Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Regent Street
You're in the heart of London's shopping neighborhood. This intersection also marks a sort
of class divide among London shoppers. (A couple of blocks to the north is the mid-range
shopping area,
Oxford Street,
which is lined by less-distinguished chains and department
stores and seems scruffier than Regent Street).
But this walk focuses on
Regent Street,
with London's high-class, top-dollar shop-
ping outlets. This street has wide sidewalks, fine architecture, and royal-family connec-
tions. Most of its shops call the Queen their landlord, as she owns much of the land here.
While it's the local shops and boutiques that make Regent Street famous, American
chains are certainly part of the scene. For example, the
Apple Store
—a half-block up from
Liberty at #235 Regent Street—is in a building that looks more like a palace. It's popular
with Londoners, who are astounded by its service. The English are capable of good ser-
vice too, but, as a Londoner put it to me, “not the obsequious butt-kissing some Americans
expect, because that makes you feel like a servant.”
Also on Regent Street (just downhill from Liberty, left side, at #188-196), follow the
giddy kids to
Hamleys,
Britain's biggest toy store. In 2010 it marked its 250th anniversary
of delighting children. Seven floors buzz with 28,000 toys, managed by a staff of 200.
Employees, some dressed in playful costumes, give demos of the latest gadgets. It was
