Bond Street - The Oldest Luxury Shopping Route in London (1.3 Km)

philip carey
Aug 24, 2022
4 min read

Updated: Aug 16, 2024

Start at Bond Street Station on Oxford Street

Finish at Green Park Station - Park Side

THE EXPERIENCE

Bond Street is famous for its many elegant stores, exclusive brands, designer fashion, luxury goods, fine jewels, art, and antiques. Bond Street is in the heart of historic Mayfair and has always been a haven for gracious living since its foundation in the early 1700s. It still is a playground for society’s wealthiest, most stylish, and influential people. This route goes from Oxford Circus to Green Park via Old and New Bond Street and is 1.3 Km long. There is also plenty to do and see down its many side streets, such as Brook Street, Bruton Street, Maddox Street, Burlington Gardens, and Albermarle Street.

Great for fashionable and luxury shopping, history, crowds, iconic sights, hotels, Museums, art galleries, shopping arcades, auction houses, designer clothes, jewellery and watches, and lots of places to eat, drink and be merry.

View along New Bond Street by Cartier and Ralph Lauren

MUST SEE PLACES

What to See List

1. St Christopher's Place

2. Department Stores – John Lewis

3. Handel Hendrix House

4. Hannover Square

5. Halcyon Gallery, Sotheby’s, Burberry

6. Channel, Dior, Louis Vuitton

7. Ralph Lauren, Tiffany’s, Cartier

8. Savile Row

9. Burlington Arcade

10. Royal Academy of Arts

11. Piccadilly by the Ritz

12. Green Park

PLACES TO EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY

Areas to Eat, Drink and Be Merry List

1. St Christopher’s Place

2. Around Duke Street

3. Mount Street - Mayfair

4. Lancashire Court

5. Berkeley Square (South)

6. Heddon Street

7. Around Hannover Square

8. Around Dover Street

9. Piccadilly by Green Park

10. Shepherd Market

11. Around Jermyn Street

12. Around St James’s Street

Links to nearby Eat, Drink and Be Merry Routes.

The following Eat, Drink and Be Merry Routes are nearby

Upper Mayfair - Start and end from Bond Street Station

https://www.photoruns.com/post/st-christopher-s-place-shopping-eat-drink-and-be-merry-photorun-1

South Mayfair - Starting at Green park Station and ending up at Hyde Park Corner

https://www.photoruns.com/post/south-mayfair-shopping-eat-drink-and-be-merry-photorun

BEST TIME

Morning - The best time to do this route is on weekends in the early morning when it is quiet and free from crowds and heavy traffic.

Day - Most of this route will be busy during the day.

Evenings - Quieter

ROUTE OVERVIEW

The 1.3 Km route starts at Bond Street Station on Oxford Street and heads east a short distance before turning right down New Bond Street. This straight road takes you all the way down to Piccadilly, passing all the luxury shops, galleries, and auction houses. It becomes Old Bond Street towards the end by Tiffany and Co. and turns right onto Piccadilly, passing the Ritz Hotel before finishing off in Green Park.

Route at a Glance Video.

These links open in a new tab.

Strava Link

My Google Map Link

DESCRIPTIVE PHOTO GALLERY

This gallery provides a descriptive and visual reference to many sights along this route. Use the Google Map above to find their location. Double-click to see its full size.

INTERESTING FACTS

Bond Street Facts

Burlington Arcade was built in 1818 for George Cavendish, 1st Earl of Burlington. It was made “for the sale of jewellery and fancy articles of fashionable demand”, so the Lord’s wife could shop safely amongst other genteel ladies and gentlemen away from London's busy, dirty, and crime-ridden streets. The arcade is still patrolled by beadles in traditional uniforms, including top hats and frock coats, whose job is maintaining order.

The entire street is around 0.5 miles (0.8 km) long and many of the shop frontages are less than 20 feet (6 m) wide.

Bond Street probably has the highest density of haute couture stores anywhere in the world, attracting "the rich, the famous, and the simply curious."

Bond Street is a square on the British Monopoly board and is the most expensive of the green-coloured set that also includes Regent Street and Oxford Streets.

The street has always had a reputation as a fashionable place for shopping and is home to some of the world’s most prestigious retailers, including Asprey, Bulgari, Burberry, Chanel, Cartier, Dolce Gabbana, Hermès, Jimmy Choo, Louis Vuitton, Mulberry, Ralph Lauren and Tiffany Co.

Bond Street and its surrounding area boasts an impressive number of Royal Warranties and is home to some of the world’s most famous hotels and restaurants, including Claridge’s and The Ritz.

There are four abstract pieces by Henry Moore on the Time-Life Building on New Bond Street

Bond Street station does not directly connect to either New or Old Bond Street, and no buses use the street.

At one time, Bond Street was best known for top-end art dealers and antique shops that were clustered around the London office of Sotheby's auction house. The sculpture over the entrance to Sotheby's is from Ancient Egypt and is believed to date from around 1600 BC. It is the oldest outdoor sculpture in London.

The Fine Art Society was founded in 1876 to specialise in British art and design and is one of the world’s oldest art galleries.

The Royal Arcade is a historic Victorian-era shopping arcade that runs from 12 Albemarle Street to 28 Old Bond Street and was completed in 1880.

With its saddled glass roof, richly decorated stucco arches, curved glass shop fronts and ionic columns, the arcade has changed little in the intervening years. It retains all its original features, making it a rare example of an original Victorian arcade.

VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE AREA

Click on the picture below to go on a 360 virtual tour of the shopping areas and have a look around.

Use the red route to explore this location by looking around in 360, taking in the sights and sounds, listening to an audio recording about the area and going on a virtual tour.

HISTORY & GUIDES VIDEO LIBRARY

Please note - These date from before 2018 and have been done in a variety of styles to determine which one works best. They all provide very useful information and we would welcome feedback to help create the new version

This short (3:46 minute) video gives you a quick guided tour of some of the sites on this route.