Shopaholic?

As surprising as it may sound, shopping ranks lowly in my list of priorities on holiday. Sure I buy stuff, but I tend to go more for souvenirs than well, the clothes/shoes/bags that I would usually buy when shopping in Singapore - think postcards, museum guides, posters, and lots and lots of knick knacks and odd-ball items.

(Of course, I have conveniently omitted the my shopping holidays where the entire purpose of the holiday was to shop, like Bangkok, Hong Kong, etc.)

Aside from the above, the only holiday destination where we will really make the the effort to set aside time for shopping in between all the sight-seeing is... the US, and that's because we just loooove Factory Outlets! Even DD happily and willingly joins in the action.

So since we're all set to head off to historic and culturally rich Italy, I ain't thinking too much about shopping... until a friend mentions something that gets my heart beating a little faster - Prada and Gucci Factory Outlets!

But but buuuuut.. just off Florence! :/

So now I'm torn, since we have no plans to go anywhere further north than Rome. And our schedule is already so packed - yes, we're having a packed relaxed holiday, go figure - I don't see how we can fit in travelling to yet another city and shopping time. Sigh. The additional week would really have come in handy here!

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Prada
1 Pellettieri d'Italia, Levanella-Montevarchi, Strada Statale 69, 52025 Montevarchi (AR)

Opening hours: Monday to Saturday 9.30am to 7pm; Sunday 2pm to 7pm.

How to get there: Montevarchi is 22 miles south-east of Florence, reached via the Autostrada A1 to Arezzo/Rome. Leave at exit 25 marked Valdarno. Follow the road signs into Montevarchi and then continue out of town on the SS69 towards Arezzo.

The Prada outlet is two miles from the centre of the town - about 100 yards on the left after the second IP petrol station.

Head down the Via Levanella towards the back of a low-rise factory
building. Drive as far as you can go and you will come to a car park. The factory shop is behind the glass windows in front of you.

By train: The Prada shop is the only factory outlet that you can easily
reach by train. Trains run regularly from Florence's Santa Maria Novella station to Montevarchi station where you can take a taxi for the two-mile journey to the Prada shop.


The Mall
Via Europe 8, 50060 Leccio-Regello

Opening hours: Monday to Saturday 9am to 6pm; Sunday 3pm to 7pm.

Imagine a mini-shopping mall that features cut-price Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Giorgio Armani and, in a neighbouring building, a good cafe with a Bottega Veneta store.

It sounds too good to be true but this glossy new mall opened last year - a sign that the designer labels are taking this factory outlet business much more seriously than they pretend.

How to get there: From Florence take the Autostrada A1 towards Rome/Arezzo; after about ten miles leave the motorway at exit 24 for Incisa - on leaving the motorway turn right on the SS69 and head for Leccio. The Gucci shop is on the left just after the Casa Cucina shop. The mall lies just behind, next to a large car park.