The best fashion and gift stores Venice

Timetable

In general, stores open every day except Sunday (and sometimes Monday morning) from 10am to 1pm and from 2.30pm or 3pm until 7pm, or even 8pm. In Venice, for example, this range can be extended during the high season, when a large number of shops operate around the clock. In January, and often in August too, there's usually a fortnight's annual closure.

Budget & Tips

Venice is one of Italy's most expensive cities, so let's face it. There are very few special offers outside the sales periods. Handicrafts in particular can often fetch astronomical sums. Prices are posted everywhere, so you won't be caught out. There's no need to haggle outside the Campo San Maurizio antique market.

Sales

Winter sales(saldi) start on January 7 and last two months; summer sales last the same, starting in the second week of July.

What's very local

The town is one of the last bastions of true arts and crafts in La Botte: marbled paper, glassware, household linen, cabinetmakers and gilders, as well as jewelers and costume designers, all work by hand, paying extreme attention to every detail.

Take home:

A carnival mask. As an emblem of Carnival, you'll find many fine stores selling beautiful masks made by professional craftsmen just like in the old days. But beware of fakes!

Murano glass. Venice's glassmaking tradition dates back to the Middle Ages, and Murano glass is among the finest in the world. When buying, trust the Vetro Artistico di Murano label, a guarantee of quality and authenticity.

Burano lace. Burano's lacemakers have been embroidering handkerchiefs, tablecloths and doilies with incredible finesse since the dawn of time. Beautiful boutiques still sell high-quality pieces.

Fortuny fabrics. Precious, refined and almost virtuoso, these rare fabrics made at the Giudecca factory are sought after the world over. While the price per metre is exorbitant, small accessories such as cushions, scarves and diaries are affordable.

Marbled paper. Venetian paper mills keep the secret of its manufacture; many stores around San Marco sell these elegantly patterned papers.

Gastronomy. Spaghetti with squid ink(al nero di seppia), bussolai, the S-shaped cookies typical of Burano, not forgetting grappa, the Venetian brandy (40°) and excellent wines (Soave, Valpolicella, Prosecco...) are all good things to bring back in your basket.

Tourist traps

As with any tourist city, Venice's "commercial excesses" have led to the closure of many of the craft stores that once made the Serenissima famous, followed by the inevitable opening of shops selling " made in China" goods. So beware of glass objects of varying quality, sold at low prices (beautiful glass is expensive), as well as plastic masks.