The World’s Most Underrated Shopping Destinations

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.