Harrods, Department store in Knightsbridge, London, United Kingdom
Harrods is a department store in Knightsbridge, within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, with over 330 departments spread across several floors offering designer clothing, cosmetics, home furnishings, and gourmet foods. The exterior is clad in terracotta brick, and inside, ornamental ceilings, broad staircases, and themed halls each dedicated to a specific category of goods give the building a strong visual character.
Charles Henry Harrod opened the original business in 1834 as a small grocery in Stepney, then moved it to the Knightsbridge location in 1849, where it grew steadily into a general retailer. A fire in 1883 burned down the first building, and the replacement brick structure was then expanded in stages through the early 20th century to reach its current form.
The food halls draw shoppers from across the globe who wander past displays of fresh pastries, artisan cheeses, and exotic spices while kitchen staff prepare samples at the counters. Many visitors come not only to shop but to walk through the aisles and take in the theatrical presentation of goods on any given afternoon.
Knightsbridge Underground Station is right next to the building, making it easy to arrive without needing to navigate a large area on foot. The store tends to get very busy on weekends and holidays, so a weekday visit generally means shorter queues and more room to move around.
The building housed England's first escalator in 1898, and staff waited at the top to offer brandy to customers shaken by the new moving staircase. Each evening at dusk, around 12,000 individual bulbs switch on together to trace the outline of the facade, turning the building into a landmark visible from a distance.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
