 Durant
& Cheryl Imboden'sVenice for Visitors veniceforvisitors.com |
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Shopping StreetsFrom: Venice's Top 11 Free Sights
ABOVE: Commuters and shoppers mingle on a Venice pedestrian thoroughfare. Shopping isn't free, but window-shopping is--and there are plenty of boutiques to ogle or browse in Venice.
The Rialto Bridge and the Rialto Food Markets (discussed earlier in this guide) are packed with shoppers; on the San Polo side of the bridge, turn left and follow the series of narrow streets all the way to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Dorsoduro if you can avoid getting lost. You'll pass souvenir shops, jewelers like Marfil, the Il Pavone stationery store, and other types of stores. (As you get closer to the tip of Dorsoduro, you'll see more art galleries and antique dealers.)
Finally, you may want to think twice before purchasing counterfeit handbags and other goods from illegal street vendors. (See article links below.) Related articles: Fines for Fakes (Counterfeit Products) Next page: Islands of the Lagoon
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High-fashion
and luxury goods are in the San Marco area, mostly in the streets that lead out
of the arcaded or Napoleonic end of the Piazza. You'll find upscale
brands like Missoni, Prada, Bottega Veneta, Bulgari, and Gucci in San Marco,
along with more affordable (and practical) shops like Libreria Mondadori and
Libreria Studium, two bookstores that have a good range of English-language
guidebooks and maps.
Head
down the Mercerie shopping streets toward Rialto, or in the direction of
the Campo San Stefano, and you'll encounter hundreds of other shops that sell
everything from clothing to handmade stationery, Murano glass, and art supplies.
To
the north and east of the Piazza San Marco, in the Castello district, shops like
Farther
west in Cannaregio, on the way to the railway station, the wide pedestrian
thoroughfare of Strada Nova has a mixture of souvenir stores and everyday
shops used by Venetians--including a branch of Venice's best supermarket (Billa)
and a pet store on the Campo SS Apostoli.
The
island of Murano is the center of the Lagoon's glass industry, and
Burano--a traditional lacemaking center--has shops that sell lace and
linens. (Prices aren't necessarily any cheaper than you'd pay in Venice, but the
specialized window-shopping and browing opportunities are more concentrated.)