Shopping in Tuscany
Tuscany is known for its leather goods and crystal, terra cotta and lace, but few realize that it is also home to Prada, Gucci, Armani, Fendi, and other factory outlets.
Whether you like bargains or souvenirs, art or antiques, these guides will help you avoid the run of the mill. With discounts often exceeding 50% of retail, a day in the shops could pay for your whole trip.

Collection of souvenirs and tuscan gifts, houseware or clothing, accesories & footware outlets celebrating the spirit of Tuscany and it's history.
Most of the tuscany wonderful souvenirs come with Postcards personalized with your own message and mailed from Italy.

Shop for arts and crafts, capodimonte ceramics, tuscan pottery, fashion bags, wedding & anniversary, hats and exclusive florentine hand crafted items cookbooks, travel guides, art. quality clothing made in tuscany by first-quality italian natural fabrics.

Olive oil in Tuscany
When visiting Tuscany you shouldn't miss their delicious olive oil. Tuscany is renowned for its good quality and tasty olive oil. There is a wide choice concerning olive oil: "simple" or mixed with some great herbs or condiments such as basil, oregano, pepper and many other options. Prices will, obviously, depend on make and shop.

Shops in tuscany: selected shops around tuscany Italy artisans companies producers and manufacturers in tuscany where to buy the tuscan arts: jewellery italian gold charms vases tableware dinnerware home accessories handcrafted vases wall dishes pots jars

Tuscany and Florence shopping itineraries

Shopping in Florence
For fashion addicts and fashion victims who are already familiar with the city and who are planning another stay in Florence, here is a made-to-measure itinerary...
Home to the historical names of Made in Italy fashion such as Gucci, Emilio Pucci and Salvatore Ferragamo, Florence is an excellent opportunity to satisfy a few whims. So, go on, put your hand in your pocket and get ready to take some vintage souvenirs home to furnish your apartment with, or some food delicacies to please your taste buds and those of your friends and some accessories and famous-label clothes to show off and wear on special evenings.

Most visitors interested in gold or silver jewelry head for the Ponte Vecchio and its tiny shops. If you're looking for a charm or souvenir, these shops are fine. But the heyday of finding gold jewelry bargains on the Ponte Vecchio is long gone.

Tre street for antiques is Via Maggio: some of the furnishings and objets d'art here are from the 16th century.
Florence's Fifth Avenue is Via dei Tornabuoni, the place to head for the best quality leather goods, for the best clothing boutiques, and for stylish but costly shoes. Here you'll find everyone from Armani, Gucci, Versace, Coveri, to Ferragamo.

Besides shops, Florence is rich in open-air markets. The Market of san Lorenzo, situated in the center of the city, is the prefered destination of tourists.
The New Market, where one can acquire leather goods and souvenirs, is sheltered under the sixteenth-century Loggia del Porcellino.
At the Flea Market, near Piazza Santa Croce, one can make good deals on small antique items. The last Sunday of every month except July, the market expands into the adjacent streets.

Morning
The morning is the best time to wander round the markets and flea markets looking for those unique items and best bargains. In Florence there are many markets to look round: the one in San Lorenzo is famous for its food delicatessens, then there is the Mercato delle Pulci, that is held every day in Piazza dei Ciompi with its antique stalls and the Cascine market in viale Lincoln.
Take a quick look at the Officina Profumo Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, the old pharmacy where you can be essences and beauty products and at Bojola in via dei Rondinelli n° 25r, an old crafts shop opened in 1892 you can buy leather goods such as bags, suitcases and wallets.

Afternoon
Your afternoon is for a trip outside the city, for shopping, Around Florence there are many famous-label outlets. The most important is The Mall by Leccio Reggello (Via Artina n° 63, tel. 055 8657775), that can easily be reached by car, train or by Shuttle Bus from Florence (for bookings tel. +39 055 8657775). There is a wide choice here of clothes and accessories from past seasons by Armani, Gucci, Sergio Rossi, Bottega Veneta, Prada, Ferragamo, Roberto Cavalli and many other labels, at reduced prices.

