Benjamin Pollock’s Toyshop
44 The Market, Covent Garden, London
Patronized by generations of local tots—as well as the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Robert Louis Stevenson (who once said, “If you love art, folly, or the bright eyes of children, head to Pollocks”)—this rambling Victorian toy store continues to set the stage for imaginative storytelling 165 years later. Its fanciful aisles are crammed with its famed old-fashioned play theaters and shadow boxes, plus other traditional toy fare like wooden peg dolls and plush puppets, marionettes and music boxes.
Wish List: A Peter Pan shadow-play set with laser-cut card-stock puppets and a London-centric script that builds on J.M. Barrie’s original.
Hamleys
188-196 Regent Street, Soho, London
Dating to 1760, when it was known as “Noah’s Ark,” this granddaddy of toy shops still lures voyeurs with its wildlife menagerie, including 18-foot-tall plush giraffes. The Soho location of this now multinational chain is a one-stop motherlode—in fact, it’s the world’s largest toy store—beloved for its Cave of Wonders-grade selection and elvish customer service.
Wish List: A stuffed Steiff, such as a puckish red-brown squirrel that resembles those found scurrying around Kensington.
Bateau Lune
7 Pl. de la Virreina, Barcelona
Founded by a barcelonina and her Belgian husband after they tired of traveling to Paris for good toys, this colorful and crammed-to-the-hilt boutique caters to open-ended play with earth-friendly and ethically made juguetes, such as those from the Catalonian wooden brand Grapat.
