Located just off of the quaint university town of Oxford, Bicester Village is a designer outlet specialising in luxury brands. London, of course, abounds with shopping options. Unfortunately, they are usually located near Central London, which can get very hectic. Bicester Village, instead, provides a relaxed environment for your ultimate retail therapy!
Bicester Village, photo by Bob Hall/flickr
TRAVELLING FROM LONDON
By Train
Visitors can travel take a train from Marylebone Station directly to Bicester Village; the dedicated train station is located only a 10-minute walk from the outlet. The train service is a 46-minute journey and is a more flexible mode of travel as there are two services per hour. Visitors can book train tickets online, or they could be purchased directly at the train station.
Shopping Express Coach
The Shopping Express Coach is a round-trip coach service provided by Bicester Village. This coach service collects from a selection of luxurious hotels in central London and takes visitors directly to the outlet. The outlet coach is much less flexible as there is only one service to and from each collection point per day.
Visitors can book tickets here.
WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR
Brands
Being a luxurious designer outlet, Bicester Village offers a wide range of designer labels at a discounted price. Including many British designer labels, with classics such as Paul Smith and Mulberry and more contemporary labels such as Anya Hindmarch and AllSaints.
British classic Burberry has an extensive collection of designs available at the outlet, if you have been dreaming after the classic Burberry trench coat or scarf, be sure to pick up up here at a fraction of the price.
For the coveted blogger look, take a look at bags and shoes from Saint Laurent, Chloé and Céline. Normally known for their exclusivity, pieces from these brands are sure worthy for your investment.
Grab a map from the visitor centre upon arrival to better plan your day.
Dining
If you are going to spend the whole day in Bicester Village shopping check out the various dining options available at the outlet as the outlet is quite isolated from Bicester town centre. Popular options include rustic British cuisine that is instagram-worthy at Farmhouse Restaurant & Cafe, their Scottish salmon with lemon aioli is much recommended.
For shoppers with less time to spend dining, quick chain coffee shops are also available. For a quick grab and go, visit Pret A Manger for a healthy gourmet sandwich and a cup of tea or coffee and visit various pop-ups at the outlet.
Special Services
As with many bigger shopping locations, Tax-free shopping is available so if you are a non-EU citizen, be sure to ask for a tax refund form to get up to 14% of your VAT (Value Added Tax) refunded.
If you have a lot of personal belongings with you at Bicester Village, they provide luggage storage and hands-frees shopping services. If you register for hands-free shopping, boutique assistants will store your shopping you are ready to pick them up (only available until 30 minutes ahead of closing).
Shopping Day Experience at Bicester Village (until 31/12/2020)
For an even more relaxed day at the outlet, visitors can opt for the Shopping Day Experience Package, which costs £99 (approx. 128 USD) for adults. The package includes a round-trip ticket for the Shopping Express Coach, a 10% savings card, hands-free shopping service, a meal voucher (£15 value, approx. 20 USD) and a £50 (approx. 65 USD) gift card that you can spend in any store in Bicester Village.
Visitors can book their packages online here.
OXFORD
If you are a light shopper, consider making Bicester village part of your trip to Oxford, which is only a short bus ride away on the X5 or S5 Bus, tickets can be purchased directly on the bus.