Running some 1.5 miles, London’s Oxford Street is one of Europe’s busiest (and best) shopping streets.
From Marble Arch to Tottenham Court Road, it’s as much of a landmark as Tower Bridge, St Paul’s and Big Ben, with some half a million people visiting the W1 artery every day in 2025.
Any born-and-bred Londoner can recount a memory from this neck of the woods. For me, it begins as a kid trailing my mum around Selfridges, before growing up to attend lectures at London College of Fashion’s Oxford Circus campus. Over the years, I’ve battled crowds on Christmas Eve (never again) and even marked Diwali along the street (at the ISKCON London Radha-Krishna Temple, which sells delicious, budget-friendly thalis in the adjoining cafe).
As The Standard’s Shopping Editor, I’ve been to countless store openings, launches, pop-ups and press days on Oxford Street too, watching window displays evolve and change through the seasons. But it turns out there is more to Oxford Street than meets the eye.
Because yes, while Oxford Street and the adjoining Regent Street are best known for world-class shopping (more than 90 brands have their British flagships here), there’s a lot more to uncover in the area.
From breaking up a shopping spree with a movie or massage, to finishing the day at an activity bar - round of mini golf, anyone? - and tucking into Sunday lunch at one of the most opulent dining rooms in this pocket of the city, here’s how to spend your time on one of London’s most famous streets.
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Stay: The BoTree Hotel
Handily located just two minutes' walk from Bond Street station, the BoTree Hotel, part of the Hilton hotel group, offers a chic place to rest, sleep, or just drop off heavy shopping bags.
Rooms are bright, airy and spacious with colourful artwork and Matilda Goad soft furnishings (no anonymous corporate grey here), with 200 of them set across 14 floors.
Refuel at two restaurants, including LAVO, an elegant venue serving Italian plates, or toast the end of a successful shopping expedition at the bar, once the venue of a London Fashion Week opening party for The Standard. Fair warning: the yuzu margaritas here aren’t to be messed with.
The BoTree is ideally appointed for shoppers; Selfridges is a six-minute walk away, and the independent shops of Marylebone High Street aren’t much further.
Suites are from £648, King Premium Rooms from £483, and King Superior Rooms from £338 per night.
Buy now £338.00, Hilton
Relax: LUSH Spa
All that shopping making you ache in uncharted places? It’s time to replace retail with another kind of ‘r’, namely: relaxation.
Point your weary feet towards Lush’s flagship on 175-179 Oxford St. Lovers of natural beauty will be in heaven browsing the shelves and sinks across the 9500 sq ft space, but if it's a massage you seek, you’ll find them in the basement at the LUSH Spa.
The menu spans a dozen treatments, from express 25-minute facials to an indulgent 80-minute full-body massage.
With a busy day ahead, I chose a refreshing Tailor Made massage (£75), which lasted half an hour and followed a fun seaside theme. A bath bomb fizzed under the massage table, emanating a sea-like mist, and soothing sea shanties flowed from the speakers, transporting me to a world away from the bustle and buzz of the street above, all while my therapist used themed LUSH products to enhance the experience.
LUSH is a brand perhaps most famed for its bath bombs, and the first floor showcases an incredible range, enough to entice even those who think they prefer showers. I left with a Back to the Future-themed one (£8); the DeLorean shape was far too good to leave behind.
Buy now £75.00, LUSH
See: Selfridges Cinema
After pounding some 1.5 miles of pavement, anyone would need an extended sit-down in a dark room. Selfridges to the rescue! Oxford Street’s iconic department store, which opened its hallowed doors back in 1909, continues to add strings to its bow, welcoming a cinema on the lower ground floor in 2019. Get there while you’re in store, or find its dedicated entrance on Duke Street.
The space offers three screens, with the largest accommodating 70 viewers, and there’s a very chic bar where you can order expertly mixed cocktails and soft drinks to keep you refreshed through the show. The reclining velvet seats are impossibly plush, and each comes with little tables to keep your tub of sweet-salty popcorn and drinks within arm’s reach.
Bookings are now open for The Devil Wears Prada 2. Where better to watch it?
Tickets start at £20.
Buy now £20.00, Selfridges
Eat: Berners Tavern
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Towards the eastern end of the street, you’ll find Berners Tavern, the celebrated restaurant at The London EDITION.
Helmed by Jason Atherton, expect a menu of elevated British classics, including a three-course Sunday Roast (£55pp). All the headliners are here - roast pork, beef or chicken - with a veggie option too, alongside traditional sides to share, family-style.
