Page 328 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2016 - Austria

326  Tr a vellers ’ needs

SHOPPING IN AUSTRIA

Until quite recently, shops in austria kept and now it is much more common for
to strict opening and even stricter closing shops to stay open at lunchtime and
hours. around lunchtime or after 6pm for for longer in the evenings. Markets, ranging
example, no self-respecting austrian would from international fairs to street and flea
dream of doing any shopping, even in markets, are widely popular with visitors,
vienna. The Wochenende (weekend) was and there is an excellent range of goods to
even more sacrosanct – at many shops it buy. Check out traditional crafts and clothes,
started on Friday evening. Today though, speciality foods and drinks, as well as
opening hours have become liberalized, exquisite ceramics and glassware.

Opening Hours
surrounded by historic build­
Shops usually open at 8:30 or ings, allowing you to combine
9am and close at 6pm or later. shopping and sightseeing.
Supermarkets open from 8am The Naschmarkt near
to 7pm, and until 5pm on Karls platz in Vienna is the
Saturdays. The Mercur and biggest street market in Austria,
Billa supermarkets are open and besides food and clothes,
late on Fridays, until 7:30pm, there is also a flea market
and Billa branches at Vienna’s on Saturdays. The dates and
Nordbahnhof railway station venues for other flea markets
and at the airport open seven or antiques fairs are published
days a week. in the daily papers.
Smaller shops still close at
lunchtime for an hour or so.
In provincial towns opening VAT Refunds
hours may vary from those in Except for citizens of other
Vienna and be more suited EU countries, visitors to
to the local needs. Austria are entitled to reclaim
Mehrwertsteuer (abbreviated as
MwSt), the equivalent of VAT,
Markets and Fairs
Shop window, displaying typical souvenirs on their purchases. The rate is
Markets and fairs are a firm in Innsbruck 20 per cent on industrial goods
part of tradition in Austria. The and 10 per cent on food products.
country hosts many international in the main square of small You need to tell the vendor that
fairs, where anything from villages. On Friday and Saturday you are buying the goods for
household items and construc­ mornings, some streets close export. Larger department
tion machinery to modern to traffic and fill with market stores will be able to provide
jewellery or Austrian folk art, stalls offering produce straight you with the appropriate form;
wines and spirits are exhibited. from the farm, including fruit, alternatively, you can get it from
For holiday­makers there are vegetables, flowers, meat customs. Fill in the form and
countless charming street products and freshly baked present it together with the
markets, which are often held goods. The market is often receipt when you leave Austria.
You may be asked to show the
goods, which must still be in
their original packaging,
unopened and unused. If the
money is not refunded at the
border, you can apply for it by
writing to Global Blue, P.O. Box
363, 810 00 Bratislava, Slovenia
(tel +421 232 111 111) and have
it sent by post or transferred to
your bank account.

End-of-Season Sales
Twice a year, the shopping
scene is enlivened by seasonal
Wine shop in a private vineyard in Mörbisch price reductions; the

326-327_EW_Austria.indd 326 03/09/15 5:45 pm
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
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Date 7th January 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm