We've heard that there is great shopping in the Florence area...factory outlets and the like. Any recommendations?

The outlets are in the countryside, and you need a car to get to them. Even so, they can be difficult to find. There's a lot of info about them in the book Born to Shop: Italy.

theres a huge outdoor shopping area near the Duomo......the vendor booths line both sides of the street.....

Don't know about factory outlets but Rob is right near the Duomo area.<BR>Leather jackets, 18K. gold jewelries.<BR>I bought nice earrings for less than $100 - can't find it in the US for this price for an 18K., leather jacket, belts, wallets. Too bad did not have that much time left for shopping for we were on an escorted tour and we blamed it on DAVID (statue) too!<BR><BR>

+<BR>Review thread titled, &quot;What's the best thing you bought in Florence or Tuscany?&quot; URL for topic =<BR>http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessages.jsp?fid=2&amp;tid=1343107&amp;numrespon ses=34&amp;start=0<BR><BR>

Be careful opf streets vendors! It's ok to buy a leather bag, or a belt, or even a jacket.<BR><BR>Don't buy jewelry, lots of it may be fake, or low quality gold.<BR><BR>Shoes? If they are very comfortable, and cheap. Quality maybe questionable. Brand names? I bought a pair of a famous French brand (forgot the name right now) and they were fake, and lasted a very short time.