Shopping in the U.K.
A guide to British retail therapy: shopping, VAT, haggling, customs, and souvenir-buying in the U.K.
Whether you view a trip to Europe as just one long shopping trip or merely want to pick up a few souvenirs and the occasional hand-crafted product on your adventure, I've got some good tips and resources for you.
Whatever your shopping style or inclinations, this section will fill you in on what you need to know to be a smart shopper in Britain, from best buys and size charts to VAT refunds, customs concerns, duty-free shopping, and haggling hints.
Top shopping tips for a trip to the U.K. to help you bring home the best gifts and souvenirs from your British travels at the best price
I'm a size what? U.K. clothing sizes measures and shoe sizes and how to convert American clothes sizes to British (and European) ones
- Globalblue.com - Tax-free shopping
- Premiertaxfree.com - Tax-free shopping
- Taxfreeworldwide.com - Tax-free shopping
- Dfnionline.com - More than you ever wanted to about the world of duty-free—though this is a totally pro-Duty Free site, so take everything with a grain of salt.
- Moodiedavittreport.com - Another site devoted to the world of duty-free— and, again, very pro-Duty Free, so take everything with a grain of salt.
- Visitlondon.com - Good roundups, overviews, and shop descriptions courtesy of the official tourist office.
- Timeout.com - Time Out is always on the cutting edge of what's hot, new, and different.
- Shopikon.com - Descriptions of independent shops across London
- Streetsensation.co.uk - Interesting street-by-street compendium of shops, with photographs of shopfronts lined up as in reality and one-line summaries of most.
- Oxfordstreet.co.uk - All the shops on the famed Oxford Street of London.
- Viator.com - Shopping tours of London and to nearby outlet villages.Partner
- Cbp.gov - Everything the American traveler needs to know about what you are allowed to bring back into the U.S. and how much you can bring in tax-free.
- Travel.gc.ca - Everything the Canadian traveler needs to know about what you are allowed to bring back into Canada how much you can bring in tax-free.
- Smartraveller.gov.au - Includes links to the various agencies that control what you can and cannot bring (and how much of it) into Australia upon your return
- Customs.govt.nz - Everything the Kiwi traveler needs to know about what you are allowed to bring back in New Zealand and how much you can bring in tax-free.
