The Ultimate Guide to Luxury Shopping in Europe (Updated 2024)
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Are you interested in buying luxury goods in Europe?
Do you daydream of strolling down the best luxury shopping streets in Paris? Have you planned your entire vacation around the best places for luxury shopping in Europe?
If so, you’re in luck!
I’VE WRITTEN AN ULTIMATE GUIDE TO LUXURY SHOPPING IN EUROPE.
From building your luxury wish list to snagging an appointment at your favorite boutique, this guide is full of my insider tips.
Why take it from me?
I’ve worked for luxury brands like Cartier and Louis Vuitton, and I’m sharing the secrets of how luxury boutiques operate so that you can have an unforgettable shopping experience.
And as an American living in Europe, I routinely shop at luxury boutiques in Milan, Paris, and London - and beyond.
The Ultimate Guide to Luxury Shopping in Europe (Updated 2024)
Is It Cheaper to Buy Luxury Goods in Europe?
Many luxury goods, like those from Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Hermes, are made in Europe.
Their European prices don’t include overhead costs like transport and duty fees, costs that are routinely added to the same item’s price when sold in the U.S.
The price differential on luxury handbags, jewelry, and watches can be substantial even before the currency exchange rate is taken into account.
This pricing difference often extends to clothes and accessories from designer brands like Prada, Saint Laurent, and Celine.
In addition to the benefits of local pricing and currency exchange rates, American travelers are also eligible for VAT (value-added tax) refunds as they are non-resident visitors to the EU.
While the minimum purchase amount varies from country to country, a safe rule of thumb is that any purchase over 500 Euros will be eligible for a VAT refund.
More on that in a bit.
What about luxury outlets?
Europe has plenty of outlet malls just like in the United States, but similar to those in the United States, these outlet stores are often stocked with products which have been manufactured to a lower quality and a lower price point, despite the brand name. One exception in the luxury space is the Gucci Outlet outside of Florence.
I’ve debated whether or not to visit the Gucci Outlet, which you can read about here.
How to Prepare for Luxury Shopping in Europe
How to prepare for luxury shopping in Europe? It all starts with research.
Build your Luxury Wishlist
I always advise friends to build a luxury wishlist before they actually go into a boutique and purchase a piece.
It's so helpful to have a list of pieces that have caught your attention, something you can refer back to as your tastes or priorities change.
Luxury goods are handmade pieces of art; you really want to put some thought into which ones you'll acquire and add to your personal collection.
It’s not uncommon for certain items to fall off of my wishlist the longer I go without them, and that’s ok!
A LUXURY WISHLIST HELPS YOU TO AVOID MAKING AN IMPULSE PURCHASE THAT YOU MIGHT REGRET LATER.
Personally, I don't play the luxury resale game, so if I am buying a piece, I'm buying it for the long haul.
Decide what pieces you’re most interested in.
It's a good idea to have maybe two or three options because stock outages are a very real thing, but I would advise that you keep the list manageable.
You don't want to have a list of 10 pieces unless you’ve dedicated more than one full day of your trip itinerary to shopping.
A sweet spot of 3 - 7 pieces that you're seriously considering buying is manageable.
Luxury Arbitrage: Research Price Differences between Countries
Luxury arbitrage is the practice of buying luxury goods, like designer handbags, watches, or jewelry, in one market where prices are lower, and then reselling them in another market where prices are higher.
I don’t think you’ll be playing the luxury arbitrage game, but it’s good to think like an arbitrager, especially when comparing price differences between countries.
The easiest way to research price differences is to visit the brand’s website, make note of the piece’s price in USD, and then change the location to the country you will be visiting in order to see that same piece’s price in the local currency, usually EUR (Euro) or GBP (British pound).
It’s important to bear in mind that prices advertised to customers in the EU already include VAT (sales tax) by law.
This is different from the United States, where the advertised price has sales tax included on top at time of purchase.
Here’s a quick example
The Louis Vuitton Pochette Métis East West retails for $2,910, and if you were to buy this is New York City, an additional 8% sales tax would be added on top, pushing the final price of the bag beyond $3,000. In Europe, the same bag retails for €2,400 with no further tax on top.
If you’re shopping for highly sought after items like Hermès handbags, pricing will not be on the brand’s websites, though pricing estimates can usually be found by searching for that brand’s price list on Google.
