Kyiv
The ‘biggest store selling Ukrainian brands in the world’ (as it markets itself) is strategically set on the central bul Khreshchatyk. Set over four…
Must-see shopping in WORLD
Copenhagen
Design fans hyperventilate over this sprawling department store, its four floors packed with all things Nordic and beautiful. You'll find everything from…
Ginza & Tsukiji
You could hear the collective swoon of all devotees of functional design when this huge Muji flagship opened in 2019. Floors two through five carry the…
Budapest
One of the biggest flea markets in Central Europe, Ecseri sells everything from antique jewellery and Soviet army watches to Fred Astaire–style top hats.
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
This scrappy zine shop/how-to source/art gallery/publisher delivers inspiration to create your own artworks, zines and repurposed fashion statements. Nab…
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…
San Lorenzo & San Marco
Vintage couture for men and women is what this extraordinary rabbit warren of a boutique – surely the city's largest collection of vintage – is about…
Venice
Transform any home with these locally woven, strikingly original Venetian linens. Whimsical cushions feature chubby purple rhinoceroses and grumpy scarlet…
San Francisco
The geodesic-dome tugboat marks the spot where ocean meets art in this surf gallery. Legendary shapers (surfboard makers) create limited-edition boards…
Historic Mitte
Follow your nose to this scent-sational made-in-Berlin perfume boutique, where a 'scent test' reveals if you're the floral, fruity, woody, or oriental type…
Downtown Dubai
With around 1300 shops, this isn't merely the world's largest shopping mall – it’s a small city, with a giant ice rink and aquarium, a dinosaur skeleton,…
Vilnius
The tools, materials, processes and final results of a whole range of traditional crafts – weaving, papermaking, bookbinding, leather-working,…
Johannesburg
This shipping-crate complex of boutiques, galleries and eateries is well on its way to establishing its Melville street cred. A newly planted park,…
Old Town
The stunning medieval lane of Katariina Käik is home to the Katariina Guild, comprising eight artisans’ studios where you can happily browse the work of…
San Francisco
Psst…keep this SF style secret under your hat: there is no Paul. Started in 1918 by a Peruvian hatmaker named Napoleon, Paul's has been maintained by…
Paris
If you only get to one open-air street market in Paris, this one – stretching between the Bastille and Richard Lenoir metro stations – is among the very…
Lviv
This award-winning gingerbread shop is a must-see, even if you are on a sugar-free diet. The delicious tooth-rotters are decorated in everything from…
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)…
Laugavegur & Skólavörðustígur
This is where Reykjavík goes high fashion, with labels such as Marc Jacobs and Vivienne Westwood. But we really enjoy its Scandinavian designers …
Downtown Kyoto
This old-style tea shop sells some of the best Japanese tea in Kyoto, and you'll be given an English leaflet with prices and descriptions of each one. Its…
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…
Seattle
Seattle's most beloved bookstore offers more than 150,000 titles in a large, airy, wood-beamed space with cozy nooks that can inspire hours of…
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…
Oxford
The most famous bookshop in the most studenty of cities, Blackwell’s is, with its vast range of literature, treatises and guilty pleasures, a book-lover’s…
Kampala
Selling gorgeous women's kitenge dresses in traditional patterns, separates, children's clothing and some batik pillows, this fair-trade boutique is a…
Reykjavík
Kolaportið is a Reykjavík institution. Weekends see a huge industrial building by the harbour filled with a vast tumble of secondhand clothes, old toys…
City Centre & Haymarket
Constructed in 1891, the beautiful Strand rivals the QVB in the ornateness stakes. The three floors of designer fashions, Australiana and old-world coffee…
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…
Stockholm
An ultraclassy department store founded in 1902, NK (Nordiska Kompaniet) is a city landmark – you can see its rotating neon sign from most parts of…
Corso Magenta & Sant'Ambrogio
Installed in a former tie factory not far from Corso Magenta, this iconic interior-design studio is a challenge to find. Once inside, though, it's hard to…
Tangier
You can get lost for hours in this exotic antique shop, but the real gem is Majid himself. Straight out of central casting (including his red fez), Majid…
Bailey's Antiques & Aloha Shirts
Waikiki
Unremarkable outside, Bailey’s has the finest aloha-shirt collection on Oʻahu, possibly the world! Racks are crammed with thousands of collector-worthy…
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…
Kyiv
Kyiv's beautiful, light-filled, central market, built in 1910–12 for traders coming to Kyiv from Bessarabia, is not to be missed. The arrangements of…
Kowloon
The Tung Choi Street Market is a cheek-by-jowl affair offering cheap clothes and trinkets. Vendors start setting up their stalls as early as noon, but it…
Siem Reap
Siem Reap's original night market near Sivatha St has sprung countless copycats, but it remains the best and is well worth a browse. It's packed with…
Tangier
Just outside the kasbah, this is an eclectic mishmash of a shop, stocking art pieces, homewares, cosmetics and some exquisite designer clothes. It also…