117 Best Shopping in Venice, Italy

Founded in1858, Rubelli offers the same sumptuous brocades, damasks, and cut velvets used by the world's most prestigious decorators.

Among the attractive assortment of rather generic gifts, there is a selection of complicated models to be assembled by your favorite puzzle enthusiast. Pieces of precisely laser-cut birch fit together to make 3D objects such as a Triceratops or a functional zodiac clock. They are not unreasonably priced for such spectacular creations.

This friendly neighborhood enoteca has an excellent array of regional wines plus a selection of craft beer and spirits, chocolate, and other gourmet treats.

The name is a Turkish word meaning "cloudy" and refers to the technique that Alberto Valese uses to decorate paper, as well as silk ties and paperweights.

This lace and embroidery shop offers a highly appealing selection—from Venice and beyond—that includes fine cotton and linen tablecloths, baby clothing, shirts, nightgowns, sheets, and curtains as delightful and unique as the proprietor herself. Ask to see antique lace.

One of the oldest bookbinderies in Venice is known for its historic stampi, hand-printed paper using carved wood plates, which artisans carefully filled with colored inks. Don't let the sporadic opening times discourage you from trying to visit or purchase their exquisite papers.

This distinguished shop next to the Gallerie dell'Accademia sells old master paintings—originals, not copies—with accordingly rarified prices.

A play on the term for Venice's flooding, acqua alta, this tiny but bountiful shop operated by a social cooperative sells natural, fair-trade products, some from Third World artisans (therefore "altra," or "other"). The quality is notably higher than some similar stores, and there is a wide range of items, including shampoo, jam, hand-knitted scarves, reusable cotton cloth to wrap food, herbal teas, coffee, water bottles, and more. If nothing else, buy a bar of the delectable Modica chocolate, made in Sicily following the Mesoamerican cold-processing techniques introduced by the Spanish.

This shop sells scarves as well as blouses and jackets, all handwoven using looms built to ancient specifications. Not only are their products made to a very high standard in wool or silk, but the weavers are part of a social cooperative called Laguna Fiorita that employs the mentally disabled; their families formed the association in 1993. The store also occasionally organizes weaving workshops.

Antonia Sautter's opulent, fanciful display of 18th-century Venetian gowns often causes passersby to pause and ponder. Hers is the atelier of the prestigious Ballo del Doge Carnival ball, along with many other extraordinarily fantastically coutured Venetian events. You'll also find medieval-style garments, masks, and accessories behind the curtains inside.

Costumes for sale or rent are inspired by 18th- and 19th-century models, with masks (for sale only) to match. Large sizes are available for both sexes. By appointment only, but well worth the effort.

One stop might fit the bill when you've got last-minute gifts to buy: American Theresa works only with Murano artisans and offers an abundant, tasteful selection of reasonably priced beads, vases, goblets, and jewelry, even mirrors and chandeliers.

Celebrated brothers Daniele and Stefano blend and weave copper and silver wire with Murano glass beads to render stylish, contemporary pieces with a timeless feel.

Mazzon is a master woodworker specializing in intaglio, framing, gilding, and restoration of anything wooden. His sublimely cluttered workshop contains figurines of various sizes, from just-carved cherubs to an elegantly simple madonna shining in gold leaf, with picture and mirror frames all carved by hand. He is the fourth generation of his family to do this work.

In addition to contemporary fine-art glass, this high-end manufacturer gives tours of its Murano factory, something that most studios in this elite category do not do.

The bookstore of Università di Venezia Ca' Foscari has a reasonable selection of titles in English. Shelves teem with literature and history, but there's also a handful of travel books, as well as the latest best sellers.

A large showroom offering lots of gilded creations, both traditional and new, is a must-see. Ask about mask-making workshops.

Dorsoduro's liveliest square is the setting for a colorful morning food market.

One of Venice's finest wine bars is just as popular for the ample choice of excellent bottled wines and spirits sold to go.

Elisabetta and Stefano, with their daughter, Giulia, founded this shop in 2008 and have made it one of the city's most remarkable sources for handmade paper and an astonishing variety of objects made from it. Their handiwork always combines charm, style, and imagination.

"Cinderella" creates unique handmade lampshades out of silk, old lace, and real parchment, embroidered and decorated with gold braids and cotton or silk trim. It also sells restored lace and embroidered vintage clothing. The pieces on display are a perfect match for country- and antique-style furniture. The owner will be happy to discuss special orders.

In her tasteful shop, Claudia has amassed a limited choice of antiques, small paintings, original etchings from the 16th to 19th centuries, and plenty of interesting-looking bric-a-brac, including silver ex-votos and period souvenirs, such as brass ashtrays in the shape of lions' heads and various doorknockers. Baroque-looking earrings are made of cultured pearls and bits of old brass or bronze.

Contini shows only 20th-century artists and is Italy's only dealer for Botero, Zoran Music, and the marble and bronze sculptures by Mitoraj.

This second-generation family of artisans make Byzantine and rich Renaissance handcrafted frames of gold-leafed wood and inset with antique glass beads, mosaic tesserae, and small ceramic tiles. The more-elaborate pieces look their best when used to frame an old mirror.

Luca Sumiti carries on the work of his father, Maurizio; traditional wrought-iron chandeliers and lamps come unadorned, gilded, or tastefully enameled in bright colors. Here you'll also find conspicuous, five-foot-tall wooden sculptures of mori veneziani (Venetian Moors).

American-born but Venetian by choice, glass-bead artist Trina Tygrett opened her studio after completing her studies at the city's Academy of Fine Arts. She married into one of the oldest surviving families of traditional Venetian glassblowing and was able to study some of the older techniques founded on Murano. Her signature jewelry is a breath of fresh air as she mixes her beads with materials such as metal fabric, silver, and precious stones to create unique and eclectic pieces. A second shop is only a few steps away at Dorsoduro 167.

Vases, sculptures, objects, and jewelry from one of Murano's best glassworks are on offer.

Since 1948 the Mascari family has been selling a wide range of treats, such as bits of dried sugared fruit, balsamic vinegar, chestnut flour, fennel seeds, Swiss chocolate, honey, olive oil, and an exceptional collection of Italian wines and liquors. Try some traditional cookies from many different Italian regions, including baicoli, the crunchy Venetian dipping cookie. If nothing else, you will almost certainly stop to admire the window full of pyramids of loose spices, a vibrant reminder that much of Venice's wealth derived from the spice trade.