Most tourists are eager to visit Milan not to admire grandiose La Scala Theatre or majestic Cathedral of Milan. In fact, the main reason of such popularity of the city is its great opportunities for fantastic, exciting and just gorgeous shopping!
Have you noticed how many positive reviews praising shopping in Milan are on the Internet? Have they already encouraged you to pack your bags and buy ticket to Milan? But take a moment to think properly if Milan shopping actually suits your needs and expectation.
La Scala Theatre (Teatro alla Scala)
Do you actually need to buy clothes in Milan?
The main reason of such huge popularity of shopping in Milan is an unbelievably huge range of the latest models of accessories and clothes of world-famous brands for rather low prices especially during the sales seasons. Pay attention to the phrases “latest models” and “famous brands”. It means you should go for shopping in Milan if:
- You are interested in fashion and wear clothes from only the latest fashion collections.
- You value qualitative designer clothes
- You can afford spending of about 2-5 thousand euro to renew your wardrobe
- You just want to look at the latest fashion trends for the sake of aesthetic pleasure.
Image by Dimitry B. via Flickr
What is the best time for buying clothes in Milan?
The hottest prices are usually in January – February and July – September. During that time you could be lucky to find some excellent jeans, boots, dresses and jackets with the discount of up to 50%! In case of outlets, here you can get even more discount of up to 70% during the whole year.
You should remember that August is the worst time for making purchases. Most stores and boutiques closed, because of the national holiday of Ferragosto.
Image by Boris Brückhäuser via Flickr
What are operating hours of stores in Milan?
Although, each owner decides by himself when to open and close his store, most shops in Milan operate from 9:00 till 19:30 (13:00 – 15:30 is usually lunch break).
Notice that most stores in Milan and Italy in general closed till 15:30-16:00 on Mondays!
Image by nmhgfdgjyt via Flickr
Where to buy clothes in Milan?
Not all connoisseurs of fashion can afford purchasing clothes in shops and boutiques located right in the heart of Milan. Most people prefer shopping in relatively cheap outlets in the city suburbs. The clothes and accessories are cheaper mainly due to the fact that they are from previous collections or only one size or color is available.
Image by Deepa Paul via Flickr
Here is the list of most popular of outlets of Milan:
- Serravalle Scrivia is considered one of the oldest and largest outlets in the whole Europe! In about 180 stores of this enormous outlet, you can find sporting goods, cosmetics, accessories, home goods, gold and silver jewelry and of course clothes of more than 300 world famous brands such as Hugo Boss, Lacoste, Adidas, Nike, Dolce&Gabbana, Guess, Prada, Roberto Cavalli, Versace and many others. The outlet looks like a picturesque old town with the small lovely alleys, so while enjoying the shopping itself you will also receive aesthetic pleasure from simply strolling.
- FoxTown is another popular outlet you can reach by car in 90 minutes. Actually it’s located in Switzerland, so despite the fact that the border between courtiers is rather conventional and more likely no one will stop you for checking documents, you still should take your passport with you. Whereas Serravalle Scrivia is designed as a small city, FoxTown looks like usual shopping mall, which consists of two large buildings. The outlet is so big that it’s really not problem to spend here the whole day! If you are going to visit FoxTown, you should keep in mind that all prices are in Swiss francs.
- Orio center is a nice mall located in province of Bergamo, which is not far from Milan. It’s worth visiting only in case you have plenty of free time. Here is a great selection of different things from cosmetics to household appliances and electronics.
Image by marta cazzato via Flickr
- Cremona Factory Outlet isn’t among the large ones, but it has all needed to satisfy every fashion lover! Here you can buy some great things from Calvin Klein, Angel&Devil, Guess, Armani, D&G and Pepe Jeans for very sweet prices!
- Vicolungo Outlets consists of about 150 shops offering its clients a lot of interesting models of women’s, men’s and children clothing as well as jewelry and sporting goods.
It should be also mentioned that most popular outlets are located quite far from Milan (about 60 – 100 km) and the best way to reach them is to rent a car.
Image by Filippo Salamone via Flickr
By the way, your own car rental vehicle is your irreplaceable assistant during shopping weekend in Milan. Have you ever rented a car in Milan? Then use special booking websites for making cheap car rental deals! Book the car you like online and it will be waited for you right at the Malpensa Airport!
Some unusual stores you might haven’t known about:
- Bivio is quite interesting store allowing you not only to buy some branded stuff, but also sell your own clothes. Here, you’ll get some good money for things you don’t like anymore! You can also just exchange them on special voucher allowing you purchasing something in Bivio
- Lipstick vintage is a successful combination of store and the museum housing a great collection of clothes and accessories from the end of the last century.
Don’t get hung up only on the shopping itself!
Remember Milan isn’t just a world’s fashion capital! It’s also fantastically beautiful city with a large number of attractions that may even make you forget about your shopping intentions! So try to combine your endless exploring of Milan boutiques with at least a few excursions to the most popular attractions of the city.
Duomo di Milano (Cathedral of Milan)
Author Bio
Lily Berns is a real adventurer, who travels all over the world. Lily likes to share her experience and recommendations.