Don’t go to Oxford Street



Oxford Street - the insanely busy and absolutely packed strip between Marble Arch and Tottenham Court Road would drive any normal human being mad. Still, it attracts over 200 million visitors each year.

Each big city has a tourist attraction or a famous area that seems to attract hoards of tourists; Time Square in New York City, or Fontana di Trevi in Rome.

The interesting thing with many of these places is that many don’t reflect over why they even go there. They visit simply because that’s what other people do.

After living three years in London, one of the places I try as hard as possible to avoid is Oxford Street.


You will not be able to walk faster than 0.1 mile per hour and you're constantly pushed around by overly excited shoppers from all around the world, not only there to bargain but to photograph each other outside every single shop.

Global brands such as H&M, GAP and Top Shop cash in hundreds of thousands of pounds daily and would probably call this paradise on earth. Do not fall into their trap, and do not follow the streams of tourists.


Outsmart the crowds

Amazing and fashionable shopping is right around the corner, whether you choose stylish Bond Street for high-end labels, or Regent Street for pretty much everything.

Here, your shoes will not be stepped off your feet; you will not spend 1,5 hour queuing up to pay, and you will come home remaining a sane person still believing in mankind.

The New York expression “bridge-and-tunnel”, describing suburban people coming in to the city, is the perfect expression for the only non-tourists going here.

Local Londoners tend to stay clear of Oxford Street, and so should you.