Home > Travel Writing > Shopping and Sleeping: Hotel Deals in Europe

There’s more to Paris than those great department stores, Printemps and Galeries Lafayette, which draw shoppers to the Boulevard Haussmann. Fashionistas favour the Marais, with its luxe-bohemian vibe and hotels to match - try the uber-chic Murano Resort, or nearby design hotel Le Marceau Bastille.

Throw down your bags in one of these hip hostelries, then work the boutiques of the rue des Francs Bourgeois all the way from the Place des Vosges to the Pompidou. Enjoy a night-time fix here, after shop closing, of modern art, followed by supper with cool sounds at the stunning rooftop Georges restaurant.

Next day head south to St. Germain, perfectly placed for Left Bank shopping. After Paris’s best hot chocolate at the Deux Magots, check out the rue Bonaparte beside this iconic cafe, then cross the Boulevard to explore the boutiques of Saint-Sulpice. Those in search of carrier bags with top designer names will have to hop over to Avenue Montaigne, where an after-dark bonus is the hourly light show from the Eiffel Tower.

In Rome, the designer drag is Via Condotti, where an espresso hit to get you from Gucci to Ferragamo can be enjoyed at the ornate Caffe Greco, where Casanova once supped. The Condotti runs off the Piazza di Spagna, a three-minute stroll from Rome’s most elegant hip hostelry, Rocco Forte’s revamped Hotel de Russie.

The Russie is also close to the Piazza del Popolo, with its intriguing twin churches (their apparent symmetry is a trick of the eye). From here, check out the pedestrianised Via del Corso for bargains at Swarovski and other top-brand emporia, then cross town to explore the more eclectic boutiques and galleries around the exquiste Piazza Navona, Rome’s most beautiful open space.

You could run into James Blunt and other musos at Amsterdam’s chic and techno-friendly Roemer Hotel, or at its sister boutique hostelry, the family-friendly Vondel. Here the prime shopping territory is the so-called Nine Streets of Jordaan, the city’s bohemian quarter, packed with fashion, accessories and homewares boutiques. Don’t forget the fashionable Museum Quarter with its own specialist shops - and take in the Van Goghs and the astonishing Old Masters of the Rijksmuseum before you leave.

Don’t be put off Istanbul by its famous Screaming Shopper, a diplomat’s wife who helps the nervous navigate the huge bazaars, where hard bargaining is de rigeur at any time of year. It doesn’t take much nerve to grab great prices on pashminas and gold jewellery in the Grand Bazaar or exotic oriental take-home delicacies in the spice market. Outside that fragrant cavern Istanbul’s best taste treat awaits - a freshly-fried fish butty from the boats bobbing on the Bosphorous. Food is actually a great treat everywhere in this east-meets-west city. Hole up in the fabulous Witt Istanbul Suites during your stay.

For leather, tiles and hand-painted ceramics, consider Lisbon, Europe’s best-priced shopping capital and one of its most intriguing cities all-round, with art nouveau funiculars and haunting homegrown entertainment from fado singers in atmospheric back-street bars. The big international designers are represented on the Avenida da Liberdade and in the Chiado quarter. Find Portugese designers in the streets around the Bairro Alto Hotel, a sweet boutique hotel in the heart of the city.

Read more travel writing by Anthea Gerrie