Shopping street in Shoreditch, London
[box]Souvenir: a thing that is kept as a reminder of a person, place, or event. Origin: late 18th century: from French, from souvenir, to ‘remember’. Oxford English Dictionary.[/box]
We at Souvenir Finder love to travel and love to shop, but have found that combining the two can sometimes result in frustration. We know your vacation time is precious and you don’t want to waste time on a shopping detour that’s not worth the effort. While there are lots of shopping listings scattered around in guidebooks and on tourist web sites, there are none that get to the point and tell you what the best things to buy are or how to plan your time.
We are here to cull through the noise and find you the best shops to explore. Let us do the research for you so you can plan your time better as you travel, and pick up gifts for yourself or those back home in one easy swoop.
We give you the context too, letting you know if the shops are near the sites you will be visiting anyway or if there is a great restaurant nearby to take a shopping break. Finally, we also cover the places you should skip– either because the area or shop is over-hyped, or if it’s filled with what we call “tourist tat.”
You can read my about me page and learn that I make no excuses for my love of poking around antique shops and flea markets, visiting unique artisans, and strolling through grocery and department stores, not only to see what there is to shop for, but also to get an inside view of daily life in another culture.
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Do you have a great shop to recommend or story to tell? Send us your photos and we may feature your finds on our site.
Best,
Souvenir Finder