117 Best Places to Shop in Venice, Italy

This shop selling gondolier's garb has been at the foot of the Rialto Bridge since 1902. There are no cheap knockoffs here; the wool sweaters, straw hats, and down vests are all worn by working gondoliers and made of quality materials intended to withstand a long day out in all weather. A charming selection of gifts, such as tote bags, stuffed toys, refrigerator magnets, and so forth, all bear the crest of the gondoliers' association.

This small wine shop by the Canale Cannaegio is lined with flasks, and the friendly owners give tastings to help you decide which of the Veneto vintages you wish to buy.

The name has been synonymous with high-quality paper since 1264 and is esteemed by publishers, writers, and artists. The boutique offers a glimpse into their full range of products from luxurious stationery to journals and specialized notebooks. They also offer a line of writing instruments and leather items.

Run by a family of market stall sellers, Fanny combines good value, friendly service, and cheerful design. Come here for an exceptional selection of soft leather gloves as well as leather and suede bags.

The original Fortuny textile factory, built on former convent grounds, has been converted into a showroom. Prices are over-the-top, but it's worth a trip to see the extraordinary colors and textures of their hand-printed silks and velvets. Call in advance to arrange a tour of the buildings and gorgeous gardens.

A tiny workshop specializes in superb handmade leather bags in all shapes and sizes. The craftsmanship is exceptional; get Bottega Veneta look-alikes at half the price.

Name a gemstone—aquamarine, garnet, jade, amber, opal— and you will almost certainly find it here, in both classic and unique settings from traditional to gorgeous. This is the ideal place to find a special piece featuring your birthstone.

This is the retail outlet for Leslie Ann Genninger, an American from Ohio who was the first woman to enter the male-dominated world of Murano master bead-makers. She established her own line of jewelry, called Murano Class Act, in 1994 using period-glass beads, and when she could no longer find antique beads she started designing her own.

Classic handmade jewelry here includes pieces made with semiprecious stones.

The gondola and lagoon boat expert in Venice creates scale models of a wide variety of Venetian boats in his nearby laboratorio (workshop). (If the retail shop is closed, a sign posted on the door will explain how to find Signor Penzo.) When he's not busy sawing and sanding, Mr. Penzo writes historical and technical books about traditional Venetian boats, including the gondola. Here you'll also find gondola model kits, as well as some forcole (Venetian rowing oarlocks).

Creative earrings, brooches, and necklaces are done in colored resin that looks as fragile as glass but is as strong and soft as rubber. Silk shoes can be custom "garnished" with jewelry.

The focus is on the works by the eclectic English-born artist Geoffrey Humphries, including paintings, drawings, and etchings ranging from landscapes to portraits; he also produces watercolors of Venetian vistas.

The "Blue Trunk" specializes in antique toys of all sorts, but their orsi artistici, mohair teddy bears, are their trademark treasures. Painstakingly handmade in many sizes and colors with articulated paws and glass eyes, they can either grumble or play a carillon tune when squeezed. Some are unclothed; others are dressed in old baby garments trimmed with lace and ribbons.

Swing by the carpentry workshop of Piero Dri to see how he crafts the remi (oars) and fórcole (rowlocks) that adorn the city's gondola and Voga alla Veneta flat-bottomed boats. With his walnut-wood off-cuts, Piero creates gorgeous sculptural pieces to purchase.

Of Venice's few remaining artisan leather shops, Il Grifone is the standout with respect to quality, tradition, and the guarantee of an exquisite product. For more than 30 years, Antonio Peressin has been making bags, purses, belts, and smaller leather items that have a wide following because of his precision and attention to detail. His goods remain reasonably and accessibly priced.

French-born owner-designer Claudia Puschi travels across Europe to fill her store with eclectic and intriguing home accessories and jewelry. Her unique items can't be found anywhere else in the city; in fact, she herself designed many of the purses you'll see in the store—which she deftly and stylishly transformed from a former butcher shop.

The name aptly translates as "The Peacock," and the shop offers a great selection of coda di pavone, a kind of paper with colors and patterns resembling peacock feathers. Artisans here are particularly proud of their hand-painted paper.

Carrying on the traditions of his adopted city, this craftsman makes traditional wrought-iron chandeliers, wall lamps, and Venetian lanterns, either plain black or gilded (like in the old days), in his tiny workshop near Campo Santa Maria Formosa.

This shop should not be missed if you are looking for soft leather bags that are a perfect match for almost any outfit, handmade leather shoes, or quality belts.

This is a good address for antique books and prints, majolica pottery, and other ceramics.

This tiny shop contains an abundance of masks made of papier-mâché, but Marilisa Dal Cason's skill and imagination shine best in her original creations made of cut-up resin masks (the plain white ones on sale everywhere for €1), which she ingeniously reshapes and paints into fantastic forms. From an octopus to flames covered with gold leaf, every shape is unique. Considering that each is one of a kind, her masks, though somewhat expensive, are possibly the most economical purchase of Venetian art you'll make.

This lovely store features chic, contemporary glassware designed in the style of Murano master Carlo Moretti.

Margherita Rossetto has been creating unique, deliciously appealing faience-style majolica since 1989. Pieces include figures of animals, flowers, and fruit as well as abstract designs on a white background. She also fashions handmade greeting cards that are one-of-a-kind works of art in themselves.

This tiny shop is overflowing with masks of all types, all handmade by the owner/artisan (you can often watch him making them). There's an excellent selection of styles at competitive prices.

A Venetian institution shows off its shoes in five large windows in two neighboring shops. You'll find the house collection plus a dozen lesser-known designers, as well as luxury sportswear.

A broad assortment of writing materials, bound journals and albums, book covers, medieval sketchbooks, and handmade marble paper are made in a nearby laboratory. New products are introduced often so that no two visits to the store are ever the same.

One of Venice's oldest, and certainly most renowned, bookbinders is in the expert hands of Anselmo Polliero, the third generation of his family to create beautiful leather-bound blank books, desk accessories, picture frames, and more. He also prints serigraphs of Venetian views, and prints designs on paper using antique woodcut blocks.

Studium is a good stop for books in English, especially guidebooks and books on Venetian culture and food. It's also particularly strong on English-language fiction with Italian, mostly Venetian, settings and themes; in addition, it has a small but worthy collection of recent hardcover fiction.

A linchpin in the city's literary history, Libreria Toletta offers a varied selection of English books and numerous volumes about the city of Venice in addition to their vast literary, art, and architecture offerings in Italian. Their staff is friendly and knowledgeable. (Note: "Libreria" means bookstore; "biblioteca" means library.)

Fine antique print and book aficionados will fall in love with this gem of a store run by the extremely knowledgeable Luca Zentilini. His focus is on Venetian culture and limited editions, with special interest in illustrated books from the 18th century. A large selection of Venetian maps are on offer, as well as etchings by masters including Piranesi, Visentini, Tiepolo, and Carlevarijs.