Evening
All you have to do is show off your purchases, throwing yourself into the Florentine night life. Choose a night club that is to your taste and enjoy yourself all night long. When you are exhausted from your shopping and dancing, drag yourself back to one of the hotels in Florence.
see Florence

SHOPPING IN SAN GIMIGNANO San Gimignano Nice shops
Lots of wine shops, enotecas, book stores, leather shops, glass shops, souvenier shops, you name it. If you like to shop you will like San Gimignano. wine and leather might be a bit more expensive because of the tourist factor but i did not find the prices too unreasonable. see San Gimignano

SHOPPING IN LUCCA Shopping on Via Fillungo street
Via Fillungo is one of the main streets in Lucca. It is lined with clothing/shoe and accessory shops, inter-mingled with restaurants and some interesting old buildings. It is the place to shop in Lucca .
The timetable of opening and closing of the shops in Lucca is similar to most Italian cities' one: the greater part of the shops remains closed to the hour of lunch, according to a hour table that separates the summery months from the rest of the year:

WINTER TIMETABLE (15 september - 15 june): 9-13; 15.30-19.30 SUMMERTIMETABLE (15 june - 15 september): 8.30 - 12.30; 16-20 All the shops remain closed on Monday morning, except for food shops whose closing day is fixed to the Wednesday. The third Sunday of every month, including the previous Saturday, in Piazza San Giusto, Piazza Antelminelli and in the neighbouring ways takes place a traditional large antiques market: a wide exposure of furnishing objects, coins rare and old jewels. On the last Sunday and preceding Saturday, in the same squares and streets the "arts and crafts market" takes place: the stands exhibits typical handcrafted products. In Lucca the market proper, with the stands selling clothes, flowers, alimentary products or household impements, takes place in Via dei Bacchettoni, located inside the wall, between Porta Elisa and Porta San Jacopo, every Wednesday and Saturday morning, from 9 am to 1pm.

Buy a piece of Castagnaccio a typical cake of Lucca and Tuscany in general. Try to make your Castagnaccio with this recipe: CASTAGNACCIO - CHESTNUT FLOUR CAKE 1 pound 2 ounces chestnut flour 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 1/3 cup sultana raisins 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 tbs fresh bread crumbs 2 sprigs rosemary, leaves only 1/4 cup pine nuts Preheat the oven to 450°. Soak the raisins in warm water for 30 minutes. Drain and blot dry. Whisk 4 cups of room temperature water, 1/2 cup of the olive oil, the sugar, and the salt into the chestnut flour; the mixture should be fluid and absolutely lump free. Grease a 9" cake pan with low sides with a little olive oil, and dust it with the bread crumbs. Scatter the rosemary leaves, pine nuts, and raisins over the batter, and pour in the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil. Bake for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 400°, and bake for 1 hour. Let cool on a rack, cut into wedges and enjoy. Eat at room temperature.

Local market and Antique Market in Lucca
Lucca has a local market which takes place every Wednesday and Saturday. The market stalls offer all kinds of cheap stuff from clothes to electronic devices. Some food stalls offer local dishes for take away.
Every third weekend of the month in old town in the area included by Piazza Grande, Piazza San Martino, Piazza San Giusto and Piazza Bernardini there is the antique market. Furnitures, paintings, and other old goods are sold in the open by small stall.

City Market at Porta Elisa Stadium: City Market at Porta Elisa Stadium
Every Wednesday and Saturday morning in the Porta Elisa Stadium there is the city market. Here you can find almost any kind of goods at a cheaopest price than in the old town shops. Obviuosly the quality is not so good. But if you are looking for something cheap to get as a souvenir of your visit it can be the right place.

Handcraft Market
In the 4th weekend of every month in Piazza San Giusto there is the handcraft market. Many kind of goods are sold in this market... something is nice, something is kitch, but it's a nice market and if it happens it worth a visit.

Handmade crafts and Puccini souvenirs
Sunday evening market that is loads of fun. Tons of vendors selling Italian candy, and posters and nice souvenirs of Lucca's favorite son Puccini. The stores in Lucca have unusual local crafts. Puccini posters, old Italian postcards, handmade soaps and nuts jarred with local honey. Prices are really good, and the items make you feel like you're really bringing back a bit of Italy.