Two drink carts glide through the painting-lined room, one serving Bloody Marys, the other flutes of perfectly chilled Champagne, all while a live singer and band do their thing by the window. The atmosphere, service, and, of course, food, add up to a setting so convivial that the prospect of leaving becomes a distant thought.
If you’re after a lighter meal than a roast, Berners Tavern also offers two-course set menus, which will leave you fuelled, not felled, for further shopping adventures back on Oxford Street.
Buy now £55.00, Berners Tavern
Where to shop: Oxford Street's best stores
Whether you’re a tourist or a local like me, you’ll find a way to part with some money on Oxford Street and Regent Street. From foodhalls and beauty destinations to temples of fashion, here are my must-visit destinations.
Selfridges
To visit Oxford Street without paying a visit to Selfridges is practically illegal, especially if you’re from out of town. A shining beacon of the best of British retail, the store opened in 1909 by Harry Gordon Selfridge, who proposed that shopping was an activity to be enjoyed, not endured (hear, hear).
The spirit of leisurely shopping remains; you'll find an extensive beauty hall and fragrance library on the ground floor, and premium and luxury brands on the floors above.
Concept spaces like The Corner Shop mean there’s always a reason to return, and Selfridges recently welcomed 40 Duke, a 25,000 sq ft personal shopping space that feels like an exclusive members' club.
Alongside the Cinema and Foodhall, Selfridges’ restaurants are destinations in their own right. Sunny day? Head to the rooftop for lunch at Alto by San Carlo. For special occasions, Brasserie of Light offers an Insta-worthy setting thanks to Damien Hirst's sparkling pegasus soaring above tables.
Buy now, Selfridges
Liberty
Liberty London is another department store that one simply can't miss when shopping in the West End. The shop has a distinct Tudor revival facade, partly made from timber that, fun fact, originally came from HMS Impregnable and HMS Hindustan battleships.
Inside, luxury goods are spread over six floors of cosy rooms surrounding central atriums, which allow light to flood through.
I love its beauty hall best, second only to Liberty's signature print archive, where you can find the store's iconic prints and fabrics. And when peony season hits, I often stop by its roadside flower stall to pick up a bunch.
Buy now, Liberty
John Lewis
Another high street hero, John Lewis’s flagship can be found at 300 Oxford Street. Forget about ‘just popping in’; the seven-floor flagship is made for leisurely browsing.
You can easily lose half a day in here amongst homeware, fashion and the beauty hall, which has concessions for practically every brand under the sun and friendly staff to advise should the selection prove overwhelming. The brand also returned Topshop to the physical high street, ending a five-year hiatus.
Don’t leave without paying a visit to the Waitrose Foodhall on the lower ground floor, where you’ll find an eye-popping array of grocery items, snacks, specialist food and wine, and sprawling deli counters.
Buy now, John Lewis
Victorinox
Alongside mainstream brands, Oxford Street is packed with specialist shops, amongst them Victorinox at number 388.
The Swiss company may be best known for its multi-functional Army Knives, which were patented back in 1897, but the shop showcases the rest of the collection, from luggage and cutlery to timepieces. There’s more than you might expect here, uniformly laid out so that wandering around feels a little like visiting an exhibition.
If you’re after a special gift for the handy person in your life, head to the upper floor, where you can not only make a bespoke Swiss Army knife, but have it personalised too.
Buy now, Victorinox
Marks & Spencer
The Queen of the British high street, M&S, needs little introduction. It has branches around the world (including Mumbai, as I recently discovered), but the best of its collection can be found over on 173 Oxford Street.
The Georgian Pantheon building, once an entertainment and retail venue, has been home to M&S since 1938. The ground floor houses the latest womenswear collections, while downstairs, you’ll find a vast Foodhall with a selection that simply can’t be found in its smaller branches.
It’s an impressive set-up and, combined with M&S’s famously reasonable prices, means most shoppers leave with their bags bulging.
Buy now, Marks & Spencer
H&M Home
Scandinavia has made its presence felt in the heart of commercial London; you can find big-hitters like IKEA, Sostrene Grene, Weekday, & Other Stories and more. While H&M dominates a quadrant of Oxford Circus, don’t miss its dedicated Home store at 208 Regent Street.
Homewares are arguably the ace up H&M’s fashionable sleeve, and you can find the full collection here, spread across two floors, including a florist and event space. There’s so much you’ll want here at any given time of year - rare is the visitor who manages to leave without a new cushion cover or scented candle.
Buy now, H&M
