ChI Shops at….
Recommended boutiques, shops,
ChI often stays in the Parioli district of Rome despite the somewhat fascist architecture, and a favourite haunt near home is Anna & Salvatore’s stall in the Mercantino dei Parioli (tel 068 077 000), to find the best cheeses, salamis, olive oil, straight in from the countryside.
Having got her food orders (to fill the empty suitcase brought just for this) sorted, ChI then heads out into town.
For clothes, shoes etc ChI usually just heads to via Fratini, piazza Navona or the Prati district, to browse and buy as the mood takes her.
If you want to be a bit more targeted in your explorations, shopping is best done by district. Rome can be very crowded and the traffic really can get bad, (not to mention the heat which builds up heavily in the course of the summer), so plan your shopping by wherever else you intend to be that day, to maximise your time.
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In the Piazza Di Spagna, at the base of the Spanish Steps are some of Rome’s most exclusive and expensive shopping areas. Check out Via Condotti and Via Borgognona for the latest offerings from high fashion names (Armani, Gianfranco Ferré, Mila Schön, Prada, Versace). To the right of the steps are Via Margutta, full of art galleries and Via del Babuino. Many other streets intersect these areas, lined with a variety of interesting places to browse in.
The perfect place to start your browsing and window shopping is to start with Via Condotti then walk down the streets leading off it.
For example, Via Frattina runs parallel to Via Condotti and is part-pedestrianised, which makes for good, concentrated browsing, and indeed, buying, since it has a good concentration of shops, and is generally less expensive than Via Condotti.
Near the top of the Spanish Steps, the Via Francesco Crispi is a street with several interesting shops that are ideal for unusual and less expensive presents.
And at the very top of the Steps, Via Sistina offers many hidden treasures.
Via Borgognona is another chic and expensive shopping area for clothes and luxury items, targeted by wealthy shoppers from around the world. The shops themselves as well as their products, are also truly beautiful, many with neoclassical facades.
Via del Babuino is a major street for antiques, containing many prestigious dealers’ shops, including Alberto di Castro (which has wonderful prints). It also has many designer clothes outlets.
If you are near the Pantheon, the Via Del Governo Vecchio is full of may secondhand clothes shops, treasure troves where you can pick up some real fashion bargains, including jewellery. There are also many more traditional, chic boutiques. In May and October, these narrow streets are lit by torches after dark and shops stay open late for the antiques fair. Nearby Via del Monserrato and Via Giulia have many art galleries and antique shops.
Via Del Corso has a range of reasonably priced fashion shops. A bit like a shopping mall, with shops selling jeans, sporting equipment, clothing and accessories, antiques and general household items, this street attracts crowds of both Romans and tourists. Nearby there are some antiques stores and nice cafés.
For leather goods, shoes and gloves, Via Vittorio Veneto has a good selection of temptations.
Shops are generally open:
• Monday - 15:30 to 19:30 (some shops may be open in the morning)
• Tuesday to Saturday - 09:30 / 10:00 to 13:00 and 15:30 to 19:00 / 19:30 (some shops do not close for the afternoon break).