Duration
2h 30m
Best Time
Afternoon
Price
€€€
Setting
Indoor
About Selfridges
Selfridges is London's theatre of shopping, a 1909 department store that transformed retail into entertainment. You'll find the world's largest beauty hall sprawling across the ground floor, designer fashion across multiple floors, and pop-up installations that change monthly - recent ones featured everything from Korean street food to NFT art galleries. The building itself rewards exploration, with its famous Queen of Time clock outside and restored Art Deco lifts that still operate with uniformed attendants.
Shopping here feels like wandering through a series of curated exhibitions rather than browsing traditional departments. The beauty hall buzzes with makeup artists offering free consultations, while the fourth floor houses everything from vintage Chanel to emerging London designers. The food hall resembles a gourmet market with counters serving everything from fresh oysters (£2.50 each) to Japanese wagyu. Each floor has a different energy - menswear feels like a gentleman's club, while womenswear ranges from minimalist galleries to theatrical showcases.
Most visitors get overwhelmed by the ground floor chaos and miss the real treasures upstairs. Skip the tourist-packed ground floor beauty counters and head straight to the Ultralounge beauty space on the first floor for better service. The rooftop restaurants are overpriced (mains £25-35) but the views justify a drink. If you're actually shopping, Thursday evenings stay open until 9pm with notably fewer crowds than weekends.
Insider Tips
Enter through the Duke Street side entrance to skip the Oxford Street crowds and land directly in the quieter menswear section
The vintage department on the fourth floor gets fresh stock every Tuesday morning - arrive by 11am for the best pieces before stylists and resellers grab them
Book a free personal shopping appointment online even for modest budgets - they'll pull pieces in advance and you get access to a private changing room away from the chaos
Practical Details
Getting There
Address
400 Oxford St, London W1A 1AB, UK
Neighborhood
Marylebone & FitzroviaNearest Metro
Frequently Asked Questions
Plan for about 2h 30m.
Selfridges is in the Marylebone & Fitzrovia neighborhood of London. The address is 400 Oxford St, London W1A 1AB, UK. The area is well-served by metro.
This works well at any time of day, though mornings tend to be quieter. Weekdays are less crowded than weekends.
Nearby in Marylebone & Fitzrovia
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