Conveniently for the visitor, shops in London tend to be clustered together into discrete and manageable shopping areas, each with their own distinctive character. There are the celebrated department stores, where you can shop comfortably under one roof, have your purchases wrapped and dispatched, and perhaps treat yourself to lunch or afternoon tea in an in-house café. In addition, London has hundreds of speciality shops catering for almost every conceivable need or whim. Bargain-hunters should head for the street markets, many of which are an entertainment in themselves and alive with the varied sights and sounds of the city's multiracial communities.
