Must-see shopping in Venice

  • PerlaMadreDesign

    Venice

    Chances are you'll find glass-maker Patrizia Iacovazzi (known as Simona to her friends) at her work table, turning glass into striking, elegant wearables,…

  • Museum Shop

    Venice

    The Peggy Guggenheim Collection's bright, enticing museum shop is stuffed with brilliant things designed to get your creative juices flowing. Books on art…

  • Pied à Terre

    San Polo & Santa Croce

    Pied à Terre’s colourful furlane (Venetian slippers) are handcrafted with recycled bicycle tyre treads, ideal for finding your footing on a gondola…

  • Designs 188

    Venice

    American transplant Trina Tygrett studied glass-making at the Academy of Fine Arts and subsequently married into a Murano-glass family. She now works…

  • Madera

    Venice

    Restyle your life at this modern design showcase, which stocks a sharply curated selection of Italian and international jewellery, accessories, homewares…

  • Libreria Mare di Carta

    San Polo & Santa Croce

    Sailors, pirates and armchair seafarers should navigate to this canalside storefront, which stocks every maritime map and sailor's-knot manual needed for…

  • Vladì Shoes

    Venice

    Step out in stylish, well-heeled and surprisingly practical shoes, made right in Venice. Algae-green high-button boots, ox-blood Oxfords and strappy…

  • Gmeiner

    San Polo & Santa Croce

    Gabriele Gmeiner honed her shoemaking craft at Hermès and John Lobb, and today jet-setters fly to Venice just for her ultra-sleek Oxfords with hidden …

  • VizioVirtù

    Venice

    Work your way through Venice’s most decadent vices at this Willy Wonka–esque shop, where lip-smacking edibles include plague doctor masks. Ganache-filled…

  • Danghyra

    Venice

    Spare white bisque cups seem perfect for a Zen tea ceremony, but look inside – that iridescent lilac glaze is pure Carnevale. Danghyra's striking ceramics…

  • Penny Lane Shop

    San Polo & Santa Croce

    A magnet for local students and tourists looking for something out of the ordinary, this delightful unisex clothing store stocks unusual labels, with a…

  • I Bochaleri

    Venice

    Housed in one of the pretty Liberty villas at the end of verdant Viale Garibaldi is this association of Venetian ceramicists (the Bochaleri). Every…

  • Aqua Altra

    Venice

    Globally oriented but with Italian tastes firmly in mind, this volunteer-run fair-trade co-op sells Vietnamese bamboo steamers, single-origin drinking…

  • Gualti

    Venice

    Either a shooting star just landed on your shoulder, or you’ve been to Gualti, where iridescent orange glass bursts from clear resin stems on a supernova…

  • Bruno

    Venice

    Attached to a graphic-design studio and editorial consultancy, Bruno is one of the most innovative art and design bookshops in Venice. It produces…

  • Libreria Acqua Alta

    Venice

    Precarious stacks of books appear in constant danger of collapse at this wonderfully ragtag secondhand bookshop. Some books are displayed in a gondola –…

  • Mercatino dell'Antiquariato

    Venice

    A much-loved antiques flea market held several weekends a year; check the website for dates. Head in early for the best finds, among them vintage Campari…

  • Papuni Art

    Venice

    Venice artisan Ninfa Salerno gives staid pearl strands a sense of humour with bouncy black rubber, weaves fuchsia rubber discs into glowing UFO necklaces,…

  • Le Botteghe della Solidarietà

    Venice

    Italian design sensibilities meet Venetian trading smarts at this fair-trade boutique on the steps of the Rialto. It sells everything from organic…

  • Lo Spazio 2091

    San Polo & Santa Croce

    This store sells women's clothing in luxury natural fabrics from Italian fashion labels you can't find elsewhere in the city. There's also a small range…

  • La Toletta

    Venice

    Whether you're after a Venice-set Donna Leon detective novel or a hefty tome on Venetian history or art, this large bookshop stocks a solid range of…

  • Dolceamaro

    Venice

    Call in for top-notch artisanal chocolate, regional wine, speciality Veneto grappa and other gourmet temptations, including aged balsamic vinegar and…

  • Charta

    Venice

    Even pulp fiction becomes high art at Charta, where favourite books are custom-bound in bespoke covers. Customised titles run into the hundreds of euros.

  • De Spar Teatro Italia

    Venice

    In Venice even the supermarkets are beautiful! Try not to be distracted by the painted ceilings and marbled walls while you hunt for milk and tea bags.

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