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Oxford Street, London - Guide

Oxford Street - 10 Sights & Attractions

1. Selfridges - Oxford Street

With a stylish mix of products ranging from furniture, fashion and food to art, beauty and sports, Selfridges bills itself as “the ultimate 21st century shopping experience.” Its flagship store in Oxford Street does indeed contains thousands of products spread over six floors and is world famous for its innovative window displays. But it’s not only the brands sold in the store that have earned it its reputation. Selfridges also works with modern designers and architects, such as Ron Arad, Future Systems, and Adjaye Associates, to create exciting state-of-the-art retail spaces that reflect the style and ambience of its ever-changing brand portfolio. Selfridges has always prided itself on its ability to tap into the zeitgeist, and nowhere is this more evident than in the stores' month-long, annual promotions, which are pure retail theatre. Major successes include Tokyo Life, a festival of Japanese consumer culture, 23½ days of Bollywood, the biggest celebration of Bollywood film culture ever and, in 2004, Brasil 40°, “a celebration of the icons, passions and rhythms of a culture on the move.” The centrepiece of Brasil 40° was a giant replica of Rio de Janeiro's "Christ the Redeemer" which stood 13 metres high on the front of the Oxford Street store. This store was also the first ever to wrap its exterior with the world's largest photographic artwork, “XV Seconds” by acclaimed contemporary artist Sam Taylor Wood in 2000.

2. John Lewis - Oxford Street

There has been a John Lewis shop in Oxford Street since 1864. In its first incarnation, run by its eponymous founder, it sold ribbons, haberdashery and linens. Over the next 20 years, the shop grew considerably: first by leasing buildings in Holles Street, next by the acquisition of more shops in Oxford Street, and finally, in 1895, by the purchase of Cavendish Buildings. As the floor space expanded so did the range of goods sold. In addition to selling haberdashery and linens, John Lewis was also an `outfitter, upholsterer, furrier, a dealer in china, glass, cutlery, plate and ironmongery and an importer of oriental fabrics`. John Lewis’s son, Spedan Lewis, inherited ownership of the store in the 1920s. A profound thinker and a man driven by conscience, he believed that the profits from a business should be shared with the workers who had produced them and, in 1929, established a Trust for the benefit of the workers. Thereafter, the John Lewis Partnership went from strength to strength. The new John Lewis Oxford Street opened in 1960, looking from the outside much as it does today, save for the cast aluminium `Winged Figure` by Barbara Hepworth, which was added in 1962. No department store can afford to rest on its laurels, however, particularly in the highly competitive environment of the West End. During 2001 the basement, ground and first floors were dramatically refurbished. New customer services have also been developed – including a Fashion Advisor who can help customers put together a new, co-ordinated look.

3. Marks & Spencer - Oxford Street

Marks & Spencer Marble Arch is the chain’s flagship store, positioned between Bond Street and Marble Arch underground stations. Along with the widest selection of clothing, food and homeware products, it offers bureau de change facilities and instant, cash VAT refunds, available as part of its tax-free shopping service for eligible customers. Shoppers can also indulge in a relaxing cup of coffee or sample the chain’s famous sandwiches by visiting Café Revive on both the 3rd floor and in the basement. Further along Oxford Street, Marks & Spencer’s Pantheon store offers customers fantastic womenswear, menswear and lingerie ranges, as well as a beauty shop, childrenswear, homeware and a fantastic range of food. Both stores also have the George Davies’ collection ‘Per Una’.

4. HMV - Oxford Street

HMV’s very first store, officially opened in July 1921 by the celebrated British composer, Sir Edward Elgar, HMV 150 Oxford Street is the company’s flagship. At 50,000 square feet, it is the largest music and home entertainment store in the UK, offering a choice of over 150,000 music titles on CD and vinyl, as well as comprehensive selections of DVD and Games titles. Since its inception, the chain has become symbolised throughout the world by its iconic ‘His Master’s Voice’ dog and trumpet trademark. HMV is part of HMV Group plc, which as of April 2004 operated 366 HMV stores in eight countries across Europe, North America and Pacific Asia and 193 Waterstones bookshops, principally in the UK and Ireland.

5. Virgin - Oxford Street

The world's largest entertainment retail space, Virgin Oxford Street genuinely deserves the title “mega store.” With 67,000 square feet over 4 floors, the store has 17 product departments serving 175,000 visitors and customers every week. The DVD and Video floor has a superb selection of films and does not just concentrate on the top-ten mainstream, with a decent array of independent and foreign works on offer too. The store is also celebrated for its exclusive in-store shows by top bands.

