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The City of London
London, being the capital city of England and the United Kingdom of Great Britain, is a truly awesome urban area consisting of hundreds of different races and cultures. While the area of Greater London is home to some of the most important and iconic buildings and structures in the UK, for many, the top visitor attractions are the many shopping areas, large department stores and markets. With such an ethnically diverse city it will come as no surprise that it is possible to purchase almost anything within this small area and it is possible to buy items which have traveled from almost every place on earth. However there are some key areas of interest for the avid shopper.
London has been an important city since Roman times and many areas have changed radically over the years with some changes occurring within a lifetime. One such place that has been inhabited since Roman times is Covent Garden which, during the Middle Ages, was known as Convent Garden as it literally was the kitchen garden of Convent of St. Peter, Westminster. From the 1600s the area developed into an important market area for the trading of flowers, fruit and vegetables until the market was, in 1974, relocated to the to New Covent Garden Market in Nine Elms. In 1980 the area reopened as a retail area and quickly developed into an important area for speciality shops and street entertainment (the only place in London licensed for it). [As a point of interest during the 18th Century the entertainment available in Covent Garden was of a more "adult" nature described in full detail in Harris's List of Covent Garden Ladies (considered and essential guide at the time)].
Nearby Camden Market has a far shorter history being developed in 1974 as a temporary market. It quickly became established selling crafts and then selling a diverse range of goods from clothing and fashions to alternative products bric-a-brac. Today Camden Market attracts huge crowds every weekend, estimated to be in the region of 100,000 people. [As a point of interest Camden Market is reckoned to be the fourth most popular London visitor attraction].
Fashion has always been important in London with the likes of Vivienne Westwood and Stella McCartney being closely associated with the city. At various times during this century and the last the Kings Road area has acted as a focal point for the changing fashions of the time. During the 1960s the Kings Road became a major centre for the counterculture of the hippy and this was mirrored during the punk movement of the 1970s. Today the Kings Road is much more sedate with the hippies and punks long since gone but it is still an extremely important high street in the Chelsea area of London. [As a point of interest Malcolm McLaren, the famous manager of the Sex Pistols, owned a boutique on the Kings Road called SEX (formerly Let It Rock and again renamed to Seditionaries in 1977)].
Nearby Sloane Street, which runs from Knightsbridge to Sloane Square, came to prominence as a fashionable shopping street during the 1990s. Popular with the upper sectors of London society Sloane Street is now home to some of the most famous brand names in fashion. [As a point of interest the term "Sloane Rangers" comes from the type of people who shopped in the street during the 1990s].
Knightsbridge is also home to one of London's most famous department stores, Harrods. Occupying an area of 4.5-acre (18,000 m2) Harrods is the largest department store in the world. Although it is closely associated with luxury goods, especially its incredible Christmas department and world famous Food Hall, the store has over 330 departments selling a wide range of goods. [As a point of interest Harrods motto is "Omnia Omnibus Ubique" (All Things for All People, Everywhere)].
Another famous London department store is Selfridges, second only to Harrods in size. Selfridges was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge who was born in Wisconsin, USA, and worked his way up the Marshall Field & Company Chicago before opening his store in London. [As a point of interest it was on the first floor of Selfridges that John Logie Baird, in 1925, first demonstrated television].
London offers shopping for any budget with cheap bargains and high class luxury items widely available and the above list of places to shop is but a very small selection of the many available across this most wonderful city.
Tower Bridge, London
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