A warm coat from London, a skirt from Paris, a boutique dress from Milan. Everybody dreams to go shopping in Europe, but doesn’t know from where to start, or when, or where is cheaper than where? We have got all your concerns covered, check this list of the top 5 places to go shopping in Europe.
London
If you go during the year, prices are really expensive, it’s actually one of the most expensive shopping cities in the world, but in Christmas it’s a totally different story, prices are insane, this is when you can literally buy a good pair of shoes for as much as 7 British pounds.
Harrods at night by raghavvidiya
Sales start on
- Winter: the day after Christmas known as Boxing Day – December 26th till mid January.
- Summer: 3rd week of June, until mid July.
Shopping hubs
- Westfield Stratford
- Oxford, Regent, and Bond Streets (start shopping as early as possible, because they can get annoyingly crowded to the extent that you’d waste a hell of time to pay, needless to say that you will stand in endless queues to enter the fitting room)
- Neal’s Yard, Seven Dials
- Carnaby Street
- Regent’s Park Road, Primrose Hill
- Camden Town (Camden Market & Stalls for vintage & hippie goods)
- Covent Garden Markets
- Greenwich Market open Tuesday to Sunday
Department Stores
- Fortnum & Mason
- Harrods
- Selfridges
- Harvey Nichols
- Liberty
Outlets
- Bicester Village
- London Designer Outlet at the heart of Wembley Park.
- Ashford Designer Outlet
- Clarks Village Outlet Shopping
Milan
Florence & Rome are also amazing when it comes to shopping, and Venice is the place to buy beautifully hand made Venetian Masquerades, however I choose Milan, as Milan has nothing interesting but shopping, the city is a bit dull, nothing interesting to see but the Duomo.
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan by Jeff Krause
Sales start on
- Winter: from 7th January (for 30 days)
- Summer: from 7th July, (for 30 days).
Shopping hubs
- Corso Buenos Aires -claimed to be the longest shopping street in Europe
- Via Brera
- Via Torino
- Corso Di Porta Ticinese
Department Stores
Markets
- Fiera di Senigallia – open on saturdays.
- Mercato di Viale Papiniano – open on tuesday and saturday.
- Viale Fauché – open on tuesday and saturday.
Outlets
- Foxtown – on the Swiss-Italian borders
- Serravalle – half way between Milan & Genoa
- Fidenza Village
- Vicolungo
- Il Salvagente
- Scoprioccasioni
Barcelona
No where else will you shop for items in such vivid colors other than the Catalunyan capital of Barca, so when it comes to shopping in Barcelona, simplicity is the main thing…
Las Arenas by Carlos Lorenzo
Sales start on
- Winter: 7th January until beginning of March.
- Summer: 1st July – 31st August.
Shopping hubs
- Placa Catalunya
- Passeig de Gracia and Rambla de Catalunya -for designers brands.
- Barri Gotic -The Gothic Quarter
- Porta de l’Angel
- El Born
Department Stores
- El Corte Ingles
- Diagonal Mar
- L’Illa
- Maremagnum mall -open on sundays
- Las Arenas Shopping Center
- Heron City Outlet Barcelona
Outlets
Paris
When in Paris the hardest thing to do is to avoid shopping in order to sight-see, or avoid sight-seeing to go shopping, thing is both are insanely tempting, and shopping is all over the place, and the fashion hmmm, don’t even get me started.
Galleries Lafayette by Daisy. R
Sales start on
- Winter: beginning of January until mid February
- Summer: end of June until end of July
Shopping hubs
- Avenue des Champs Elysees
- Rue de Passy located at the 16th arrondissement
- Rue de Rennes located at the 6th arrondissement
- Boulevard Haussmann
- Avenue Montaigne -for designers shops
- Boulevards Saint Michel and Saint Germain
- Avenue des Ternes -not far from the Champs Elysees, yet less touristic
Department Stores
- Galeries Lafayette -for designers brands.
- Printemps -for designers brands
- Le Bon Marche -don’t get fooled by the name, it is an expensive shopping hub for designers items
- Bazaar de l’Hotel de Ville (BHV) -not as touristic, as Galeries Lafayette and Le Bon Marche, or as expensive
- Les 4 Temps -for everyday shopping
- Marks & Spencer
Outlets
- La Vallee Village
- McArthurGlen Designer Outlets
- Marques Avenue: L’Ile Saint Denis
- Marques Avenue: Troyes
Berlin
Not only the party capital of Europe, but a shopping hub that is loved by all shopping gurus.
Shopping in Berlin by Nikos Koutoulas
Sales start on
- Winter: end of January -no specific dates
- Summer: end of August -no specific dates
Shopping hubs
- Berlin’s Friedrichstraße -the longest shopping street in Berlin offering endless options
- Kurfürstendamm
- Schlossstrasse (Boulevard Berlin)
- Hackischer Markt
- Alexanderplatz
Department Stores
Outlets
- McArthurGlen Designers Outlet
- G-Star Outlet
- Marc Cain Factory Outlet
- Leiser Outlet for shoes and bags
It’s an amazing information
thank you Reem
Lovely. In January i did most of my baby shopping at 2 or 3 pounds (sometimes even 1 pound) at great quality vs others. London is the best during Sale.
Thanks Yousef. And yeaaaaah, tell me about it, i went there with no intention of shopping -not a huge shopping fan- then i bought lots of stuff because prices were crazyyyyyyyyy!
You need to write an article about shopping in USA as well, it is a lot cheaper than Europe that some of my friends in Egypt come here only to shop .
you missed Madrid, second best shopping city in Europe according to The Economist and 10th of the world according to CNN, next tiem just try, best shopping in a really amusing city¡¡¡
Thanks Otto for the suggestion