Shopping in Europe
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Jennifer’s Hamam
Owned by Canadian Jennifer Gaudet, this recently opened shop stocks hamam items including towels, robes and peştemals (bath wraps) produced on old hand looms or hand/motor looms. It also sells natural soaps, kese (coarse cloth mittens used for depilation) and rosense products (natural rose hand and body products from Isparta).
reviewed
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Gamaya
A breath of fresh laid-back Ibiza air runs through this new ladies’ wear store tucked away on a street that has gone from near abandonment in the 1990s to become a delightful shopping lane today. The lady who runs this shop designs the breezy summer dresses, pants-and-tops combinations and prints herself.
reviewed
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Kolaportið Flea Market
Held in a huge industrial building by the harbour, this weekend market is a Reykjavík institution and definitely worth a visit, particularly in these economically challenged times. Browse through piles of secondhand clothes, music, antiques and children’s toys, or pick up Icelandic fish delicacies including cubes of hákarl.
reviewed
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Sali Pazari
On Tuesday there is a massive market in Kadıköy, on the Asian side: the Sali Pazari. The cheapest clothes in town are on sale here, so if you've been on the road for a while and your underwear needs replenishing, this is the place to do it! To get there, get off the ferry and move straight ahead along the major boulevard of Söğütlüçeşme Caddesi for about 500m until you come to a busy intersection, Altıyol Square.
Cross over, take the right fork and continue eastward along Kuşdili Caddesi for another 250m (three cross streets). At Hasırcıbaşı Caddesi turn left and you'll see the tent-city market spread out before you. It's open between 08:00 and 18:00. On Sunday t…
reviewed
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Topshop & Topman
Topshop is the it-store when it comes to high-street shopping. Encapsulating London’s supreme skill at bringing catwalk fashion to the youth market affordably and quickly, it constantly innovates by working with young designers and celebrities. It’s the store that famously runs the popular Kate Moss collection. It also does manicure/pedicure and hair-styling sessions, and you can have a consultation with a personal stylist and get tips from a shopping guru.
reviewed
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Los Bebés de Chamberí
This small shop showcases that wonderful individuality of Spanish children’s clothes; you’ll leave laden with bags for your own kids and for friends back home.
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Le Bon Marché
Opened by Gustave Eiffel as Paris’ first department store in 1852, The Good Market (which also means ‘bargain’ in French) is the Left Bank’s chic one-stop shop. The icing on the cake is its glorious food hall.
reviewed
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Cours Saleya Markets
Split between its beautiful flower market and rightly famous food market. On Mondays from 6am to 6pm, flowers and food make way for an antiques market.
reviewed
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Camden Market
Although this market remains a top attraction, its heyday is a distant memory. Commercial tat has long taken over from the truly inventive, although you might find some good retro pieces. The place is busiest at weekends, especially Sunday, when the crowds elbow each other all the way north from Camden Town tube station to Chalk Farm Rd. It’s composed of several separate markets, which tend to merge.
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12 Tónar
A very cool place to hang out is 12 Tónar, responsible for launching some of Iceland’s favourite new bands. In the three-floor shop you can listen to CDs, drink coffee and maybe catch a live performance on Friday afternoons.
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Fürst
The Mozartkugeln (Mozart balls) at this speciality chocolate shop are based on Paul Fürst’s original 1890 recipe. The chocolate-coated nougat and marzipan treats cost €0.90 per mouthful.
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Santo Spirito Organic Market
This monthly market attracts artisans and organic farmers from around Tuscany, with stands devoted to fresh produce, hand-painted crockery, spices gathered from Chianti hillsides and much more.
reviewed
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Ibiz – Artigianato in Cuoio
In this pint-sized workshop, Elisa Nepi and her father craft exquisite, well-priced leather goods, including bags, belts and sandals, in simple but classy designs and myriad colours.
reviewed
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Mercat de la Boqueria
Shop in the Mercat de la Boqueria, one of the world’s great produce markets, and complement with any other necessities from a local supermarket.
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Saluhallen
A mouth-watering market hall, it peddles reasonably priced grub, from fresh fish and piping-hot pasta to Thai, kebabs and croissants.
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Albert Cuypmarkt
Exotic goods as well as cheap basics from nations around the globe.
