Shopping in Venice

What and where to shop in Venice

Venice has long been a place of trade and remains a busy retail center. Though the big name fashion houses are well-represented, the joy of shopping in Venice lies in hunting down those local novelty items that evoke the spirit of La Serenissima.

When you are out travelling the world, then maybe you would be interested in som shopping. We try to find some interesting shopping links for the city, which you can se below.

If you would like to share your shopping experience and ideas you can read and write in the disqus field below.

Shopping recommendations

If it is brand name fashions you’re after, Venice won’t disappoint. The island’s busiest shopping strip is the Merceri. It runs all the ways from the Piazza to the Rialto Bridge and almost all the celebrated Italian labels have boutiques here.

For other items, Calle della Mandola is the place to browse books and glass beads. And Campo Santo Stefano is the square for antique hunting. However, you can’t leave Venice without getting a souvenir carnival mask.

Carnival is the great event held every February but the masks are manufactured as souvenirs all year-round in Venice’s small workshops. You can get everything from full size porcelain masks with a hefty price tag to inexpensive ornaments such as silver earrings in the shape of carnival masks.

The other great specialty of Venice is glassware from the island of Murano. These include such items as vases, clocks and wine bottle caps. And you can also get decorative items such as rings, bracelets or pendants made out of the delightful colored glass. These can be very inexpensive and make great souvenirs of Venice. Other delights special to Venice include porcelain dolls and Burano lace work.