outlet shopping
 

has anyone shopped at the prada outlet in florence or near sienna
being in florence for four days only, is it worth traveling by shuttle bus to the prada outlet thank you.

I just visited the outlets a week and a half ago outside Florence. I booked a $25 tour through Travelocity that left from the s.m.n. train station in Florence and traveled to both the Prada outlet and the "mall" which houses aboutt 10 outlet shops. I found very little information and input on the web, so I'll be happy to share all I know. The Prada outlet was disappointing to me. If you have your heart set on of the canvas bags with the Prada triangle, you can certainly find them there for anywhere from $150-225 Euros. But you can find them in Chinatown in NYC for 30 bucks too... The clothes were not the fantastic stuff you see in the windows in the prada boutiques. It is mostly plain stuff, lots of pants, etc. The shoes seemed pretty great, though! I just couldn't find my size. I wear a 9. They mostly had small sizes. I teamed up with 2 other American girls and only one of us bought anything. I had better luck at the Gucci outlet at the "mall." I guess I was glad I went b/c I got 2 great bags at Gucci and the Tod/Hogan store had a lot of deals, but I would pass on Prada,unless you really want that Prada purse! One caveat: I hear that Prada is hit or miss depending on the day, so maybe I just caught it on a bad day. I went on Saturday...perhaps a Monday is better. Good luck and let me know if you want more info. I'll check back!

Hello. I will be going to Paris for 2 days, 1 night with my parents in 2 weeks time.

My Dad who last lived in Leeds yonks ago and travelled heaps, recalls "factory outlets" for designer goods like the ones you've mentioned somewhere outside Paris.

May I please know where they are all located and how to get there? Are they very far from Paris?

Last week we went to the Marques Avenue outlet mall in Paris (actually, St Denis en Ile) and found it a bit of a disappointment - nothing special to be found. There is another place out near Disneyland Paris, but haven't been there.

I was also at the Prada outlet and "The Mall" about 2 weeks ago. It was a fun daytrip but, despite my screen name, not really a must-do if you are short on time. I did get a great Prada suit for 245 Euros and there were lots of shoes in 8.5 - 9 that day, but no jeans bigger than size 26, and more Miu Miu stuff than Prada. It really is hit or miss. If you've ever been to the outlet near Palm Springs, CA, this one is bigger but I think similar in pricing. I also got some nice shoes at the YSL store at the Mall, and my husband did well at the Zegna outlet there.

Does anyone know of any shorter tours from Florence to the Prada outlet? I had a look at the Travelocity one but it takes 7 hours, which would use up a lot of potential museum time!

papagena- you might try this outfit: they custom tailor tours to your liking. I was going to use them to pick me up in Siena and take me to the outlets, but with just me going, it was going to be a bundle. They might be able to do something for you. They were very efficient in replying to my e-mails also!

http://www.prestigerent.com/OUTLET_SHOPPING.htm