From the designer windows of Via dei Condotti to the vintage racks of Monti and the great food markets: the best of Roman shopping, street by street.
עודכן לאחרונה 24 באוגוסט 2026
In a nutshell: Roman shopping runs from the designer grid of the Tridente - Via dei Condotti, Via del Corso and the streets between the Spanish Steps and Piazza del Popolo - down to the vintage racks and artisan workshops of Monti, with legendary delis and food markets in between. Let the where to eat page take over when the shopping works up an appetite, and keep the planning chapter handy for the sales and the tax-free rules.
A full European capital's worth of shops, stores, boutiques and markets is packed into Rome. The district around Via del Corso and Piazza di Spagna is the nearest thing the city has to a central shopping zone, where department stores, mainstream chains and designer boutiques with glittering windows sit side by side. Wander into the cobbled back lanes, however, and the picture changes completely: delicatessens run by the same families for generations, frame-makers, furniture workshops with a film of dust, boutiques of little-known labels and painters' studios. Here artisans cut leather shoes by hand and luthiers shape violins, while wine merchants and interior designers occupy sleek contemporary studios.
Clothes by the top designers, finely made shoes and leather goods are all Italian specialities, and Rome sells them in quantity. Homeware is another strong suit: many shops stock kitchenware you will covet plus classic household goods stamped made in Italy. Then come the foodie treats, with no end of delis, bakeries, pastry shops and chocolate makers to raid.
Hardcore fashionistas may rate Milan higher, but Rome is no lightweight in the haute-couture stakes: Valentino, Bulgari and Fendi are among the powerhouse brands born here, and the city is well set up for high-rolling spenders. The big-name designer boutiques cluster in the grid of streets between Piazza di Spagna and Via del Corso in the Tridente. Every top Italian and international designer is here, plus many lesser-known labels, all selling stylish clothes, shoes and accessories. The top strip is Via dei Condotti, with plenty of action nearby on Via Borgognona, Via Frattina, Via della Vite, Via del Babuino and Via dei Due Macelli.
For chic, independent boutiques showcasing clothes by lesser-known designers or young rising stars, try Via dell'Oca and Via della Penna near Piazza del Popolo, or head to Via del Boschetto in Monti and Via del Governo Vecchio in the historic centre.
For a more high-street experience, midrange stores line Via del Corso, Via Nazionale, Via dei Giubbonari near Campo de' Fiori and Via Cola di Rienzo in Prati, with some enticing small shops hidden amid the department stores.
Rome is deli heaven. Shops such as Salumeria Roscioli in the historic centre and Testaccio's historic Volpetti are packed with prime Italian specialities, from olive oils and aged balsamic vinegars to prize pastas, cheeses and cured meats.
The city's food markets are also worth a visit: the Nuovo Mercato di Testaccio and the Mercato Trionfale are wonderful places to pick up ripe, seasonal produce and snack on delicious street food. There are weekend farmers markets too, such as the Mercato Campagna Amica al Circo Massimo, which showcase zero-kilometre fare from the surrounding Lazio region.
Wine buffs will find plenty of enoteche (wine shops and bars) dotted around town. Most focus on Italian vini (wines) and spirits, but you will also be able to pick up vintages from France and other European countries.
Food is not the only thing on sale at Rome's mercati, and the city hosts a number of popular flea markets. Chief among them is Porta Portese, a huge, sprawling affair whose countless stalls sell all manner of stuff, from clothes and regular household goods to antiques, vintage clothes and collectibles. Bargains are to be had - and you should definitely haggle - but you will have to brave the crowds to find them.
Another popular Sunday event is the Borghetto Flaminio in the Flaminio district, a market specialising in antiques and secondhand designer clothes.
Italy is renowned for its high-quality leatherware, and there are any number of shops selling handbags, wallets, purses, belts and sandals. You will find stores all over town, but the main areas include the historic centre and the area around Campo de' Fiori, where you will find Ibiz, a long-standing family-run workshop with a colourful selection of handmade goods.
Rome is a place where handmade is still a thing. The city has a long tradition of skilled artisans, and today you can still find cobblers, tailors, ceramicists and stone masons plying their trades in backstreet workshops. Areas to look for them include the Tridente (try Via Margutta, Via dell'Oca and Via della Penna) and Monti (try Via del Boschetto and Via Panisperna).
Everyone knows that Rome is full of treasures to be discovered, but what you might not know is that it is a fantastic city for vintage clothes, accessories and art. Take advantage of the many open-air markets that pop up around Rome, especially on the weekends, or wander the shops of Monti and Ostiense for one-of-a-kind finds. Shopping sustainably on holiday means supporting local businesses and lessening the harmful effects of fast fashion on the environment and the global labour market - and you will have a truly unique souvenir from your travels.
Most Roman shops keep traditional hours, opening from about 9:00 to 13:00 and again from 15:30 or 16:00 until 19:00 or 19:30, with many closing on Sundays, on Saturday afternoons in summer and on Monday mornings in winter. In the city centre, though, a growing number of stores now stay open straight through lunch, typically from 10:00 to 19:00. If you plan to visit the markets for produce or flea finds, go early, since most of them pack up by 14:00.
