Top shopping streets in the world

There are many shopping streets in the world, but only few have everything: brands, atmosphere and style.

Here we take a look at some of the most famous shopping streets in the world.

NOTE: Courtesy, Departures

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Abdi Ipekci Street

Istanbul

Abdi Ipekci Street is the premier shopping street of Istanbul, Turkey, located in the Sisli district. During the last decade, the street in the prestigious neighbourhood has developed into a place hosting luxury retail shopping venues.

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With a monthly lease price of about $3,500 square per metre, it is currently the most expensive street for retail stores in Turkey.

A variety of exclusive and expensive shops offering Turkish and international designer labels, restaurants of international cuisine and cafes are lined up on both sides of the street.

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Bahnhofstrasse

Zurich, Switzerland

Bahnhofstrasse is Zurich's main downtown street and one of the world's most expensive and exclusive shopping avenues.

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Paradeplatz, one of the most famous squares in Switzerland, is situated towards the end of the Bahnhofstrasse closest to Lake Zurich.

The two biggest Swiss banks, UBS and the Credit Suisse Group, have their headquarters there. Paradeplatz is also known for its chocolate shop and cafe, Confiserie Sprungli.

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Bond Street

London

Bond Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London that runs north-south through Mayfair between Oxford Street and Piccadilly.

It has been a fashionable shopping street since the 18th century and is currently the home of many high price fashion shops.

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The southern section is known as Old Bond Street, and the northern section, which is rather more than half the total length, is known as New Bond Street.

It is one of the most expensive strips of real estate in the world.

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Fifth Avenue

New York City

Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the center of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States.

The section of Fifth Avenue that crosses Midtown Manhattan, especially that between 49th Street and 60th Street, is lined with prestigious shops and is consistently ranked among the most expensive shopping streets in the world.

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The "most expensive street in the world" moniker changes depending on currency fluctuations and local economic conditions from year to year.

For several years starting in the mid-1990s, the shopping district between 49th and 57th Streets was ranked as having the world's most expensive retail spaces on a cost per square foot basis.

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Ginza Line

Tokyo

Ginza is known as an upscale area of Tokyo with numerous department stores, boutiques, restaurants and coffeehouses. Ginza is recognised as one of the most luxurious shopping districts in the world.

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Many upscale fashion clothing flagship stores are located here, being also recognized as having the highest concentration of western shops in Tokyo.

Prominent are Chanel, Dior, Abercrombie & Fitch, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton. Flagship electronic retail stores like the Sony showroom and the Apple Store are also here.

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Laugavegur

Reykjavik, Iceland

Laugavegur is the primary commercial artery of downtown Reykjavik, Iceland and one of the oldest shopping streets.

The name means "wash road", as it used to lead to the hot springs in Laugardalur where in olden times the women of Reykjavik took their laundry for washing.

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It is home to the more exclusive stores in Iceland. It is also home to many bars, nightclubs and restaurants. On Friday and Saturday nights the street is often filled with people all night long.

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Orchard Road

Singapore

Orchard Road is a 2.2 kilometre-long street that is the retail and entertainment hub of Singapore. It is a major tourist attraction, in addition to being the most popular shopping enclave in the city-state.

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Often, the surrounding area is known simply as Orchard, partly owing to the fact that the MRT Station that serves the vicinity is named Orchard.

Orchard Road underwent a $40 million revamp in 2009, with the addition of new street lamps, planter boxes, urban green rooms, street tiling and flower totem poles, which have since been removed.

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Rodeo Drive

Los Angeles

Rodeo Drive of Beverly Hills, California, is a shopping district known for designer label and haute couture fashion. The name generally refers to a three-block long stretch of boutiques and shops but the street stretches further north and south.

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The business district, which extends from Wilshire Boulevard to Santa Monica Boulevard, is an exclusive shopping district, but also a major tourist attraction.

The "Rodeo Drive" business district also includes those businesses on the streets that lie for a few blocks in either direction.

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Rue du Faubourg St-Honore

Paris

The Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore is a street in Paris, France. Although relatively narrow and nondescript, it is cited as being one of the most fashionable streets in the world, thanks to the presence of virtually every major global fashion house.

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Like nearby avenue Montaigne, the street has been consistently dedicated, throughout its length, to high-fashion stores and other exclusive establishments.

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Rua Oscar Freire

Sao Paulo, Brazil

Rua Oscar Freire is a tree-lined street stretching from Alameda Casa Branca to Avenida Doutor Arnaldo in the Jardins district of Sao Paulo.

It was named after Oscar Freire de Carvalho, a physician and forensic medicine professor from Bahia, who helped develop the city's first morgue (Instituto Medico Legal).

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Recently, stores along the street funded a project to remove unsightly electrical poles and install underground fiber-optic lines instead, in an attempt to make the street more appealing to shoppers.