Never a grey day when shopping

When I was growing up in Tunisia, the only thing I knew about Britain was its furniture. My mother loved antique English furniture in mahogany and when I was about 10 years old she ordered enough to fill our living room. Of course, I'd also heard of the Queen and later of Princess Diana but until I stepped off the Etihad Airlines flight from Abu Dhabi last month I didn't really know what to expect from Britain and its people. Then there's the weather. Great Britain gets a lot of flack about its cold climate and I wish I could say it's not always true but for the two days I spent in London it rained constantly. Then again, a tan is not why millions of people from around the world head to the charismatic English capital every year – no, London is for culture, shopping, rich history and the humour of the people. But let's start with the shopping. To go to London and not visit the world-famous Harrods is downright criminal. Owned by Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed, this luxury department store lives and dies on its reputation for excellence and its dogmatic adherence to nothing but the best is what makes it fantastic. My first impression was that this is not just a place to shop. A tourist attraction in itself, there's something about Harrods that inspires awe and reverence. You can see it on the faces of the many tourists who just wander around for hours with their mouths open then buy nothing but a cup of coffee just so they can say 'I had coffee in Harrods'. Luckily for Al Fayed many other people spend a small fortune on his wares, there's something about the elegance and beauty of the interiors that makes it easy to say, 'Who cares. Whack it on my credit card'. And so I did, namely a bottle of Estee Lauder perfume and a gorgeous lace top followed by lunch at Harrods Creperie, one of the 25 restaurants in the store that offer everything from doughnuts to fine dining. To give you an idea, the Creperie Tea includes blinis topped with smoked salmon, roast beef, brie and tomato, American pancake with preserve and clotted cream, a glass of Harrods finest bubbly and a choice of Harrods tea selection. Bon Appétit. Another must-see while in London is Madame Tussaud's, the well-known wax museum. It's the closest I'll ever get to George Clooney and Angelina Jolie, which is a shame, or Saddam Hussein and Yasser Arafat, which is fine with me. Most of the wax sculptures are a very good likeness of their real-life counterparts but on occasion the wax artists really get it right and a couple of times my breath was taken away by how spookily life-like the figures were, in particular Brazilian footballer Pele, Mahatma Gandhi and Fidel Castro. After an hour or two wandering the wax museum, I headed back to the London Underground and headed across to the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington [Warning: you will do a lot of walking in London, just getting in and out of the different tube stations means trekking for miles. Wear good shoes and leave your big luggage bags back in the hotel. Sadly, I did neither of these and ended up with the blisters to show for it.] The V&A South Kensington features 3000 years' worth of amazing artefacts from around the world. I love fashion so couldn't tear myself away from the rooms containing a history of designer collections from hats to jewellery to dresses and pretty much every other item you can stick on your body. Some of the pieces are truly priceless and irreplaceable such as Chanel's first ever pair of trousers created for women. This place is a true treasure and a microcosm of what makes London City so special. Travelling out of London is relatively easy and for people who want a shopping bargain Bicester Village – an outlet store in Oxfordshire offering everything from half price Pucci to discounted Dior is a must. With its quaint chocolate box-style housing and brilliant facilities shopaholics won't be disappointed. So it rained, who cares? Tan schman. The essentials WHERE TO STAY Great Cumberland Place www.cumberlandhotel-london.co.uk GETTING THERE Emirates and Etihad Airlines fly from Dubai and Abu Dhabi to London every day, with economy flights from Dh2,500. Visit www.visitbritain.com WHAT TO SEE Madame Tussaud's wax museum www.madametussauds.com/london/ Victoria and Albert Museum www.vam.ac.uk Harrods, Knightsbridge www.harrods.com Day trips from London LONDON TO PARIS Since you're in London, why not visit Paris for the day?When the journey only takes two hours on Eurostar, it would be an opportunity not to miss. Push the boat out and stay at the fantastic five-star Hotel Concorde La Fayettes ( www.concorde-lafayette.com ) near the Champs-Elysees, from there you can visit the Galeries Lafayette ( www.galerieslafayette.com ), a historic shopping mall specialising in fashion and novelty gifts. LONDON TO MANCHESTER Just 45 minutes by train from London Euston station lies the heart of Manchester. Take a trip to the amazing Trafford Centre, a huge shopping, dining