Page 254 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Venice & The Veneto

252  TR A VELLERS ’ NEEDS
SHOPS AND MARKETS

The narrow streets of Venice are lined with and alongside papier-mâché carnival masks,
beautifully arranged windows that cannot glass and lace, you will find high-quality
fail to tempt shoppers, and the city has fashion and leather goods, antiques and
the additional bonus of being truly jewellery, as well as fine food. In the Veneto,
pedestrianized. Few cities of similar size which is one of Italy’s most prosperous
have such a wide variety of goods to browse regions, every town boasts a wide range
through as you explore the fascinating of shops, and many have seasonal speciality
and diverse neighbourhoods. There is markets. In country areas you can buy wine
still a strong artisan tradition in Venice, and olive oil direct from the producers.

two or three weeks during the stores, while near the station
national holiday time in August. the bustling Lista di Spagna
The best time for finding and the route along the Strada
bargains is during the January Nova towards the Rialto cater
and July sales: look out for for the everyday needs of
window signs with the words ordinary Venetians.
saldi or sconti. The islands of Murano and
Burano (see pp156–7) are the
places to buy traditional glass
Where to Shop in Venice
and lace.
The glittering Mercerie (see p99),
which runs from Piazza San How to Pay
Marco to the Rialto, has been
the main shopping street since Major credit cards are usually
the Middle Ages and, together accepted in the main stores for
with the parallel Calle dei Fabbri, larger purchases, but cash is
is still a honey pot for the preferred for small items, and
crowds. West of San Marco, the smaller shops will want cash.
Display of jewellery in a shop window in zigzagging Frezzeria is full of Travellers’ cheques are also
the Frezzeria interesting and unusual shops. accepted, though the rate that
The main route from the Piazza you will get is less favourable
When to Shop
to the Accademia Bridge is lined than at a bank.
Generally, shops open around with upmarket speciality stores, By law, shopkeepers should
9 or 9:30am and close for lunch while the streets north of give you a receipt (ricevuta
at 12:30 or 1pm, with the Campo Santo Stefano (see p97) fiscale), which you should keep
exception of food shops and are another excellent trawling until you are some distance away
markets, which are in business ground for quality souvenirs from the store (legally this is
from 8am. In the afternoon and gifts. 600 m/660 yards). If a purchased
stores are open from 3:30pm Across the Grand Canal, the item is defective, most shops will
to 7:30pm in winter, and 4pm to narrow streets from the Rialto change the article or give you a
8pm in summer. In Venice, many southwest towards Campo San credit note, as long as you show
stores aimed directly at tourists Polo (see p105) are lined with a the till receipt. Cash refunds are
are open all day and even on wide variety of less expensive not usually given.
Sundays, as are big out-of-town
supermarkets and hyper-
markets – useful if you are VAT Exemption
self-catering in the region. Visitors from non-European
Monday is usually the Union countries can reclaim
traditional closing day in about 12 per cent of the sales
northern Italy, though again tax (IVA) on goods exceeding
this does not apply to all shops €154 from the same shop.
in Venice itself. The smaller Ask for an invoice when you
towns in the Veneto often have buy the goods and inform the
very variable opening hours, shop that you intend to reclaim
with perhaps food shops the tax. The invoice must be
closing on Mondays but stamped at customs as you
ironmongers and clothes leave Italy. The shop will
shops closing on Wednesdays. reimburse the tax in euros
Shops and markets in the A colourful display of T-shirts with the once they have received
Veneto are often closed for “Venezia” logo the stamped invoice.

252-253_EW_Venice.indd 252 8/18/17 11:16 AM