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A Gold
A lovingly restored Georgian building houses this old-fashioned British shop, with damson gin, ginger beer, elderflower cordial, pork pies, Eccles cakes, fudge, jars full of boiled sweets and other nostalgic treats.
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Absolute Vintage
'Vintage' dressing has been the fashion in London recently. Of course, that's just a posh word for secondhand, as is patently clear in this store full of unusually affordable women's frocks and men's suits. Choice rather than quality is the watchword here.
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Agent Provocateur
For women's lingerie that is to be worn and seen, and certainly not hidden, pull up to Joseph (son of Vivienne Westwood) Corre's wonderful Agent Provocateur. Its sexy and saucy corsets, bras and nighties for all shapes and sizes exude confident and positive sexuality.
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Alfie's Antiques Market
Its higgledy-piggledy maze of exclusive vintage fashion and retro homewares (from lighting to posters) makes this complex a wonderful window-shopping experience, even if you find the prices too high. For female shoppers, an undoubted highlight is the Girl Can't Help It (www.thegirlcanthelpit).
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Algerian Coffee Stores
Stop and have a shot of espresso made in-store, while you select your fresh-ground coffee beans. Choose among dozens of varieties of coffees and teas.
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Ann Summers
This is one of Britain's most successful stores - so who says the Brits are a reserved lot? Just look at the racy lingerie (usually in flaming reds and fluffy lace), accompanied with furry handcuffs, breast enhancers, G-strings, leather whips, nurse uniforms and other playful accessories.
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Antoni & Alison
Quirky tees, mad floral skirts, gorgeous leather purses and funky cashmere knits are Antoni & Alison's trademark products, and you can find sweet key rings and brooches too. Look out for their brilliant sales.
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Apple
Mac geeks of the world unite! Here's your temple, your winter fireplace, so come and warm your faces on the soft glow of MacBooks and iPods, laptops and desktops, inside this white and airy two-storey emporium. Weekly workshops and talks help you get to know your computer, and the banks of iMacs are a free-for-all internet surfing base - a practice that's approved by Apple staffers. Come and worship.
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Aquascutum
Despite the store's modern look, Aquascutum's mackintoshes, scarves, bags and hats remain traditional. For men, this means classic gabardine; for women, the look is straight lines, classic fashion and natural beauty, as worn by the super rich.
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Aram
Despite the fact that most of the furniture stocked by Aram is unaffordable to ordinary mortals, admiring the designer pieces in this fantastic shop is an experience to be cherished. Originally opened by Zeev Aram on King's Rd in 1964, the shop was a key player in the Conran-led furniture design revolution that saw the end of a chintz-laden Britain. The shop grew and eventually moved to this four-floor, free-standing luminous building, where the furniture is given the space it deserves, as if in a museum. Among the many accomplished designers, Aram stocks pieces by Alvar Aalto, Eileen Grey, Eames, Le Corbusier and Arne Jacobsen. The top floor is an exhibition space, where you can see new talent in fine or applied art and design.
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BBC World Service Shop
All the wonderful episodes of Planet Earth or gross hilarity of Little Britain are available here, as well as many other British film and TV classics. Only fools and horses would skip a browse through the racks here.
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Benjamin Pollock's Toyshop
Here's a traditional toy shop that's loved by kids of all ages. There are Victorian paper theatres, wooden marionettes and finger puppets, plus antique teddy bears that might be too fragile to play with.
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Beyond Retro
A huge warehouse, stacked full of 10,000 pieces of secondhand American clobber. Beyond Retro is not only worth visiting in its own right, it's also the perfect excuse to explore the growing number of funky outlets lining Cheshire St.
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Blackwell's
Once a specialist in academic titles, this has now branched out into travel and other general-interest books.It is still, however, the favourite haunt for those hunting for academic textbooks and it's perfect for anyone starting a new course.
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Blenheim Books
Formerly a gardeners' bookstore, Blenheim now specialises in design, architecture and photography, though its garden section is still extensive.
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Books For Cooks
All the recipe books from celeb and non-celeb chefs. Perfect for some of the more adventurous cooks among you, or those looking for 'exotic' cookbooks. The café has a test kitchen where you can sample recipes.
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Borders
This is one of London's bigger bookshop chains, with five floors of books, magazines and newspapers from around the world, plus CDs, tapes and DVDs.
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Broadway Market
London's best up-and-coming market, with food stalls selling cheeses, fairy cakes and Indian dishes, plus clothes stalls, and restaurants, pubs, and interesting boutiques lining the street.
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Burberry
The first traditional British brand to reach the heights of fashion, you'll know you've reached Burberry when you see hordes of giggling Japanese girls standing outside. It's known for its innovative take on classic pieces (bright-coloured trench coats, khaki pants with large and unusual pockets), its brand check pattern, and a tailored, groomed look. You'll see a lot of its catwalk pieces ripped-off by high-street shops like H&M.
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Burberry Factory Shop
This warehouse stocks seconds and samples from reborn-as-trendy Brit brand's current collection or stuff from last season. Prices can be up to 50% to 70% lower than those in the West End, with the best deals on accessories.
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Butler & Wilson
There's a sybaritic 1920s Shanghai vibe to Butler & Wilson's central branch, where costume jewellery, handbags, T-shirts and knick-knacks are sold beneath red Chinese lanterns, watched by Chinese shop dummies. The Chelsea store (tel:7352 3045; 189 Fulham Rd SW3) has a large collection of retro dresses, too.
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Carnaby St
A former shadow of its 1960s heyday, this now features very commercial streetwear outlets.
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Charing Cross Rd
The road with bookstores, including Borders, Foyle's (with the famous Ray's Jazz Shop), Murder One (for thrillers) and Shipley (for art books).
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Cockfighter Of Bermondsey
T-shirts with attitude, and other clothing and accessories, are found in this small boutique and worn across the pages of celebrity magazines by DJs and pop stars.
