Selfridges

Harry Gordon Selfridge, an American retail showman, opened his Oxford Street store in 1909 with a philosophy that changed shopping itself: goods out on display to be touched, staff trained to assist rather than pressure, the store as public theatre — he is credited with the phrase 'the customer is always right' and put Blériot's cross-Channel monoplane on display days after the flight. The columned building runs a full block and remains London's second-largest store. Modern Selfridges earned its own reputation as the most inventive of the world's department stores: the Yellow branding, ambitious themed campaigns filling the famous windows, the Corner Shop's rotating collaborations, and strong beauty, denim, and designer floors. The food hall and rooftop restaurants round it out. Visit for the windows and the energy — no London store works harder to make retail feel like an event.

Check what occupies the Corner Shop before visiting — the rotating concept space is where the store's invention concentrates, and it changes entirely by season.