Rome's fanciest big store, La Rinascente, sits at Via del Tritone 61, on the edge of the Tridente shopping grid. Alongside deluxe brands it runs an excellent design section full of smart, often affordable gift ideas, and the building also hides a superb rooftop terrace, perfect for an aperitivo with a view, along with good restaurants and free bathrooms, plus a preserved piece of the ancient aqueduct down in the basement that is worth a quick look. A second branch stands on Piazza Fiume, just beyond the Borghese Gallery to the east.
For a dash of old-world elegance, the Galleria Alberto Sordi, facing Piazza Colonna, is a handsome 19th-century shopping arcade. UPIM is a dependable midrange chain, with many branches, including one inside Termini station and another on Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore. Budget fashion chain Oviesse, better known as OVS, has outlets close to the Vatican Museums, where Via Candia meets Via Mocenigo (Metro Cipro) and by Piazza Barberini (Via del Tritone 172, Metro Barberini).
The neighbourhood produce markets are a lively, authentic slice of daily Roman life, taking over particular streets and piazzas each morning from 7:00 to 14:00 except Sunday. Alongside the Mercato Trionfale, a few streets north of the Vatican Museums along Via Andrea Doria, and the Mercato Esquilino, handy to Termini station on Via Filippo Turati with Metro Vittorio Emanuele nearby, the covered Testaccio market, strong on produce and housewares, draws camera-toting browsers and people-watchers in droves (Metro Piramide). Tiny markets with the same everyday charm take over Piazza delle Coppelle by the Pantheon; over on Via Balbo, close to Termini; and on Via della Pace beside Piazza Navona. Campo de' Fiori, for all its tourist traffic, is still a lively spot for a wander and a snack.
Porta Portese, the granddaddy of Roman flea markets, runs on Sunday mornings only, from 6:00 to 14:00, strung out along Via Portuense and Via Ippolito Nievo between the old city gate and the Trastevere train station. Take the 75 bus from Termini or the 8 tram from Piazza Venezia, alight at Viale di Trastevere, then follow the noise. Pickpockets work the crowd, so keep your wallet in a front pocket, or stow it under a money belt instead, and give the shell-game hustlers a wide berth - their shills 'win' big to lure the gullible. For a calmer browse, the market on Via Sannio, behind the Coin department store and right beside the Lateran basilica of San Giovanni (Metro San Giovanni), sells garments and leather goods in fresh and secondhand condition, plus assorted handicrafts, Monday to Saturday from 7:00 to 14:00, closed Sunday, and holds no antiques.
If a quick keepsake is all you need, a stop at the nearest gift shop is enough. For something with more thought behind it, Rome serves up better hunting grounds: the department stores above, the religious shops around the Vatican, the markets, the vintage racks of Monti and even the airport shops as you fly home.
Pilgrims are spoiled for choice near the Vatican, where shops cluster right at St Peter's Square, concentrated in the Piazza Pio XII area and on the lanes of Via Borgo Pio nearby. In the city's Jewish quarter, several shops sell Judaica and Jewish-themed artwork along with assorted keepsakes.
Food makes the most delicious souvenir of all. Pastificio, close to the far end of Via della Croce at number 8, is a working pasta factory where dry pasta is sold for taking home as an edible memento, and the c.u.c.i.n.a. shop on Via Mario de' Fiori (number 65), tucked among the upscale boutiques, is the go-to address for Italian kitchen tools and tableware. When all this food shopping works up an appetite, the where to eat page has you covered.
For a keepsake with real craft behind it, La Bottega del Marmoraro at number 53 on Via Margutta is a cramped one-man workshop where a carver shapes marble by hand in the middle of one of the city's most exclusive shopping streets.
Fiumicino, the city's main airport, sells Italian speciality foods vacuum-sealed to pass customs without trouble, mostly in the shops airside, close to the departure gates. Parmigiano Reggiano, dried porcini or sun-dried peppers, and olive oil better than anything at home are all solid picks. Skip the salami and prosciutto unless it comes in a can - fresh meat cannot be brought into the US, where even tinned beef products are off-limits. If your flight to the US includes a change of planes before the final stop, liquids you buy may have to go into checked luggage after customs; ask the vendor to seal them in a tamper-evident 'STEB' bag and your odds of carrying them onto the connection improve.
Non-EU residents can claw back the Italian sales tax, IVA, on purchases meant for personal use, as long as the same-day spend at a participating shop tops €70. Only stores that advertise tax-free shopping, through services such as taxrefund.it, qualify. At the till, show your passport and ask for the tax-free paperwork; the shop fills it in and hands it over with your receipts.
Keep everything together - goods, receipts and forms - because at the airport you must present the actual items to customs before checking your bags, so the paperwork can be stamped. From there, take the documents to the refund desk in the terminal to collect your money on the spot, or mail them in and wait for a credit to your card. The refund equals a slice of the tax - up to 22% - minus whatever handling fee the refund service charges.
Two practical notes: don't bury the purchases in your checked suitcase before the customs check, since the officer will want to see them, and build extra time into your airport schedule, because the validation queue moves slowly at busy departure peaks. The full sales and tax-free rules are covered in the planning chapter.