These burgeoning shopping havens are a real eye-opener for retail therapy junkies. Find your designs without dropping a mint for them.
ISTANBUL, TURKEY
The idea for the shopping mall was probably inspired by the Grand Bazaar, the 500-year-old covered market with 4,000 shops. Nisantasi is for high-end design while department store Beymen features a collection of local hero Hussein Chalayan’s designs.
BERLIN, GERMANY
Bohemia rules in Berlin, where Kurfurstendamm is the main shopping drag. Don’t miss the KaDeWe department store, Europe’s second largest, with its impressive gourmet food hall. Terrific specialty shops, too — try Uber Store for designy, eclectic housewares.
BANGKOK, THAILAND
Two days are barely enough time to absorb the Weekend Market, where you can pick up anything from crafts to live roosters among 15,000 stalls. Love gemstones? Poke around the dozens of traders around Charoen Krung, Silom and SuraSak roads.
BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
Sophisticated style earned B.A. its nickname as the Paris of South America. Antiquers scour San Telmo’s market at Plaza Dorrego while leather lovers prowl the shops along the Calle Florida. Palermo has the hippest boutiques, if not a little stuffy. But you can findcool stuff at Calle El Salvador.
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
Ahead of this year’s FIFA World Cup shopping has become a sport in this city. The place to spend your rand: De Waterkant, a quaint cobblestoned neighborhood of 18th century cottages. Design aficionados should hit locally-inspired Africa Nova.
