In the English capital, besides the ever-popular department stores Harrod’s, the areas not to be missed are mainly in the West End: Oxford Street, Regent Street, and Bond Street, where the big retail chains, such as Selfridges and Marks&Spencer, as well as major fashion brands like Burberry and Stella McCartney, are located.
Here you can buy not only typically English fashion but also the best production from around the world. Tourists especially appreciate and seek out wool sweaters and garments, music CDs, small antiques, and bric-a-brac. Young people go crazy for used clothes and shoes, which crowd the markets of Camden Town and Petticoat Lane.
It must also be said that London is a city of markets, fueled by the English passion for collecting. At the Covent Garden market, for example, craftsmanship and antique prints dominate in the section called Apple Market, and souvenirs in the part called Jubilee. At the market on Farrington Road, you can find books, prints, and engravings, while Portobello Road Market is considered a shopping village divided into 5 specialized areas dealing with antiques, bric-a-brac, clothes, food, books, and musical items. And these are just a few examples, as the capital boasts about twenty markets, always well frequented and highly regarded by Londoners themselves.
Regarding entertainment, it must first be said that England offers tourists so many events in every corner that often one finds oneself spoiled for choice. Those visiting Wales from May to August cannot help but come across the entertaining Eisteddfod, held in various locations, consisting of impromptu music and poetry competitions. In the Lake District, between July and August, one of the highlights is the Rushbearing, a religious thanksgiving festival, which finds a counterpart elsewhere in the country in the Harvest Festival, the harvest celebration held between late September and early October in all Protestant communities. Classical and modern music, opera, and drama theater have a strong and prestigious presence in England; after all, almost all the most important artistic and musical movements of this and the 20th century have originated here. London is the capital in every sense, but it would be unfair not to consider the other cities (Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Bristol…..) where theaters are increasingly equipped with permanent orchestras.
