Pirin Mountains
Leading Melnik wine producer Damianitza has a shop poised on the main road, shortly after you enter Melnik village. Tastings are free, though they are…
Must-see shopping in Europe
Centro Storico
This speciality boutique is devoted to the small yet mighty chilli pepper. Founder Rita Salvadori sources 17 types of pepper from her farm in Tuscany,…
Staré Město
TEG (Timoure et Group) is the design team created by Alexandra Pavalová and Ivana Šafránková, two of Prague’s most respected fashion designers. This…
San Polo & Santa Croce
Add a Venetian eye for colour to a Japanese flair for sculptural fashion, and here you have it: teal mohair tube scarves that float around the collarbone…
Eskişehir
Eskişehir is famous for its meerschaum (a porous white rock also known as sepiolite). It's mined locally and shaped into pipes and other objects. This…
Venice
Impeccably tailored midnight-blue silk-satin dresses with exuberant woolly shoulders showcase not only the skills of sisters Patrizia and Samanta Fiorenza…
San Polo & Santa Croce
Couple Tiziano and Vanessa use a variety of printmaking techniques including silk screen and xylograph to create handmade T-shirts and bags, some with…
İzmir
On the jetty designed by Gustave Eiffel, this modern mall is spacious and stylish but isn't very popular – it's full of empty shops. There’s a cinema…
Harry Potter Shop at Platform 9¾
North London
Pottermania refuses to die down and Diagon Alley remains impossible to find, but if you have junior witches and wizards seeking a wand of their own, take…
Centre of Traditional Handcrafts
Ioannina
In the 2000s, Ioannina's famous silversmiths were all relocated from the city centre out to this rather grim concrete hub. In theory you can see artisans…
Sarajevo
It's hard not to notice this large 2014 mall designed like a partly crumpled sheet of blue paper, with ceilings like white honeycomb. The interior isn't…
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Founded in the 1960s and still with its original dark-wood shop fittings, this corner shop specialises in religious artefacts, jewellery and literature…
Staré Město
Part of the country’s biggest jewellery chain, Granát Turnov specialises in Bohemian garnet, and has a huge range of gold and silver rings, brooches,…
Ancient Rome
From scholarly art tomes to lavishly illustrated guides, Latin classics and Italian cookbooks, this small bookshop is a mine of Rome-related literature…
Chueca
Salvador Bachiller is a discount outlet for stylish and high-quality leather bags, wallets, suitcases and other accessories. But the leather here is with…
The West End
Run by the people behind the design and international current affairs magazine Monocle, this tiny (and attitudy) shop stocks very costly clothing, bags,…
Paris
Paris' largest consignment store (dépôt-vente), Réciproque covers a staggering 500 sq metres of floor space, filled with everything from Prada shoes and…
Tbilisi
This sprawling conglomeration near the train station is Tbilisi's main central market and a wander around it will probably reveal every food that…
San Polo & Santa Croce
The window display offers a tantalising hint at the custom jewellery this versatile goldsmiths’ atelier can create for you, with original designs that nod…
Chianti
The signage labels this large warehouse as 'Space', but inside it's all Prada and Miu Miu. There's plenty of full-priced new-season stock alongside…
Chueca
Terrific T-shirts are all that El Tintero sells. So if you’re looking for a colourful camiseta (T-shirt) with Spanish-language slogans that translate as …
Amalfi
Unless you’re flying long haul, gourmet goodies can make excellent gifts. In this upscale supermarket, among the hanging hams, you’ll find a full…
San Polo & Santa Croce
Yes, you actually can take a gondola home in your pocket. Anyone fascinated by the models at the Museo Storico Navale will go wild here, amid handmade…
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Aloe vera grows prolifically throughout the Canary Islands (it was discovered in nearby North Africa) and, has been recognised for its healing properties…
San Polo & Santa Croce
Made you look: these Murano glass jewels in bold colours and shapes have the attention-getting powers of traffic lights. Cascades of lilac beads cluster…
Baku
Cars to get you noticed. The showroom, shared with Mini, is in one of Baku's most elegant examples of 'oil boom' architecture, originally built in 1901…
Bremen City
You might find yourself pulled in by the lush smell of this store if the door's open. Dozens of gorgeous artisanal soaps, including handmade local…
Naples
Alfonso Sorrentino is convinced that the objects he chooses to sell from his dusty cavern of bricolage find their way to him, rather than him finding them…
Prague
The ‘Rocking Horse’ toy shop houses a collection of wooden folk dolls, 1950s wind-up tractors, toy cars and – surprise – even a couple of rocking horses…
Zürich
The Rosenhof crafts market springs to life at the beginning of March, transforming this charming and bright Old Town square into a bohemian trash and…
Ljubljana
This place in the Old Town sells bath sea salts and other products from Sečovlje along the Adriatric coast. Half the products are intended for the…
Paris
Named for a type of historic fishing boat, this adorable marine-blue-painted shop sells authentic Breton products. Sardines in exquisite tins are a…
Marseille
A bit touristy, perhaps, but if you’re keen to sample some of 75 different varieties of Provence’s favourite aperitif – the aniseed-flavoured firewater…
Barcelona
Created out of largely abandoned docks, this buzzing shopping centre is home to 72 stores including youthful Spanish chain Mango and Barcelona-based…
Cadenhead's Whisky Shop & Tasting Room
The West End
Scotland's oldest independent bottler of pure, non-blended whisky from local distilleries, this shop is a joy for anyone with a passion for uisge-beatha …
Venice
Expect to fall in lust with these richly hued, contemporary leathergoods. Made by artisans using full-grain Tuscan leather, these coveted butter-soft…
Black Sea Coast
Half a dozen metal-craft shops are closely ranged down a stretch of lane that has been home to coppersmiths for centuries. The one at number 11 is…
Lviv
This tiny emporium is the antidote to Ukraine’s souvenir industry and offers one-of-a-kind handmade crafts, some produced by disabled children. It’s…
Centro Storico
Founded in the 1930s, this family-run stationery boutique is a must for anyone who yearns for the days of handwritten letters. A dizzying selection of…
De Pijp
In a Barbie-pink shop that doubles as a tearoom, the blonde owners sell plates and dishes that they glaze in colourful, often hilarious designs – ladies…
