Many years of travel with teenagers have taught us some do’s and don’t s about seeing this wonderful region as a family. Pretty much everyone falls in love with our luxury villas in Tuscany with private pool. If your teens are not keen to help with the cooking, consider one of our catered villas in Tuscany. Do they need a bit of freedom to let off steam? We have many Italian villas near villages in our portfolio.
The final piece of the jigsaw? Somewhere to shop. And while you may be looking for ceramics, wine, olive oil and those artisan products that made Tuscany famous, your teenager is probably looking for something completely different.
Below are some of our favourite spots, discovered over the years via lots of trial and (even more) error.
Tuscany’s best shopping spots for teenagers
Unsurprisingly, Florence is Tuscany’s top spot for teen shopping — in fact, for any shoppers. There’s all the top-drawer European chains (along Via Roma), the original home of discount internet sensation Luisa Via Roma (ditto), department stores Coin and La Rinascente, haute couture (Via de’ Tornabuoni and around); plus lots of indie shopping on the east side of town, including along Borgo degli Albizi. San Lorenzo Market is a winner for souvenirs and leather gifts, including bound notebooks, bags and friendship bracelets.
Lucca’s Via Fillungo is perhaps Tuscany’s most famous shopping street outside Florence. Many of the original Liberty (aka Art Nouveau) shopfronts survive. There’s cafes and lots of jewellers (for a special gift to remember), as well as good-quality European and Italian fashion chains (plus toy store Città del Sole, for any younger siblings).
Shopping spots in the Maremma
A relatively recent arrival on the perimeter of Grosseto, Maremà has affordable youth fashions (Zara, OVS, Pull&Bear, Jennyfer), swimwear (Calzedonia), makeup (Kiko) and more, including an excellent Co-op hypermarket. Porto Ercole, Scansano and Massa Marittima are all a short drive away.
Bottega del Legno in Sorano, near Pitigliano, sells gifts crafted from olive wood, including keyrings and a two-pronged instrument that’s perfect for holding a hair bun in place.
Outlet shopping in Tuscany
If your kids have a bulging trust-fund — or some very generous relatives — visit The Mall, between Florence and Arezzo, for end-of-lines from the biggest, haute-est names in Italian fashion. Stock discounts are large and genuine, but of course price-tags were even larger to begin with. Florence’s biggest names are here: Gucci, Pucci, Ferragamo. If you search hard, you will find affordable items. Parking is plentiful.
There are also more mainstream/Main Street outlets between Cortona and Montepulciano (Valdichiana Outlet Village: Bata, Hilfiger, Kiko, GoldenPoint and more) and north of Florence in the Mugello (Barberino Designer Outlet: D&G, Napapijri, Carpisa, Levi’s, Lacoste and lots more).