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El Rastro
El Rastro, Europe’s largest flea market, is a Madrid institution. It’s been an open-air market for half a millennium.
The madness begins at Plaza de Cascorro and the maze of streets branching off it. Cheap clothes, luggage, antiques, old photos of Madrid, old flamenco records, faux designer purses, grungy T-shirts, household goods and electronics are the main fare, but for every 10 pieces of junk, there’s a real gem waiting to be found.
A word of warning: pickpockets love El Rastro as much as everyone else.
reviewed
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Primark
Despite some recent bad press about its manufacturing methods, the flagship store of Primark is still crammed to the rafters with women hunting for bargain fashions that look like haute couture. They don’t call it ‘Primani’ for nothing.
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Golden Lane
Golden Lane is a picturesque, cobbled alley running along the northern wall of the castle. Its tiny, colourful cottages were built in the 16th century for the sharpshooters of the castle guard, but were later used by goldsmiths. In the 18th and 19th centuries they were occupied by squatters, and then by artists, including the writer Franz Kafka (who stayed at his sister’s house at No 22 from 1916 to 1917) and the Nobel-laureate poet Jaroslav Seifert. Today, the lane is an overcrowded tourist trap lined with craft and souvenir shops. At its eastern end is the Daliborka, a round tower named after the knight Dalibor of Kozojedy, imprisoned here in 1498 for supporting a pea…
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Naschmarkt
Naschmarkt is The market in Vienna. This massive market extends for more than 500m along Linke Wienzeile between the U4 stops of Kettenbrückengasse and Karlsplatz. The western end near Kettengasse is more fun, with all sorts of meats, fruit and vegetables (this is the place for that hard-to-find exotic variety), spices, wines, cheeses and olives, Indian and Middle Eastern specialities and fabulous kebab and felafel stands. (Check out the vinegar and oil place, with 24 varieties of fruit- and veg-flavoured vinegar, 11 balsamics and over 20 types of flavoured oil.) The market peters out at the eastern end to stalls selling Indian fabrics and jewellery and trashy trinkets – …
reviewed
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Izmaylovo Market
This sprawling area, also known as Vernisazh market, is packed with art, handmade crafts, antiques, Soviet paraphernalia and just about anything you might want for a souvenir. You’ll find Moscow’s biggest original range of matryoshki, palekh and khokhloma ware, as well as less traditional woodworking crafts. There are also rugs from the Caucasus and Central Asia, pottery, linens, jewellery, fur hats, chess sets, toys, Soviet posters and much more. Feel free to negotiate, but don’t expect vendors to come down more than 10%. This place is technically open every day, but many vendors come out only on weekends, when your selection is greater.
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Harrods
A pricy but fascinating theme park for fans of Britannia, Harrods is always crowded with slow tourists.
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Bric a Brac
Hidden up a narrow lane behind the Týn church, this is a wonderfully cluttered cave of old household items and glassware and toys and apothecary jars and 1940s leather jackets and cigar boxes and typewriters and stringed instruments and… Despite the junky look of the place, the knick-knacks are surprisingly expensive; there are two ‘showrooms’, a small one on Týnská, and a larger one in a nearby courtyard (follow the signs), and the affable Serbian owner can give you a guided tour around every piece in his extensive collection.
reviewed
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Torget Fish Market
For price and atmosphere, it’s hard to beat the fish market. Right alongside the harbour and a stone’s throw from Bryggen, here you’ll find everything from smoked whale meat (Nkr349 a kilo if you can live with your conscience) and salmon to calamari and chips (Nkr130), fish cakes (from Nkr89), prawn baguettes (Nkr45), local caviar and, sometimes, nonfishy reindeer and elk. Stallholders are usually happy to make up a take-away platter or prepare a sealed bag to take home.
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Muhlis Günbatti
One of the most famous stores in the bazaar, Muhlis Günbattı specialises in suzani fabrics from Uzbekistan. These beautiful bedspreads, tablecloths and wall hangings are made from fine cotton embroidered with silk. As well as the textiles, it stocks top-quality carpets, brightly coloured kilims and a small range of antique Ottoman fabrics richly embroidered with gold. Its second shop at Tevkifhane Sokak in Sultanahmet sells a wider range of costumes at truly stratospheric prices.
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