligence Garden, which will help you ‘witness the evolution of thought, life, and human connection’. Fans of art will no doubt spend many happy hours at FRAMELESS, an immersive art exhibition space reimagining classic artworks from heavy hitters such as Dalí, Van Gogh and more.
You could spend an entire day on Oxford Street and not even scratch the surface of the beauty offering. At Selfridges, you’ll find almost an entire floor dedicated to designer beauty and fragrance, whilst you’ll find a similar – if slightly more affordable – offering at John Lewis and M&S. For dedicated beauty destinations, look no further than Boots, Space NK and Superdrug. There, you’ll find hundreds of different brands across makeup, skincare and bodycare to suit all budgets. Makeup enthusiasts will adore Inglot (plenty of great quality and affordable, colourful makeup to be bought there), while Lush are great for homemade, fun and ethical face and body products – and the Lush Spa is well worth a detour too. If it’s fragrance you’re after, here again you’ll be spoiled for choice. The Fragrance Shop and Arabian Oud both offer different experiences, whether it’s designer fragrances or more unique Oud scents you are after.
Despite its wide-ranging offering, Oxford Street is still best known as a shopping destination, and for good reason. You can find our comprehensive guide of the best shops for every budget here, but to give you an idea, Selfridges and Flannels have a designer offering like no other, while H&M, Zara, Mango and & Other Stories will never disappoint for affordable trend-led pieces. At the likes of Reiss and Massimo Dutti, you’ll also be able to build the ultimate timeless wardrobe.
Where to start? At the Selfridges and M&S food halls you’ll be able to buy some incredible produce to cook delicious meals, but if you’re more interested in eating than cooking, then you won’t be disappointed. If you’re short on time and want to discover as many cuisines as possible, then you can eat your way around the world at Market Halls, where street food vendors spanning kebabs to Mexican street food and burgers will make your mouth water from the moment you arrive. There are dozens of excellent bars and restaurants on Oxford Street, so there is no easy way to choose, but some iconic restaurants worth a visit include Brasserie of Light, Berners Tavern, Bond St. Lounge, Madera, Aqua Kyoto, to name just a few…
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