By Steve Alexander


It's a well-known fact that Europe is the epicentre of world fashion. The continent's most glamorous cities play host to some of the world's best designer boutiques and high-street stores.

Shopping in Barcelona is much more of a cultural experience than perhaps anywhere else. Barcelona has a strong architectural identity and mirroring that is vast array of local brands and craftsmen that reflect the city's Spanish flair.

One vast shopping street called Avinguda Diagonal is home to all the usual high street and international designers. This is one of the city's most important avenues, and the 50 metre wide street is lined with various shopping centres. A number of impressive building can also be found here including the Torre Agbar.

Bustling with street buskers and artists, head to Placa de Sant Josep Oriol for a more local atmosphere. Home to a number of quaint shops and traditional cafes and restaurants, this small attractive plaza also boasts a few designer boutiques.

The maze of canals in Venice may be what the city is famous for, but it also offers shopping districts to rival those in more modern European cities. Extending from the Rialto Bridge to Piazza San Marco, Mercerie is a chain of historic shopping streets that means haberdashery, so it's not surprising, then, that down this narrow shopping street, you will find yourself stumbling across plenty of quirky stores. You'll find everything from carnival masks and kitsch souvenirs to premium leather goods.

Venice is best known for its local crafts that have been produced in the area for centuries, including delicate lace from Burano, glassware from Murano and the cartapesta (papier-mache) Carnevale masks. However, because of the popularity of these goods, cheap knock-offs are often mistaken for the real thing. To get your hands on the originals, it is worth watching out for the Mercatino dell'Antiquariato (antiques fair) in Campo San Maurizio where the market takes place three times a year.




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