Must-see shopping in Wales

  • Richard Booth's Bookshop

    Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog

    The most famous and still the best, Booth's is a thing of beauty – from the exquisite tiling on the outside to the immaculately catalogued shelves within …

  • Stalls at Riverside Market

    Riverside Market

    Cardiff

    Every Sunday, the embankment across the Taff from Principality Stadium is lined with stalls for the Riverside Market. Independent producers show off their…

  • Swansea Market

    Swansea (Abertawe)

    There's been a covered market in Swansea since 1652 and at this site since 1830. Rebuilt in 1961 after being bombed in WWII, the current version is a…

  • Stori

    Snowdonia National Park (Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri)

    This cracking craft-beer shop takes localism very seriously, stocking an enormous range of North Welsh beers, and focusing on the stori (story) of their…

  • Palas Print

    Anglesey & the North Coast

    Everything you'd want from a local, indie bookshop, this little gem stocks English and Welsh books and CDs, with emphasis on local authors, Welsh folk,…

  • Shops in the Morgan Quarter

    Morgan Quarter

    Cardiff

    Cardiff's oldest arcade (1858), the Royal, connects with the Morgan Arcade via a series of covered lanes, forming a ritzy shopping precinct called the…

  • Outside the shop, Pen and Paper

    Pen and Paper

    Cardiff

    This independent shop is a dream come true for stationery enthusiasts, artists and craftmakers. Stocked wall-to-ceiling with thousands of paints, pens,…

  • Rules of Play

    Rules of Play

    Cardiff

    The focus is less on Cluedo, and more on Dixit and King of Tokyo at this friendly independent gaming shop. It's stacked floor to ceiling with tabletop…

  • Outside Cardiff Market

    Cardiff Market

    Cardiff

    While there's been a market here since the 18th century, the current iron-framed covered market dates to 1891. Stalls sell everything from fresh fish to…

  • Welsh gifts at Bodlon

    Bodlon

    Cardiff

    If you're after a properly Welsh souvenir that isn't too cheesy, this shop in the Welsh cultural centre is a great place to look. Named for the Welsh for …

  • St David's shopping centre.

    St David's

    Cardiff

    St David's is central Cardiff's biggest and slickest shopping centre. All the famous chains you could name have a home here, along with a smorgasbord of…

  • Outside Spillers Records

    Spillers Records

    Cardiff

    The world's oldest record shop, founded in 1894 (when it sold wax phonograph cylinders), Spillers stocks a large range of CDs and vinyl, and prides itself…

  • Outside the gallery, Craft in the Bay

    Craft in the Bay

    Cardiff

    This relocated Victorian shipping warehouse is the retail showcase for the Welsh Makers Guild cooperative, selling a wide range of ceramics, textiles,…

  • Home byKirsty

    Cardiff

    Formerly in Castle Arcade, this independent homeware shop has moved into a converted coach house in Roath. The quaint setting amplifies the style and…

  • Viva Organic

    Cardiff

    In the most upmarket suburb of Cardiff is the city's first zero waste shop. All of its stock is organic, sustainable and from chemical-free,…

  • Giddy Aunt

    South Pembrokeshire

    There's nothing musty or moth-eaten about the kooky-cool threads on sale at this cute little boutique, proud winner of the UK National Vintage Awards 2015…

  • Happy Days Vintage Homestore

    Wales

    Hidden behind Cowbridge High Street, this vintage emporium is a haven for bargain hunters, interior design fans and collectors of pre-loved curios. There…

  • Iechyd Da!

