The UK has some of the best shopping in Europe, from grand department stores to designer outlets. These ten are worth a dedicated day. Bring comfortable shoes and a plan.
Britain has been called a nation of shopkeepers, and its shops are part of its history. Some of the world’s most famous department stores are here, along with covered Victorian arcades, huge modern shopping centres and outlet villages where designer brands are sold for less. Shops open and close, so check before you go, but these ten places have been drawing shoppers for years.
1. Oxford Street and Regent Street, London
Flagship stores, Liberty, Hamleys and Selfridges, with Carnaby Street just off it. Oxford Street is often described as the busiest shopping street in Europe, stretching for about a mile and a half from Marble Arch to Tottenham Court Road. Hundreds of shops line the way.
Selfridges, at the western end, opened in 1909, and it changed the way people shopped, with goods displayed for customers to handle. Its grand building and its windows, especially at Christmas, are famous. It is one of the great department stores of the world.
Regent Street, which crosses Oxford Street at Oxford Circus, was laid out by the architect John Nash in the early nineteenth century, and its elegant curve is one of the finest sights in London. Hamleys, one of the oldest and most famous toy shops in the world, is here. Liberty, with its Tudor-style building, is just off it.
Carnaby Street, just behind Regent Street, was the centre of Swinging London in the 1960s, and it is still full of fashion shops. The Christmas lights on Oxford Street, Regent Street and Carnaby Street draw huge crowds. Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road stations, on the Elizabeth line, are at either end.
2. Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City
Two of the biggest shopping centres in Europe, in west and east London. Westfield London, at White City in west London, opened in 2008. Westfield Stratford City opened in 2011, beside what became the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Both centres have hundreds of shops, from high street names to luxury brands, along with dozens of restaurants, cinemas and entertainment. Westfield London has a luxury area with designer boutiques. Both are busy at weekends and before Christmas.
Westfield Stratford City was built as the gateway to the London 2012 Olympic Games, and the Olympic Park is next door. The London Stadium, the Aquatics Centre and the ArcelorMittal Orbit are a short walk away. It makes a good day out.
Both centres are well served by public transport, with the Central line at both, and the Elizabeth line and the DLR at Stratford. Both have big car parks. With a car by the hour, the bags can go in the boot while you shop.
3. The Trafford Centre, Manchester
A vast shopping centre under a dome, with restaurants and entertainment, just off the M60. The Trafford Centre opened in 1998, and it is one of the largest shopping centres in the UK. Its design is famously grand, with marble, gold leaf, statues and a great glass dome.
Inside, there are hundreds of shops, including a Selfridges and many high street and designer names. The Orient, its huge food court, is designed to look like the deck of an ocean liner, with restaurants from around the world. There is also a large cinema.
The Trafford Centre is also a place for fun, with a Legoland Discovery Centre, a Sea Life aquarium and other attractions for families. Next door, Trafford Palazzo has homeware and furniture stores, and Chill Factore, a real snow slope for skiing and snowboarding, is nearby. It is easy to spend a whole day.
The centre is just off junctions 9 and 10 of the M60, about five miles west of Manchester city centre, with huge car parks. A tram line opened in 2020, linking it to the city centre and Salford Quays. At Christmas, the car parks and roads around it are extremely busy.
For a big shopping day, a car by the hour can drop you at the door and wait while you shop, with the bags in the boot. It can also take you on to the city centre, the Arndale or Salford Quays. See our Manchester guide.
4. Bicester Village, Oxfordshire
A designer outlet village that draws shoppers from around the world. Bicester Village has around a hundred and fifty boutiques from luxury and designer brands, selling goods at reduced prices. It is laid out like a village street, with pretty clapboard shops.
Bicester Village is one of the most visited shopping destinations in Britain, especially by visitors from abroad. Some visitors come to London just to visit it. It is especially busy at weekends and in the holidays.
Bicester Village has its own railway station, with trains from London Marylebone, and it is close to junction 9 of the M40. It is about a dozen miles north of Oxford. It combines well with a visit to Oxford or Blenheim Palace.
The car parks at Bicester Village can be very busy, so being dropped at the door is easier. With a car by the hour, you can go on to Oxford for lunch. See our Oxford guide.
5. Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet
The UK’s largest designer outlet, between Chester and Liverpool. Cheshire Oaks has well over a hundred stores, selling fashion, sportswear and homeware from famous brands at reduced prices. It is near Ellesmere Port, just off the M53.
Cheshire Oaks is a popular day out from Manchester, Liverpool, Chester and North Wales. It has cafés and restaurants, and big stores for homeware as well as fashion. The Blue Planet Aquarium is next door.
From Manchester, Cheshire Oaks is about forty five minutes by car in normal traffic, along the M56. It is only a few miles from Chester. Combine it with a visit to the city.