Types of Luxury Boutiques
It’s important to understand the types of luxury boutiques so that you can choose the best one for your shopping experience.
Generally, there are four types of luxury boutiques:
Flagship boutiques
Secondary boutiques
Seasonal boutiques
Shop-in-Shop boutiques
Flagship Boutiques
First, the most spectacular and awe-inspiring are flagship boutiques that anchor luxury houses in major European capitals like Paris, London, and Milan.
They're often multi-story boutiques merchandised with multiple collections and staffed by a large team of sales associates.
The Louis Vuitton flagship boutique in Paris, located on The Avenue des Champs-Élysées
FLAGSHIP BOUTIQUES BOAST FANCIFUL DISPLAY WINDOWS AND SPECIAL EFFECTS: IN SHORT, THEY ARE LIKE PLAYGROUNDS FOR FASHION LOVERS.
In addition to their wide range of collections, flagship boutiques also offer supplemental services, like jewelry cleaning and hot stamping, on-site.
Secondary Boutiques
Large cities often have secondary boutiques, as well. Secondary boutiques are often spread throughout the city in up-and-coming design districts or secondary shopping areas.
They offer a more limited range of collections than flagship boutiques and limited supplemental services.
MOST SECONDARY BOUTIQUES WILL CARRY CORE COLLECTIONS LIKE HANDBAGS, BUT NOT SHOE OR READY-TO-WEAR COLLECTIONS.
A Louis Vuitton secondary boutique in Genoa, Italy.
They also tend to have more limited inventory due to their smaller size.
If you’re visiting a smaller cities that only has a single boutique of a particular brand, it is safe to assume that it will fall into the category of secondary boutique even though it is technically the sole location in the city.
So if you’re traveling to Frankfurt, Vienna, or Amsterdam, expect a smaller boutique with limited inventory.
(But don’t worry about not finding the piece you’re looking for! There is a trick to help ensure that the piece you’re lusting after is waiting for you in store…)
Seasonal Boutiques
The third type of luxury boutique that is quite common throughout Europe is the seasonal boutique.
Seasonal boutiques are often short-term leases, like pop-ups, which are only open during the high season of their location, often found in resort towns.
TYPICALLY THEIR MERCHANDISE FOCUSES ON COLLECTIONS RELEVANT TO THE DESTINATION WHERE THEY ARE LOCATED.
Is there any seasonal boutique more iconic than Louis Vuitton's yurt, which popped up in St. Moritz in 2022? I think not...
For example, in the summer months many boutiques open in the French Riviera or the Greek Islands with a smaller footprint and a focus on cruise collections or summer resort wear.
In the winter months, many brands have seasonal boutiques in exclusive ski destinations offering winter and ski sport collections.
I like to think of seasonal boutiques as fun little surprises when they pop-up in small resort towns and enable the kind of big-city shopping that’s hard to find close to the beach or next to the slopes.
Shop-in-Shop Boutiques
SHOP-IN-SHOP BOUTIQUES ARE BRAND-OWNED BOUTIQUES HOUSED WITHIN A LARGER LUXURY DEPARTMENT STORE, OFTEN ON THE GROUND FLOOR.
Louis Vuitton's shop-in-shop boutique in Galeries Lafayette, a luxury department store in Paris.
For example, when you go to a very large luxury department store like Le Bon Marché in Paris or KaDeWe in Berlin, the ground floor houses individual shops for Gucci, Cartier, and Saint Laurent.
While their smaller footprint might mean limited merchandise, shop-in-shop boutiques are a great option if you’re looking for multiple pieces from different brands and want to be as efficient as possible.
Visit the Right Luxury Boutique for You
Understanding boutique types and selecting the right boutique for your needs is a really important step to making sure that you have an enjoyable shopping experience.
If you have your heart set on getting a piece personalized with hot stamping, then you want to do the research on the brand's website and ensure that the specific boutique you’re planning to visit offers that service.
IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO THINK ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH YOU FEEL MOST COMFORTABLE.
It would be easy to say that everyone should shop at a flagship boutique because they offer the widest selection of collections, but if you’re the kind of person who does not like the bustle of a busy shopping environment with lots of people and fast-paced activity, then you should probably find a secondary boutique that can offer a more relaxed shopping experience.
