Paris
The capital of France awaits bargain hunters twice a year. Christmas holidays are still far away, but the summer price collapse in Parisian stores has already begun. Usually the sale season lasts here a month and a half. But the most interesting items are taken in the first two to three weeks.
The classic shopping spots in Paris are the Champs-Élysées, Boulevard Haussmann, Galeries Lafayette, and the most expensive hypermarket of the French capital, Bon March. During the height of the discount season, the windows of all these stores are full of bright, enticing signs reading SOLDES and eloquent figures: -50%, -70%, -80%, attracting everyone interested in boutiques, cosmetics, perfume... It is worth going to France either for super expensive designer items from Dior or Chanel, or for cheap youth brands like Zara or Naf Naf. There is no middle ground, and it is not needed.
The main streets of expensive boutiques are Avenue Montaigne, Avenue George V, and Rue St-Honore. Here are located stores like Christian Dior, Hermes, Gucci, Prada, Escada, Louis Vuitton, Lanvin, Pierre Cardin, and many others.
For branded mass-market goods, you should head to Rue de Rivoli and Avenue des Champs-Élysées. This is where true shopping frenzy reigns - as a rule, during the sale season, branches of GAP, Zara, H & M, Camper, Pimkie, Benetton, Naf Naf, and Motivi are crowded with eager fashionistas from all over the world.
London
The discount season at London's largest hypermarket Harrods begins on July 4 and ends on July 21. On these days, the hypermarket stays open longer than usual, and the queue starts forming an hour before opening. You can buy absolutely everything here, from a toothbrush to a car. Discounts during the sale period can reach 80%, with the best prices on tweed, wool, and knitwear items.
Another expensive supermarket, Liberty's, starts its discount period a little earlier - from June 30. And the "hot season" lasts exactly one month. In the interiors of Liberty's, reminiscent of an Eastern bazaar, you can find items from brands like Yohji Yamamoto, Vivienne Westwood, Nicole Farhi, Alexander McQueen, Helmut Lang, and Hussein Chalayan at cheap prices. The store opens at 10 a.m. (on Sundays at 12 p.m.).
Italy
In Milan, there are so many clothing stores that you won't have enough time to visit them all. Sales here start in July and fade away at the end of August. On the map of the world fashion capital, there is a spot where the concentration of luxury and style reaches a universal intensity. This is the "Fashion Quadrilateral" - an area bounded by Via Monte Napoleone, Via Spiga, Via Manzoni, Corso Venezia, Via Sant'Andrea, Via Borgospesso, Via Santo Spirito, Via Gesù. From the first days of July, you can safely go there. Just don't wear expensive clothes: in the crush at the entrance to one of the boutiques, you'll inevitably either tear off a button or a sleeve. To make it for the opening, you'll need to get up early: Milanese stores open at 9 a.m. Despite the long lines, chaos, and nerves, you will definitely leave the world's shopping capital with a large suitcase and moral satisfaction.
The second Italian city for sales is considered the capital. In Rome, the most famous stores are located around the famous Piazza di Spagna. Central Via del Corso and the adjacent Via del Babuino, Via Frattina, and Via Borgognona - that is the small area where you should wander in search of worthy new items.
Germany
In Germany, the sale season is slowly starting. Maximum discounts will be at the end of July. The best city for shopping is considered Düsseldorf, where the main boutiques, shopping centers, and stores of leading brands from not only Germany but also all of Europe are concentrated.
The capital of annual fashion shows generously offers shoppers a choice of the most diverse items at absolutely incredible prices - discounts in German stores sometimes reach 90%. Sales apply to any stores, from boutiques like Giorgio Armani and Hugo Boss to large department stores like Hertie, Quelle, Karstadt, and of course, C & A. The street richest in boutiques in Düsseldorf is Konigsallee.
The second most popular German city to visit during sales is Munich. On Maximilianstrasse, there are spacious stores of leading fashion brands and large department stores where you can spend a whole day.
Thailand
However, not only Europe will delight with sales. This year, the grand sale season in Thailand started on June 1 and will continue until August 31. Thousands of shopping complexes and small shops in Bangkok and popular resort towns offer discounts reaching 70%. In addition, within the framework of the "Great Thailand Shopping" campaign, gift coupons, vouchers, and lottery tickets have been issued.
It is nice that besides traditional goods like clothing and footwear, discounts also apply to items popular with tourists from local artisans and other souvenir products.
When making purchases in any country, you should at least roughly understand the true price of the item and not blindly follow enticing signs like SALE, SALDI, and the like. Often, as noted by Turist.ru, store owners raise prices in advance before the sale season and then offer "discounts." It is also worth paying attention to the quality of items purchased, because after numerous fittings, seams may come apart, buttons may come off, and clothes may develop indelible stains. However, experienced shoppers unanimously declare that dressing abroad, especially during the sale period, is incomparably more profitable than in one's own homeland.