Jersey Hotels

Jersey is a bailiwick, a British Crown dependency, and forms part of the Channel Islands. The island has been inhabited for several thousand years and evidence of bronze and iron age settlements has been found, along with Roman and Viking artefacts.

Just 87,000 people live on Jersey and the island has a thriving tourist industry. The majority of residents and visitors are relatively wealthy and the shopping is plentiful and reflective of a certain degree of affluence.

Jersey lies between the coast of Normandy, France, and the south coast of England, and its economy has traditionally been based on fishing and agriculture, though improved transport links and its low taxes have attracted various different forms of investment in recent decades.

The island is just 118.2 sq km (46 sq miles), meaning that nowhere on the island is very far from anywhere else. It is worth staying in St Helier and hiring a car for a few days to see the best shopping on offer. The island issues its own currency, which circulate alongside UK banknotes and coins.

St Helier, the only town, is the main shopping centre on Jersey, with two large department stores - De Gruchy's and Voisin's – quirky, specialist shops and high street brands. Many of the main shopping streets, including bustling King Street and neighbouring Queen Street, are pedestrianised, providing a pleasant shopping experience for browsers.

Those looking for stylish clothing boutiques, gentlemen's tailoring and designer labels should head for Halkett Street, while the ornate, Victorian market offers the best of local food and drink. St Peter Port's High Street has both Jersey stores and UK brand names side by side.

Jersey is a great shopping destination for jewellery, photographic and electronic equipment, which are often cheaper than the UK because VAT is deducted. Other luxury items available at low prices include lingerie, spirits, wine, contact lenses and perfume.

The island is full of jewellers and it is worth making special trips to some of them, including the most exclusive, Hettich, Jersey Pearl, and Catherine Best, which produces unique jewellery in the Channel Islands and is located in a converted windmill in St Peter.

More traditional items to bring back from a trip to Jersey include woollen goods, local produce such as butter and cider, seafood from the Jersey Fish Market and pottery from Jersey Potteries in Gorey.

Other retail highlights around the island include the Bergerac Wine Cellar in St Helier, selling good new and vintage wines, La Mare Vineyards, which offers Jersey Apple Brandy, wine, cider and lavender items, and the interesting Printed Word Bookshop and Jersey Museum Gift Shop in Trinity.

In the evenings, head for the many excellent seafood restaurants dotted around the island, serving a range of dishes including traditional dishes such as Jersey Royal potatoes, cabbage loaf, les mervelles and bean crock. The island has numerous cosy pubs for whiling away the hours after the shops have closed.

Jersey has a warm climate, a safe, old fashioned, stylish air and pretty towns and cities that offer cafes and wide, pleasant shopping streets, making it the ideal place to browse for bargains and interesting one-offs.