Shopping centres
Coin
Via de' Calzaiuoli 56r, tel./fax 055 28 05 31.
Open 09:30 - 20:00, Sun 11.00 - 20.00.
www.coin.it
Recently receiving a face lift in the last few years, Coin now is an upscale department store carrying anything from clothing to home comforts mostly with designer labels and prices. MAC cosmetics fanatics will be happy to know it has its own boutique within.
Esselunga
Via Novoli 60, tel. 055 70 65 56.
Open 08:00 - 21:00. Closed Sun.
www.esselunga.it
The largest grocery store in Florence. Bus Nº22 to Regione Toscana. You can even order online for home delivery.
I Gigli
Via San Quirico - Campi Bisenzio, tel. .
Open 09:00 - 22:00, Mon 14:00 - 22:00. Closed Sun.
www.igigli.it
If you need to get all of your shopping done in one spot, this is one of the larger malls in Florence just outside the centre. Open everyday and one Sunday every month.
La Rinascente
Piazza della Repubblica 1, tel. 055 21 91 13.
Open 09:00 - 21:00, Sun 10:30 - 20:00.
www.larinascente.it
A great big shopping mall in the American tradition of consumerism.
Oviesse
Via Nazionale 29, tel. 055 21 53 46.
Open 09:00 - 19:30. Closed Sun.
www.oviesse.it
Fashion
Boutique Giorgio Armani
Via della Vigna Nuova 51r, tel. 055 21 90 41.
Open 10:00 - 19:00. Closed Sun.
www.giorgioarmani.it
Home of the first and most famous Armani line, where the prices almost double from the Emporio line for the classic, understated fashion.
Dolce & Gabbana
Via della Vigna Nuova 27r, tel. 055 28 10 03, fax 055 21 30 25.
Open 10:00 - 19:00, Mon 15:00 - 19:00. Closed Sun.
www.dolcegabbana.it
The Florence headquarters of one of the hottest and young fashion labels.
Emporio Armani Firenze
Piazza Strozzi 16r, tel. 055 28 43 15, fax 055 23 98 182.
Open 10:00 - 19:00. Closed Sun.
www.giorgioarmani.it
Carrying one of the most popular and relatively affordable lines of the Armani fashion design (that is if you consider a ˆ480 suit affordable).
Gai Mattiolo
Piazza Santa Trinita 1r, tel. 055 265 44 51, fax 055 267 93 75.
info@gaimattiolo.com www.gaimattiolo.com
A label that's been on the catwalks from the late 1980s.
Gianni Versace
Via de' Tornabuoni 13/15r, tel. 055 28 26 38.
Open 10:00 - 19:00. Closed Sun.
www.versace.it
Love it or hate it, you can't ignore the Versace style - designer of choice for rock stars and the Russian mafia.
Grigio Perla
Via Strozzi 24r, tel. 055 21 52 42.
Open 10:00 - 19:00, Mon 15:00 - 19:00. Closed Sun.
www.laperla.it
Men's wear, that is really not that expensive. You can have clothes tailored for you at about the same price for off the rack.
Gucci
Via de' Tornabuoni 73r, tel. 055 26 40 11, fax 055 21 26 34.
Open 10:00 - 19:00, Mon 15:00 - 19:00. Closed Sun.
www.gucci.it
After the label's recent makeover by Tom Ford, Gucci's headquarters in Florence are busy from opening to closing.
La Perla
Via della Vigna Nuova 17-19r, tel. 055 21 70 70.
Open 10:00 - 19:00, Mon 15:00 - 19:00. Closed Sun.
www.laperla.it
Men and women's fashion, with perfume and eyewear to boot.
Louis Vuitton
Via de' Tornabuoni 24/28r, tel. 055 21 43 44.
Open 09:30 - 19:30. Closed Sun. Open last Sunday of the month.
www.louisvuitton.com
The unmistakeable brown insignia these days goes farther beyond the luggage and travel accessories upon which it built its name, travelling into men and women's fashion.
Luisa Via Roma
Via Roma 19/21r, tel. 055 21 78 26/055 21 78 27, fax 055 28 98 94.
Open 10:00 - 19:30, Sun 11:00 - 19:00.
luisaviaroma@fol.it www.luisaviaroma.com
Carries lines such as Fendi, Gaultier, Miyake, Dolce e Gabbana, Donna Karen, Lawrence Steel, Calvin Klein and much more.
Max Mara
Via de' Tornabuoni 89r, tel. 055 21 41 33.
Open 10:00 - 19:30. Closed Sun (open last Sun of the month).
Prada
Via de' Tornabuoni 67r, tel. 055 28 34 39, fax 055 21 48 60.
Open 10:00 - 19:00, Mon 15:00 - 19:00. Closed Sun.
www.prada.it
For a brief and shining moment, Prada was the centre of the fashion universe, perhaps due to their reinvention of the shoe. They still make wonderful shoes, clothes and accessories. Their shop is definitely worth investigating.