Piazzetta dell'arte: Paintings in the streets
Every Sunday in Via & Piazzetta dell'Arancio there is an art gallery in the open. Local artists exhibit and sell their paintings in this zone just beside Via Fillungo.

SHOPPING IN PISA
There is a major shopping street running from the train station in the South of the city known as Corso Italia which crosses the Ponte di Mezzo river in the middle and then turns into Borgo Stretto in the North. This is the street to start from as it houses many of the major stores such as UPIM. Don't hesitate to venture further a field though as there are plenty of smaller, individual shops worth a browse.

souvenir stalls: Leaning tower : great and small
In the souvenir stalls along the Piazza dei Miracoli, You can buy a leaning tower. And I think if you really want one, it surely is not easy to choose, as they exist in various sizes. From small (more then 1 meter - can you still take this a hand luggage in the airplane?) till very small. leaning tower here you have an excellent choice.
At the Piazza dei Miracoli, the whole length of the road is filled with souvenir stalls. Of course they are selling a lot of stuff with the image of the leaning tower on it. I think that everything that exists as a souvenir well, you can find it here.

Antiques Market: 2nd sunday of month
Each second weekend of the month, except July and August, the streets around Piazza dei Cavalieri becomes a great open market. The Antiques Market in Pisa is one of the most interesting in Italy because Pisa is home to plenty of furniture manufacturers, shops and restorers.
see Pisa

Castellina in Chianti Shopping
Tuscany Chianti Classico: Buy some of the local tuscan wine
Castellina is located in the heart of the Chianti region of Tuscany and the town is surrounded by luscious wines covered in plump wine grapes. Castellina is only a small town, but it is filled with shops selling the local plonk....and as we are big fans of the wines produced in region, we took some time to browse in a couple of the shops.

You will find a very impressive selection of Tuscan wines with some very old (and expensive!) bottles for sale. The shop also sold locally produced olive oils, nuts and other tasty treats. In the end all we bought was a little Chianti Classico magnet, a lovely souvenir from our visit to Castellina.

Siena Shopping
In the steep narrow streets of Siena you find a multitude of little shops with various offer, for example delicacies, gifts, shoes, decorations, household, spices, etc. The streets around the Campo and on the way up to the Domo are always overcrowded with tourists, but the offer is brilliant. Panforte is the local specialty. It's a kind of fruitcake.

Designer Boutiques
Siena is not to be overlooked, because it has its share of designer shops, too. After crossing over the Piazza G. Matteotti you can make your way down Via Bianchi di Sopra where you'll find the shops of Prada, Gucci, Armani, Ferragamo, Valentino, Louis Vuitton, Damiani, Cartier, Versace, and Hermes, to name a few.

Terracotta in Siena
Siena like many tuscan and umbrian towns featured colorful maiolica and terracotta. While most people opt for the colorful plates, trays, mugs and dishes, some of the most interesting pieces are the blue and white 'farmacia' medicinal ceramics. These elegant jars were used to stored herbal medicinals in medieval apothecaries.
Siena in general is an expensive town because of the the high tourist traffic, but you can get a mug or plate fairly inexensively. I like the ones with the emblems of the 'contrade'--neighborhood organziations that have been competing in the wild and wooly Palio horse race in Siena forever

Siena is a shoppers paradise: Clothing, food & wine
For those shopaholics out there Siena has plenty of shops to keep you amused. If you are after clothing, check out the fancy boutiques on Bianchi di Sopra and on Via di Citta. There are tempting food shops at every turn, filled with colourful pasta, biscuits & other sweet treats, cheeses and cured meats. On top of this they all sell a large selection of Tuscan wines....I could browse for hours! One particularly interesting shop is Antica Drogheria Manganelli (at Via di Citta 71-73). They have been making their tasty panforte since 1879.
For market fans, if you happen by on a Wednesday you can check out the big, lively market held in front of the Fortezza. The market sells everything from clothing to food to junk - a great place for a browse or to stock up on fresh produce if you are self catering. There is also an antique market which is held in Piazza del Mercato on the 3rd Sunday of every month.

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