At weekends and in the run up to Christmas, the car parks can be full. Being dropped at the door saves a lot of time. See our Chester guide.
6. Liverpool ONE
An open-air shopping district in the heart of the city, running down to the docks. Liverpool ONE opened in 2008, the year Liverpool was European Capital of Culture. It transformed the city centre.
Liverpool ONE is made up of streets rather than a single building, with more than a hundred and fifty shops, restaurants and a cinema. It has a large park, Chavasse Park, on top of it. From the park, there are views over the city and the river.
Liverpool ONE runs down to the Royal Albert Dock and the waterfront, so it combines well with the city’s museums and attractions. The Beatles Story, the Museum of Liverpool and the Merseyside Maritime Museum are all a short walk away. Liverpool Central station is close by.
Liverpool is about an hour from Manchester by car. With a car by the hour, you can shop, visit the waterfront and have dinner, with the bags in the boot. See our Liverpool guide.
7. Bullring and Grand Central, Birmingham
The famous Selfridges building and a huge centre beside New Street station. There has been a market at the Bull Ring for nearly nine hundred years. The modern Bullring shopping centre opened in 2003.
The Selfridges building, covered in thousands of shining aluminium discs, is one of the most famous modern buildings in Britain. It looks like nothing else. The Bullring’s markets, selling fresh food and much more, carry on the old tradition.
Grand Central, above the rebuilt New Street station, has shops and restaurants under a vast atrium. The shopping streets of the city centre connect the two. The Mailbox, a short walk away, has designer shops and restaurants.
Birmingham New Street station is right beside Grand Central, with trains from across the country. From Manchester, Birmingham is about an hour and three quarters by car. See our Birmingham guide.
8. Meadowhall, Sheffield
One of the largest centres in the North, with its own tram and train stop. Meadowhall opened in 1990, on the site of an old steelworks in the Don Valley. It is one of the largest shopping centres in the UK.
Meadowhall has hundreds of shops, restaurants and a cinema, all under one roof. It draws shoppers from across Yorkshire and the North Midlands. It is especially busy at Christmas.
Meadowhall Interchange has trains, trams and buses, which makes it easy to reach without a car. It is right beside junction 34 of the M1. From Manchester, the journey takes about an hour and a quarter by car.
With a car by the hour, you can combine Meadowhall with a visit to Sheffield city centre or the Peak District. The bags go in the boot. See our Sheffield guide.
9. Buchanan Street, Glasgow
Scotland’s favourite shopping street, with arcades and a lively buzz. Buchanan Street is at the heart of Glasgow’s Style Mile, with Sauchiehall Street and Argyle Street. Glasgow has the biggest shopping district in the UK outside London.
Princes Square, off Buchanan Street, is a beautiful shopping centre in a converted merchants’ square, with ornate ironwork and a glass roof. The Argyll Arcade, filled with jewellers, is one of the oldest covered shopping arcades in Britain. Buchanan Galleries is at the top of the street.
Buchanan Street is pedestrianised, with buskers and street performers adding to the atmosphere. At the top of the street, the Royal Concert Hall and the statue of Donald Dewar stand at the foot of Sauchiehall Street. The Lighthouse, Scotland’s centre for design and architecture, is just off it.
Glasgow Central and Queen Street stations are a short walk away. The subway stops at Buchanan Street and St Enoch. See our Glasgow guide.
10. Princes Street and St James Quarter, Edinburgh
Shopping with a view of the castle, and a modern quarter at the east end. Princes Street runs along the edge of the New Town, with shops on one side and gardens on the other. Edinburgh Castle looks down from its rock across the gardens.
St James Quarter, at the east end of Princes Street, opened in 2021, with shops, restaurants, a cinema and a hotel. Its hotel is wrapped in a striking spiral of copper-coloured metal, which locals quickly nicknamed after a famous swirled chocolate. Multrees Walk, nearby, has designer shops.
George Street, parallel to Princes Street, has elegant shops, bars and restaurants. In the Old Town, Victoria Street, with its curving row of colourful shopfronts, is one of the most photographed streets in Edinburgh. It is full of independent shops.
Edinburgh Waverley station is right beside Princes Street, and the tram runs along it. The city is busiest in August and at Christmas. See our Edinburgh guide.
Where do the bags go?
Into the boot of a car that waits for you. With hourly hire the car stays with you between shops, and the price is for the time, not the miles. For outlet villages, a journey there and back as a return works well too.
Choose a car with room for the bags, such as an estate or a people carrier. Only the cars that fit your party and your luggage are offered when you book. See 10 ways to use a car by the hour.
Ride with ZeroLanes. A car booked ahead, at a price fixed before you confirm, with the driver and the car on your journey page before pickup. Book a car by the hour.