Turin
The global Slow Food phenomenon began here in Lingotto. Set in a vast converted factory, the Eataly mothership houses a staggering array of sustainable…
Must-see shopping in Mediterranean Europe
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Sultanahmet
Owned by Canadian Jennifer Gaudet, this shop stocks top-quality towels, peştemals (traditional bath wraps) and robes for both adults and children. All are…
Oltrarno
Modern craftsmanship shines out of this loveable boutique, the pride and joy of the Marconi family, whose washable paper bags – tanned just like leather…
Athens
A wonderful sight in its own right, this huge old wrought-iron market hall is dedicated to fish and meat, especially row upon row of lamb carcasses,…
Venice
Tired of bemoaning the increasing number of tatty souvenir shops, Venetians Mattia and Filippo decided to open a design-led alternative featuring the work…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
Step inside this enchanting vintage boutique for beautifully crafted apparel from the past, mostly sourced from local homes: 18th-century embroidered silk…
Milan
A team of creatives have breathed new life into this formerly abandoned 16th-century monastery. Now an atmospheric design space, it's composed of a bistro…
Venice
Transform any home with these locally woven, strikingly original Venetian linens. Whimsical cushions feature chubby purple rhinoceroses and grumpy scarlet…
Tridente, Trevi & the Quirinale
Opened by designer Cristina Bomba over four decades ago, this gorgeous boutique is now operated by her fashion-designing children Caterina (womenswear)…
Tridente, Trevi & the Quirinale
Rome’s best-known shoe designer, Fausto Santini is famous for his beguilingly simple, architectural shoe designs, realised in boots and shoes made with…
San Polo & Santa Croce
A nonprofit cooperative runs this little shop, selling goods made by inmates of Venice's prisons as part of a social reintegration program. The toiletries…
Monti, Esquilino & San Lorenzo
Sublimely cut and whimsically retro-esque, Tina Sondergaard's handmade creations for women are a hit with the local fashion cognoscenti. Styles change by…
La Latina & Lavapiés
One of Europe’s most creative jewellery designers, Helena Rohner has a spacious boutique in La Latina. Working with silver, stone, porcelain, wood and…
Milan
Brainchild of Sardinian fashion designer Antonio Marras, this eccentric concept store has an almost cinematic feel. Hidden in an ivy-draped courtyard, the…
Vatican City, Borgo & Prati
This family-run deli is a fantasyland of Italian edibles. Whole prosciutto hams hang in profusion. Cheeses, olive oil, dried pasta, balsamic vinegar, wine…
Madrid
The extraordinary tiled facade of this wonderful old shop conceals an Aladdin’s cave of ceramics from all over Spain. This is not the mass-produced stuff…
Salamanca
This boutique has to be seen to be believed, with pinks, yellows and oranges everywhere you turn. It’s fun and exuberant, but not just for kids. It also…
Murano, Burano & the Northern Islands
Nason Moretti has been making modernist magic happen in glass since the 1950s, and the third-generation glass designers are in fine form in this showroom…
Venice
Kids and adults alike are thrilled at the magical, miniature insects, butterflies, shells and birds that Vittorio Costantini fashions out of glass using a…
L'Eixample
You never know when you might need flowers, and this vast, packed-to-the-rafters florist never closes. Established in 1960, it has two spaces on Carrer de…
Murano, Burano & the Northern Islands
Mind-boggling miniatures are the trademarks of this Murano glass-blower, but you’ll also find some dramatic departures: chiselled cobalt-blue vases,…
Valencia
Many Valencians would say this is the city's best vintage shop, and we're always intrigued by what it has in stock. As well as clothes, there's a quirky…
Valencia
In business since 1856, this charming shop features piles of traditional wickerwork – how about a basket for your bicycle? – plus rocking horses and other…
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Sultanahmet
Mehmet Çetinkaya is one of the country's foremost experts on antique oriental carpets and kilims. One of his two Tavukhane Sokak galleries is built over…
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Naples
Despite hiding away on the 3rd floor of a nondescript building, Paris, New York and Tokyo know all about this family-run glove factory, whose clients…
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Trastevere & Gianicolo
For homemade biscuits, bite-sized meringues and fruit tarts large and small, there is no finer address in Rome than this vintage biscottificio with…
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Genoa
Even if you're not in the market for designer homewares, it's worth trotting up the noble stairs just to be reminded how splendid a city Genoa can be…
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Northwestern Tuscany
Rev up your taste buds with a shopping spree at Antonio Mattei, Prato's famed biscottificio where the city's signature biscotti di Prato (twice-baked…
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Oltrarno
Tuscan wines, wine accessories and gourmet foods, including truffles, in one of the city's finest wine shops – on the ground floor of one of Florence's…
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Centro Storico
Established in Rome in 1959 by Marcello and Rita Del Giudice and now operated by their children and grandchildren, this business produces leather bags,…
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Capri
First opened in 1906 (yes, that is not a misprint!) and best known for introducing Capri pants in the 1960s – famously worn by Audrey Hepburn, who bought…
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Syracuse
Salvatore Davì is passionate about Sicily and all things artisanal, and his petite emporium only stocks idiosyncratic, high-quality goods with Sicilian…
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Centro Storico
Rome's most celebrated deli showcases a spectacular smörgåsbord of prize products ranging from cured hams and cheeses to conserves, dried pastas, olive…
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Tridente, Trevi & the Quirinale
This multilabel boutique was the first in Rome to bring all the big-name luxury designers – Italian, French and otherwise – under one roof and its vast…
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Santa Cruz de la Palma
An excellent deli which specialises in local and national Spanish cheese, gourmet olives, preserves, coffee and other goodies like anchovies and smoked…
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Tridente, Trevi & the Quirinale
Producing soaps, perfumes, creams, lotions, bathsalts, shampoos and candles made with Sicilian natural ingredients – orange blossom, lime, pomegranate,…
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Naples
Top-notch Tuscan leather and traditional, handcrafted methods translate into coveted, contemporary leather goods at Bottega 21. Block colours and clean,…
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Beyoğlu
A leader in Turkey's contemporary-design movement, Özlem Tuna produces super-stylish homewares and jewellery and sells them from her retail space near the…
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Catania
Nirvana for gourmands, Nelson is a one-stop shop for all things artisanal and Sicilian. Stock the pantry with everything from single-origin olive oils…
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La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
Dedicated to artisan cheeses from across Spain, this small shop is run by the oh-so-knowledgeable Katherine McLaughlin. The antithesis of mass production,…
