If you're keen for a shopping fix overseas this holiday season here are the best streets around the world to fill up the suitcase with goodies.
- Bond Street, London: The West End of London is a pedestrian's delight. Add in Bond Street and you've got a little taste of consumer heaven. The most luxurious shops in the world are slotted between Oxford Street and Piccadilly, giving visitors a chance to explore the city's impressive history and retailers at the same time. Sotheby's auction house, an icon for more than a hundred years, still stands today.
- Fifth Avenue, New York: Is there a better time of year to visit New York City than the holiday season? (Answer: no.) The city comes alive as Rockefeller Center lights up, ice skaters get in line at Bryant Park, and New Yorkers and tourists alike scour the city - block by block - for gifts galore. The ultimate New York Shopping experience: Fifth Avenue. The most luxurious boutiques on the globe cram into a few blocks of prime real estate on this Manhattan stretch. And for those unwilling to spend a bundle, there are the holiday window displays - a destination in themselves.
- Stroget, Copenhagen: Europe's longest pedestrian shopping area offers a wonderful spectrum of stores (from highend boutiques to souvenir shops) and people (from street performers to magicians to eager-to-buy tourists). Linking Town Hall Square in the west with Kings New Square in the east, the car-free streets include everything from international luxury brands - including Prada, Louis Vuitton and Hermes - to local, more affordable retailers.
- Boulevard Haussmann, Paris: One of the City of Lights widest avenues, Boulevard Haussmann is home to magnificent department stores, including Galeries Lafayette and Au Printemps. Decked with lights inside and out during the holiday season, the blocks-long buildings are architectural wonders - and fantastic one-stop destinations to shop for the entire family. Find everything from jewellery to men's and women's clothing to gourmet food at these Parisian establishments.
