Refinery29

 

World’s Most Underrated Shopping Destinations
By Kristy Alpert

There’s something exhilarating about shopping on vacation. One-of-a-kind finds from local artisans, designer purchases from flagship storefronts, and markets teeming with local flavor only add to the allure of frittering away your funds in far-off destinations.

For anyone who’s never shopped abroad, you should know it’s not a form of slight condescension when someone says a country name instead of a store name when you ask where they bought something. Rather, what you’re hearing is the quiet glee that comes from knowing the purchase has a story behind it. That shirt has traveled. Those shoes have seen places. This flea-market necklace has hung from the necks of untold foreigners.

We all know London, Paris, and New York have refined destination shopping to an art form, but here are a few unexpected locales that offer amazing spending opportunities. Make sure to leave room in your suitcase if you find yourself in one of these retail hot spots.

See the list here.