The Taverna mansion located here until recently belonged to the Versace fashion house. After the death of the company's founder, the boutique moved to Monte Napoleone, 11, and its former place was taken by Louis Vuitton, which produces luxury suitcases and travel bags - the dream of nouveaux riches and new Russians. On the opposite side of the square is the Frattelli Rossetti shoe store - expensive shoes and boots of classic design. At Monte Napoleone, 5 and 27 - Gucci boutiques. The first one only has fashionable clothing and women's accessories. The second one also has men's. Outside there is only a small display window with five silver letters on a black background. Behind it is a large and intricate labyrinth from which it is simply impossible to escape without buying something. At number 6 there is a Prada boutique - a synonym for unique Milanese chic. A few more steps along Monte Napoleone - and the doors of the Sergio Rossi shoe store open before you. A couple of years ago, Signor Rossi sold his company and his name to the Gucci empire, but still remains the chief designer of his former firm.
The Lorenzi store at number 18 is a true paradise for men. Smoking pipes of all shapes and sizes, folding knives, razors and many other trinkets pleasing to their hearts. So that ladies do not get too bored, the attention of the fair half of humanity is offered here the world's best manicure and sewing sets. The Corneliani boutique, located on the same side of the avenue and specializing in elegant suits and sweaters at quite reasonable prices, successfully continues the men's theme. Sometimes a journey of a little over three hundred meters - which is the length of Monte Napoleone Street - takes several days. You can speed up the process by looking into the multi-brand shoe boutique Vierre (number 29), where sworn competitors - Gucci, Dolce&Gabbana, Miu Miu - peacefully coexist on neighboring shelves. Across the road there is another Milan shopping attraction - D Magazine, where last year's haute couture models are displayed at half price. Tourists who are poorly versed in the elusive nuances of high Italian fashion can only wonder why exactly the same item in a neighboring boutique costs three times more. Monte Napoleone ends just as it begins - with a luxury leather goods store 1a Classe Alviero Martini.
But Milanese fashion does not end with Monte Napoleone. Every Italian woman knows that the Baldinini boutique on Sant'Andrea Street is known for a large selection of accessories and elegant shoes with thin heels. At Dolche you can buy the most sexy lingerie in the world. An elegant fur coat can be easily found in the Fendi boutique on Borghignola Street. But the prices! However, that is what makes Milan good: a person with taste and average income will find here many shops and small shops selling things not by promoted designers, but simply by good fashion designers.
The most visited store in Milan is La Rinascente, and it is also one of the largest department stores in the world. It is located on the central Cathedral Square of the city and is open from morning until late evening. This is perhaps the best shopping place for tourists short on time. On its eleven floors you can find almost everything. On the first four - the kingdom of men's and women's clothing, which presents a complete collection of boutiques of all famous Italian fashion designers. The fifth floor is dedicated to children's goods - from clothing to toys.
The sixth is filled with furniture. An exchange office, tax free processing and an art gallery one floor higher. The mezzanine is filled with lingerie, and for groceries and wine you will have to go to the basement. You can wander around La Rinascente for hours, moving from brightly lit luxurious shop windows to green rest areas, have lunch in the restaurant on the eighth floor or take care of your appearance in the beauty salon on the ninth. Then, with renewed strength, plunge into the delightful atmosphere of Milanese shopping. The items selected by customers will be taken down by the store staff, where they will patiently wait for their new owners. After payment, they will be neatly packed and delivered to the taxi stand. Or directly to the hotel room.
But the most beautiful thing that a tourist who comes shopping after the New Year can see in Milan's windows is the word “Sconto” written in large letters - “discount”. Undoubtedly, shops with such a sign should be given the closest attention. But even more careful attention should be paid to stores where the windows are completely draped, and the discounts indicated on the glass are 70 or even 80%. This means that the store is closing and is completely selling off all its stock. Under Italian law, enterprises ceasing trading activities do not have the right to advertise their goods. That is why there are no colorful display windows in such a store, but inside an Armani suit can cost no more than an ordinary pair of pajamas.
The main catch
The Missoni brand name has long since become a symbol of luxury and good taste around the world. Clothes labeled Missoni sell out at a phenomenal rate. This Italian company has a reputation as a national treasure and a high-ranking clientele - from the Princess of Monaco to the Empress of Japan. The brand's main highlight is multicolored fabric - a colorful kaleidoscope of threads weaving into a real rainbow. Any item from Missoni immediately attracts attention. There are practically no fakes.
The best pick
The main bastion of Milanese shopping is the elegant gallery Vittono Emmanuele II. Located in the very center of the city, between the Cathedral Square and La Scala theater, it has gathered under its roof many fashionable boutiques, shops, antique salons and restaurants, earning it the reputation of "Milan's largest living room." Hardly any other place in Milan offers goods to customers with such refinement. However, most often it comes down to just studying the shop windows - masterpieces of retail design. "Window shopping" is especially pleasant in the evenings, when the gallery becomes quieter and each visitor has the opportunity to form their own impression of the possibilities of modern luxury and elegance.
In the very center of the gallery, under a huge glass dome 47 meters high, there is an old shop Elli Prada, which belonged to the grandfather of its current owner. Nearby is another rarity - the bookshop Vossa, offering an enviable selection of books and art albums. Due to an overabundance of books, the two-
storey space of the shop seems quite tiny. And to get to the mezzanine, you have to climb a narrow spiral staircase or use a miniature one-person elevator. The shop of the Rizzoli publishing house is more modern - three floors with a hall for literary seminars, a huge basement with fiction and computerized catalogs. Located at the southern entrance to the gallery, the Ricordi Media Stores music shop is especially popular among its closest neighbors - the inhabitants of La Scala theater. In their free minutes from performances, concerts and rehearsals, Riccardo Muti, Placido Domingo and Mstislav Rostropovich sometimes drop by here.
Cafes and restaurants located in the Vittono Emmanuele II gallery do not complain about a lack of visitors. But before sitting down at a table in the Savini cafe and plunging into serene contemplation of the bustling life of Milan flowing by, pay attention to the prices - a tiny cup of cappuccino with a bun will cost here no less than a good dinner in a restaurant. However, not everything is so sad. In one of the corners of the huge shopping arcade, an ordinary McDonald's has taken refuge. True, it is not so easy to find it - the usual red and yellow colors of its sign here, due to local traditions, are replaced with black and gold. But if you still decide to splurge on the occasion of a successful purchase, the best place for this is the Zucca bar, which opened simultaneously with the gallery in 1867, perfectly preserving 19th-century interiors and famous for its excellent Campari.