6. Handel House Museum

If mooching along the aisles of HMV and Virgin has piqued any interest in the lives of musicians or composers, head for 25 Brook Street. George Frideric Handel lived here from 1723 until his death in 1759 and officially the property is the Handel House Museum, but the upper floors were also home to rock legend Jimi Hendrix from 1968 to 1969. It was here that Handel composed some of the greatest music in history, including Messiah, Zadok the Priest and Fireworks Music. The Museum celebrates his life and works, displaying portraits of Handel and his contemporaries in meticulously restored early-Georgian interiors, with original and recreated furnishings, paintings and a welter of the composer’s scores. The programme of events here is also surprisingly dynamic for a museum so small: there are activities for children every Saturday and recitals most Thursdays.

7. Sherlock Holmes Museum

According to the stories and novels of celebrated Scottish writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson lived in a Victorian lodging house at 221b Baker Street between 1881 and 1904. The property was last used as a lodging house in 1936 and today is the location of the Sherlock Holmes Museum. The famous 1st floor study overlooking Baker Street forms the centrepiece of the museum. It has been faithfully restored to the way its was described in the original Strand magazine stories. It is extremely atmospheric, replete with burning candles, flickering grates, pipe and violin. There’s even a hypodermic to demonstrate that the curators aren’t scared to acknowledge Holmes’s darker side. On the top two floors are waxwork figures depicting characters from the stories, like Charles Augustus Milverton, frozen in murderous poses and wittily labelled. There’s also a shop on the ground floor if you feel inspired to buy your own deerstalker, pipe or magnifying glass.

8. Soho Square

Given that Soho itself was once Royal hunting grounds, attached to the Palace of Westminister, the area around Soho Square was originally called Kemps Field, upon which Richard Frith built King's Square in 1677. By the early 18th century everyone called it Soho Square due to the fact Charles I's bastard son, the Duke of Monmouth, had a habit of bellowing "So-Ho" when hunting or going into battle. The lovely Georgian buildings that surround it were originally residential and for a time the square became the most fashionable address in London. But by the late 18th century, with the influx of Greek and French immigrants, its popularity had decreased. Today most of the buildings have been taken over by business of varying repute, though London’s one remaining French Protestant church and the Catholic St Patrick’s Church do nestle amongst them. The gardens, laid out in 1861, still offer a pleasant respite from the surrounding area’s sometimes cramped, crowded streets. There’s even a charmingly tiny, mock Tudor house in the centre – these days used by the square’s attendants as a garden shed.

9. The Wallace Collection

Occupying the handsomely restored, late 18th-century Hertford House, the Wallace Collection, is both a national museum and the finest private collection of art ever assembled by one family. It was bequeathed to the nation by Lady Wallace, widow of Sir Richard Wallace, in 1897, and opened to the public just over three years later in 1900. Among its treasures are one of the best collections of French 18th-century pictures, Sevres porcelain and furniture in the world – a legacy of the fact that Sir Richard Wallace, as the illegitimate heir of the Marquis of Hertford, inherited treasures that the Marquis – a great Francophile – bought for safekeeping after the Revolution.
There are also galleries of lush paintings by Titian, Velazquez, Gainsborough and Reynolds, while Franz Hal’s Laughing Cavalier is the masterpiece most visitors delight in. Free General Guided Tours of the Collection are usually given on each weekday at 1pm, also Wednesdays and Saturdays at 11:30am, and Sundays at 3pm. These are sometimes replaced by specialist gallery talks covering aspects of the Collection in more detail, often given by members of The Wallace Collection staff. Tours are scheduled to last one hour, except for those in the Brief Encounter series, which start at 1pm and last for 20 minutes. The Wallace Collection restaurant is located in Rick Mather's elegant Sculpture Garden, in the heart of the Collection. Here, the dramatic glass roof provides a light and airy 'outdoor' setting for relaxed dining. The bronze fountain brought by Sir Richard Wallace from his château de Bagatelle in Paris has been re-installed in the centre of the space and gives the restaurant its name: Café Bagatelle.

10. Royal Academy of Arts

The Royal Academy of Arts was founded in 1768 by a group of artists headed by portrait painter Joshua Reynolds and moved to the extravagantly Palladian Burlington House a century later. Under Reynolds, the academy functioned as a school aimed at teaching drawing, painting, and sculpture to young artists. Academy classes were provided free of charge and scholarships were available to help needy students and to provide opportunities to pursue studies abroad. Aside from its avowed aims as an art school, the Royal Academy of Arts Academy offered aspiring artists the chance to make a name for themselves by sponsoring an annual Summer Exhibition. This continues today and, with some 12000 pieces submitted each year, 10% of which make it past the judges. The RA also stages a roster of populist temporary exhibitions. As such, it is one of the most prestigious art galleries in the world, and it continues its instruction of approximately 60 young and aspiring artists each year.