    Anglesey & the North Coast

    Over 170 Welsh ales and ciders twinkle from the shelves of this Australian-owned hole-in-the-wall on Hole in the Wall St, alongside Welsh whisky, gin and…

  • Inigo Jones Slateworks

    Anglesey & the North Coast

    Built in 1861 to provide slate for schools, this workshop now earns its coin making garden ornaments, place mats, picture frames, cake stands and other…

  • Snowdon Honey Farm & Winery

    Snowdonia National Park (Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri)

    All manner of honey-related goodies are sold here, including a range of mead, graded Roman, Celtic or Medieval, depending on sweetness. There's also honey…

  • Elephant and Bun Delicatessen

    Wales

    Take the taste of Wales home with you from this small, family-run deli in the middle of the town. There are some 40 cheeses, Welsh meats and cured…

  • Knight Shop

    Anglesey & the North Coast

    Always buying boring, samey souvenirs for your loved ones? Then why not go for a Henry VIII–era replica helmet, a ramshead heavy siege crossbow, some…

  • Celtica

    Anglesey & the North Coast

    Love spoons and jewellery sit alongside a deli and food store, featuring local specialities such as Halen Môn salt and Snowdonia cheese, inside this…

  • Murder & Mayhem

    Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog

    Over the road from the parent store, this specialist branch of Addyman Books has a body outline on the floor, monsters on the ceiling and stacks of…

  • Blaenavon Cheddar Company

    Southeast Wales

    Showcasing the company's range of award-winning handmade cheese, some of which is matured down in the Big Pit mine shaft, this little store also stocks a…

  • Newport Collective

    North Pembrokeshire

    The showcase for nearly two dozen North Pembrokeshire artists, this interesting little store sells jewellery, pottery, clothing, paintings, photography…

  • Potter's Gallery

    Anglesey & the North Coast

    Run by a cooperative of North Wales–based potters and designers, this gallery showcases the latest works from its members and is a mine of information…

  • Carningli Centre

    North Pembrokeshire

    This rabbit warren of a shop is packed with interesting oddments, including art, antique homewares, books and loads of railway paraphernalia. It also…

  • Ruthin Book Shop

    Snowdonia & the Llŷn

    A lovely old-school book shop – just the place for maps, local history and antiquarian tomes. Generally closes for half an hour around lunchtime.

  • Mostly Maps

    Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog

    Behind this boldly painted blue-and-red timber shopfront you'll find exquisite antiquarian maps and illustrative plates, many hand-coloured.

  • Sunday Farmers' Market

    Snowdonia National Park (Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri)

    A great opportunity to sample local cheese, honey, bread and fruit 'n' veg, and to meet the producers responsible.

  • Rose's Books

    Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog

    This lovely little store specialises in rare children's and illustrated books.

  • Carmarthen Ham

    Swansea, The Gower & Carmarthenshire

    Traditional salt-cured, air-dried ham – a local speciality.

  • The arcade, High St & Duke St Arcades

    High St & Duke St Arcades

    Cardiff

    Together with Castle Arcade (1882), High St (1885) and Duke St (1902) arcades make up the trio of arty indoor shopping spaces known as the Castle Quarter…

  • One of Cardiff's many Victorian and Edwardian arcades

    Castle Arcade

    Cardiff

    The most decorative of the city's arcades, Castle Arcade houses Troutmark Books (with mainly secondhand tomes) and eateries Madame Fromage (self declared …

  • Outside the SHO Gallery

    SHO Gallery

    Cardiff

    Located upstairs in the Castle Emporium, this small independent shop and art gallery is the place to go for eclectic prints by artists of small to medium…

  • Outside John Lewis.

    John Lewis

    Cardiff

    The Cardiff branch of the Britain-wide John Lewis chain is the city's premier department store, occupying a swish glass-fronted building at the bottom of…

  • Outside the shop, which sits in one of the arcades, Hobo's

    Hobo's

    Cardiff

    If you're in the market for a vintage Hawaiian shirt or a 1970s printed sun frock, this is the place to come. Along with vintage men's and women's clothes…

  • Outside the shop from the arcade, Pretty Green

    Pretty Green

    Cardiff

    So you want to be a rock and roll star? This menswear boutique by Oasis' Liam Gallagher will at least have you looking the part. Stock up on paisley…

  • Outside the shop from the arcade, Troutmark Books

    Troutmark Books

    Cardiff

    It may look small from the outside but this excellent secondhand bookshop sprawls upstairs and down. There's a Welsh-language section and a big selection…

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