I have been there before and had a wonderful time... from fantastic ice creams, to beautiful sightseen, the city is just full with shops... I am mean, not the normal way you would imagine, but in a wonderful way which I can tell you the place IS just shops!
A dream for any confessed shopaholic and more. Browsing on any shops either from high street to Chanel doesn't feel weird or embarrassing because they are all so close to each other, is not like if your going down Mayfair where you may feel uneasy.
Despite amazing shops, which can be pricey, the city has a lot to offer to all budgets, and markets are always a good place to go to.
Florence, well known for its leather goods, has 2 great markets.
Loggia del Mercato Nuovo ( New Market ), near Piazza Della Republica.
A small market, where I bought my purple bag, I was amazed by the variety of colours and choice!!!! You really get spoiled for it, they will have pretty much any imaginable colour in an amazing soft leather. Haggle. Prices will drop dramatically but they have a limit, and therefore they won't go down once you have reached it.
The reason is, all the stalls sell the same or similar items. They might be different prices for starters but will all end up being the same, once you haggled. So, it's not really worth it to compare prices. I have tried and it does not work!
Bag was originally more or less 150 euros and then finally, to 70 euros. The pound was cheaper than the euro... those were happy times!
San Lorenzo, Around san Lorenzo church on Via al canto de Nelli.
It's a huge leather market. I was close to Santa Maria Novella and was 2 minutes from it. Again , many stalls you sell similar/ same items, so I imagine to be pretty much the same as the new market. In a much bigger scale, from leather goods, to souvenirs, and fake posh bags... ( which I find terrible! There you are spoiled for choice of great local leather goods, how can some people? ).
Not forgetting, beautiful sheepskin coats and jackets by the dozen, but expensive, of course.
I was there almost evening, when they were kinda of closing the market, alone, with no money, which made my visit very brief, but I must warn you, I was mildly hassled by Italian and Brazilian stall holders which made me laugh, reminding me back home because that's the way it can be overthere as well... so, if you would feel uncomfortable with that, I advise you to go during the day with crowds and hold on tight to your purse!
Fancy a shopping destination? Florence is fab... and there are some treasures around town to be shared about... I shall blurb again some other time.
See you soon!
