Rome
Who doesn’t know that all roads lead to Rome! And those who are looking for gifts know this better than anyone. In Rome everything is clear. The richest buy things on Via Condotti, a narrow gorge leading to the Spanish Steps, where the boutiques of great Italians Gucci, Armani, Valentino, Trussardi are located. Those who, despite the astronomical prices of the models displayed in the windows, dare to go inside, may well find much cheaper items from previous collections there. It has been noticed that before Christmas such successful purchases are made much more often. People of average means usually go to Via del Corso or Via Nazionale, where brand boutiques peacefully coexist with large and small shops selling quality clothing. Oddly enough, prices in large Roman department stores of the Rinascente or Upim chains are often even higher than in small shops.
Helsinki
Shopping in Helsinki is like investing money in a solid bank. Because all goods sold in the most famous department stores of the Finnish capital - Stockmann, Forum, Sokos - are of exceptionally high quality. Here you can buy everything - from socks to a fur coat. At a price that fully corresponds to the quality. But the Finns themselves, like all tourists coming to Helsinki, usually put off big purchases until January, when the long-awaited Ale and Rea signs appear in store windows, which in Finnish and Swedish mean the same thing - “sale”. The main thing is to manage to buy the item you have set your heart on before others do.
Berlin
Any item bought in Berlin's KaDeWe department store - clothing, shoes, household appliances, toys - is like a benchmark. This is exactly what a real Berliner should wear and have in their home. But, as it turns out, not only him. Residents of neighboring countries - France, Switzerland, Austria - also gladly buy Christmas gifts for their loved ones in this largest German store, valuing most of all its high quality and moderate prices. Especially famous is its unrivaled food department - 33,000 items of various products, 1,800 kinds of cheese, 2,400 kinds of wines and 1,500 different types of sausage - you will always find something to surprise your guests at the table.
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf's Königsallee is known to everyone in Germany. Germans call it “the largest counter” in Europe. The counter, however, is not very long, just about a kilometer. But it is here, in the boutiques crowding Königsallee, that all “high” German fashion is born. Perhaps not as elegant as French fashion, but far more practical and cheaper. This can be duly appreciated both by ladies in furs examining the shop windows, and by beauties behind the glass of elegant cafes discussing the latest news, and all the rest of the public strolling unhurriedly along Königsallee, two-thirds of whom are foreigners who have come for shopping. If you don’t have extra time but want to spend a lot of money at once, set off along the proven route Schadowpassage - Ko-Galene - Schadow-Arkaden.
Singapore
Banana-lemon shopping paradise Singapore is a duty-free crossroads of goods from all over the world. Huge shopping centers lined up along Orchard Road and Tanglin Road - “Promenade”, “Caravan International”, “Lucky Plaza” - and another seventy no less resonant names - are the key to the prosperity of the small island-state. Any item, wherever in the world it was produced, can be bought cheaper in Singapore than anywhere else. Here everything is only the newest, the most fashionable, the most modern. Goods that have been on display for more than three months are considered hopelessly outdated and are immediately ruthlessly marked down. Therefore, don’t be surprised if any item you bought at Singapore’s endless sales costs much more in Europe.
Kuala Lumpur
Shopping in Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur is a very pleasant addition to a winter holiday on warm seas. Large shopping centers “Pertama”, “Plaza Phoenix”, “Pearl Point” and many similar ones are oriented toward the mass consumer. Their assortment ranges from quality footwear and sportswear to consumer electronics and wristwatches. The “Budaya Craft” shopping complex on Jalan Conlay is an excellent place to buy ties, shirts, scarves made of famous Malaysian batik - specially treated and dyed fabric. Here you can also find songket - Malaysian brocade, ideally suited for evening dresses. Silver items by Malaysian jewelers, which are in demand all over the world, you will find at the lowest prices in the Central Market shopping complex, which brings together under one roof a wide variety of craft centers.
Dubai
Dubai’s dozens of luxury shopping centers operate on the principle of “buy until you drop”. The largest of them, City Centre, brings together under its roof more than 300 shops and boutiques, a giant round-the-clock supermarket, cafes, restaurants and children’s playgrounds. Another undoubted advantage of Dubai is the complete absence of thieves. And no matter where you leave your newly bought camera, rest assured that even the next day you will find it in the same place. It’s just a pity that the warranty on cheap camera equipment and consumer electronics bought in Dubai does not work here. But it is much easier to resist buying another TV than buying yet another gold trinket. Even experienced buyers who have seen a thing or two and visited the gold bazaars of Istanbul and Thailand are amazed by Dubai’s Golden Souk with the quantity and unprecedented cheapness of jewelry. The main thing is to manage to make your choice before your ears and fingers swell from endless trying on.
The big shopping safari was undertaken by Natalya YAKUBOVA.