Shopping in Rome

Trendy designer stores, check! Open air flea markets, check! Sleek shopping malls, check! Whatever your budget and whatever your taste, there is something for everybody in Rome’s vast array of shopping possibilities.

The main shopping street is Via del Corso, which cuts through the center of the city, and has both chain stores and more personally oriented and unique designer stores. It starts at Piazza Venezia and ends at Piazza del Popolo.
About halfway, the Via del Corso crosses Rome’s most prestigious street of all, the Via Condotti, which ends up right in front of the Piazza di Spagna and is characterized by designer stores like Louis Vuitton, Armani and Yves St. Laurent.

Two other important shopping streets are the Via Nazionale, which connects the Piazza della Repubblica to Piazza Venezia, and the Via Cola di Rienzo, which connects th Piazza del Popolo and the Piazza Risorgimento.

The major shopping malls have the disadvantage that they are rather difficult to reach for visitors to Rome who do not have a car. Because of the parking problems in the center of the city, the malls tend to be located in the suburbs. Examples are Cinecitta Due and the Centro Commerciale Anagnina.

The most famous market in Rome is the Porta Portese one, which is held every Sunday morning in the quarter of Trastevere. It is Italy’s biggest flea market and you can buy everything from knitting needles to big pieces of antique furniture.
There is a – much smaller – daily market near the Basilica di San Giovanni and every Sunday there are also a number of specialized markets in various parts of the city. For a list of these it is best to get the Sunday newspaper when you are in Rome.
Almost every quarter of the city has its own daily street market where you can get fruit, vegetables and household articles. On eof the biggest of these is the covered market in the Via Principe Amedeo II, near Roma Termini.