Dawn

Question to all Fodorites. Anyone been to Vincenza? What did you think? Worth a trip? Specifically thinking jewelry shopping, and anything else special that you know about. Thanks

Monica

And to add to Dawn’s question (I’m traveling with her), will jewelry shopping be better priced in Vincenza or can I expect to pay the same in Venice or elsewhere in Italy/

Mariarosa

Well, I may have missed something but the jewelry shopping (or the shopping in general) was not "great" in Vicenza. I say I may have missed something because Vicenza was our first stop after our overnight flight (into Venice) and, to be truthful, our decision to spend the night in Vicenza was made on the plane. Because the weather people had forecast a storm coming to NYC, we took the flight a day earlier (thanks Delta!), and so I hadn't researched Vicenza at all. Vicenza is a small town with a nice long street that had shops, but the shops I saw were the ones that seemed to be everywhere in Italy (Benetton, Stefano, etc). I did see a few good shoe stores (as in the rest of Italy), but otherwise, jewelry selections seemed much better in Venice and Florence (in Venice, I particularly liked the area of Cannaregio for jewelry shopping). I didn't really see much of any "crafts" type of shopping either (anything that is unique and handmade), nor much in the "leather" department. "Food" shopping was better in Ferrara. And for general fashions, (shoes, clothing, make-up) Verona was GREAT. OK, I admit it, we were supposed to go to Sirmione for the day and my husband and I could not tear ourselves away from the Verona stores. <BR> <BR>Good luck and shop away!

StCirq

I've been to Vicenza twice and was so blown away by the Palladian architecture I didn't even think about shopping. But I don't recall anything particularly special about the shops. I bought a pair of leather boots there on my first trip that have lasted admirably for almost 20 years and are still stylish, but I don't recall any particularly memorable jewelry shops. Aside from the Palladian wonders, the place is known as the locus of a huge American Airforce base. Last time I was there warplanes were taking off for Iraq about every other minute and that didn't foster a desire to shop, either.

jesse

Apparently Vicenza is where the QVC and Shop NBC get their Italian Gold. I will be there in Sept. Will let you know.

Monica

Yes Jesse, do let us know what you find out when you return. To the others, thanks for your comments! We're considering going to Vicenza in the a.m. for a couple of hours, then heading to Verona for the rest of the day. I've been reading about Verona and if others respond that we can shop for jewelry elsewhere for the same price, then I'll head to Verona only. <BR> <BR>