On the other hand, if you’re hoping to pick up multiple pieces from different brands, maybe the convenience of shopping at multiple shop-in-shop boutiques in a department store will work better than running across town to two separate flagships.
Get exclusive access to my ⬇ Luxury Shopping Guide ⬇ below.
It’s full of insider tips, like how to book a boutique appointment, to what to expect during a luxury selling ceremony.
Luxury Shopping in Paris
Although the Champs-Élysées in the 8th arrondissement is the most well-known shopping avenue in Paris, its notoriety comes with a price - it’s often packed with tourists, making it difficult to navigate. Home to several luxury flagship boutiques as well as high street brands like H&M and Zara, it offers a wide selection of shopping destinations.
For a more exclusive shopping experience, the nearby Avenue Montaigne is a smaller, more intimate street featuring luxury fashion houses like Dior, Céline, and Brunello Cucinelli.
Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, also in the 8th arrondissement, features similar luxury boutiques, like Prada, Bottega Veneta, and is also home to the Hermès flagship boutique.
For fine jewelry and watches, Place Vendôme in the 1st arrondissement is the destination for Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Patek Philippe.
Luxury Shopping in London
Bond Street, nestled in the heart of London’s Mayfair, stands as a premier destination with renowned flagship boutiques, including Cartier, Louis Vuitton, and Chanel.
Its northern end, New Bond Street, hosts elite jewellers like Bulgari and watch specialists such as Rolex.
The hallowed Savile Row, famed for its bespoke tailoring heritage, sits two blocks east of Bond Street.
For a more exclusive and intimate atmosphere, nearby Sloane Street in Knightsbridge beckons with designer names like Gucci and Tom Ford, and Mount Street in Mayfair offers designer boutiques like Oscar de la Renta and Goyard.
London has a wealth of luxury department stores and arcades throughout the city, among them Harrods, The Royal Exchange, Dover Street Market, and Liberty London.
Luxury Shopping in Milan
Italy’s capital of fashion, Milan’s luxury shopping is primarily contained within the Quadrilatero della moda, a shopping district bordered by:
Via Monte Napoleone, with iconic flagship boutiques such as Prada, Gucci, and Versace;
Via Manzoni, with fashion brands like Jimmy Choo and Balenciaga;
Via della Spiga, with watchmakers like F.P. Journe and jewellers like Tiffany & Co.;
and Corso Venzia, a mix of luxury boutiques and high street shops.
A handful of luxury houses can also be found at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, an historic landmark shopping arcade in the center of town just steps from the iconic Duomo di Milano.
Luxury Shopping across Europe
Most major capitals across Europe have their own luxury shopping districts.
Here’s a list of the major luxury shopping districts of Europe:
🇦🇹 Vienna - Kärntner Straße
🇧🇪 Brussels - Avenue Louise
🇨🇿 Prague - Pařížská Street
🇩🇰 Copenhagen - Strøget
🇩🇪 Frankfurt - Goethestraße
🇩🇪 Munich - Maximillianstraße
🇩🇪 Berlin - Kurfürstendamm
🇬🇷 Athens - Voukourestiou Street
🇭🇺 Budapest - Andrássy Avenue
🇮🇹 Rome - Via Condotti
🇮🇹 Florence - Via de' Tornabuoni
🇲🇨 Monte Carlo - Avenue des Beaux-Arts & Place du Casino
🇳🇱 Amsterdam - P.C. Hoofstraat
🇳🇴 Oslo - Nedre Slottsgate
🇵🇱 Warsaw - Bracka
🇵🇹 Lisbon - Avenida da Liberdade
🇪🇸 Barcelona - Passeig de Gràcia
🇪🇸 Madrid - La Milla de Oro
🇸🇪 Stockholm - Biblioteksstan
🇨🇭 Geneva - Rue du Rhône
🇨🇭 Zurich - Bahnhofstraße
🇹🇷 Istanbul - Abdi İpekçi Avenue
Discover even more in the second half of this post, now part of my exclusive Luxury Shopping Guide — the ultimate insider's resource for shopping Europe’s high-end and designer boutiques.
Get instant access to the ⬇ Luxury Shopping Guide ⬇ below.
🛍️ Happy shopping! 🛍️
xx,
Angela