Replay
Piazza Goldoni 8/10r, tel. 055 239 88 33.
Open 10:00 - 13:00, 15:00 - 19:30, Mon 15:00 - 19:30. Closed Sun.
www.replay.it
Hip, urban-styled fashion and clothing.
Salvatore Ferragamo
Via de' Tornabuoni 14r, tel. 055 29 21 23.
Open 09:30 - 19:30, Mon 15:30 - 19:30. Closed Sun.
www.ferragamo.it
Ferragamo was first famed for his shoes worn by everyone from Greta Garbo to Roman extras in Cecile B DeMille epics. Now producing both women's and men's clothing and still shoes.
Trussardi
Via de' Tornabuoni 34-36, tel. 055 21 99 02.
Open 10:00 - 19:00, Mon 15:00 - 19:00. Closed Sun.
www.trussardi.com
Originated in 1910 in Bergamo as a glove factory, now revelling in its design prowess for men, women, and even children.
Markets
Il Porcellino
Via Porta Rossa
Open 08:00 - 19:00, Mon 15:00 - 19:00. Closed Sun.
Sewing products, leather, wood objects, and fresh flowers.
Mercato delle Cascine
Parco delle Cascine
Clothing, leather, shoes, fruit, vegetables, flowers, home supplies. At the end of Lungarno Vespucci.
Mercato di San Lorenzo
Piazza San Lorenzo
Open 09:00 - 20:00, Mon 15:00 - 20:00.
Clothing, leather, souvenirs. Food hall inside the old market.
Mercato di Sant' Ambrogio
Piazza Ghiberti
Open 08:00 - 15:00. Closed Sat, Sun.
Fruit, vegetables, flowers, clothing and shoes.
Souvenirs
Alice's Masks Art Studio
Via Faenza 72R, tel./fax 055 28 73 70.
Open 09:00 - 13:00, 15:30 - 19:30. Closed Sun.
arlecchino@dada.it www.alicemasks.com
Professor Agostino Dessí and his daughter Alice sell wonderful papier-maché masks. They also teach mask-making classes (£600,000/20hrs), which are open to even the most inept of artists.
Bartolucci
Via Condotta 12r, Via Borgo dei Greci 11 A/r, tel. 055 21 17 73/055 239 85 96.
Open 09:30 - 19:30.
info@bartolucci.com www.bartolucci.com
Toys made from pine wood - hand carved with the loving precision the locals reserve for tourists.
Bottega Montebello
Via dei Servi 111r, tel./fax 055 28 33 95.
Open 10:00 - 13:00, 15:30 - 19:00, Mon. 15:30 - 19:00. Closed Sun.
maudani@dada.it
Duck into this workshop to find mostly objects made from wood. Frames, mirrors and decorative objects all designed in an innovative way.
Brandimarte
Lungarno Acciaiuoli 54r, tel. 055 260 88 11, fax 055 267 98 37.
Open 09:30 - 13:00, 15:00 - 19:30.
www.brandimarte.com
Wonderful silver products. Trendy and classy for everyday use. From pots to jewellery, glasses and vases. You can even enjoy a tour in the work shop and to reserve one you can call, tel. 055 23 93 81.
Cecilia Spinelli
Via de' Conti 10r, tel. 055 21 02 80.
Open 10:00 - 19:00, Sun 10:00 - 17:00.
Get ceramics with a "Made in Florence" sticker stamped on the bottom or alternatively pick up one of their antique maps, books or reproductions. Paupers can purchase postcards.
La Bottega dei Cristalli
Via de' Benci 51r, tel. 055 234 48 91.
Open 10:00 - 19:30.
www.labottegadeicristalli.com
Mainly beautiful Murano-made crystal, but also typical Tuscan glass trays with wheat or shell designs. Vases, candles and crystal jewellery. The kind lady that owns the place says that all languages are understood at her shop as she's an ace at body language.
Livio Battista Artigiano
Borgo degli Albizi 72r, tel. 055 234 05 41, fax 055 200 90 21.
Open 10:00 - 19:30. Closed Sun.
Ranging anywhere from kitsch to elegant, you can find stationery, calligraphy tools, cheap presents and beautifully handcrafted journals and stationery for the writer in all of us. There's a workshop downstairs where you can view the artists at work while you're picking out your favourite postcard rendition of David.
The Blue Shop - Giovanni Baccani
Via della Vigna Nuova 75r, tel./fax 055 21 44 67.
Open 09:00 - 13:00, 15:30 - 19:30, Mon 15:30 - 19:30. Closed Sun.
Initium omnis peccati est superbia, (the greatest sin of all is pride) reads the inscription over the door to this charming store, established in 1903, and dealing in prints, hand-made frames, boxes and triptychs.
