Shop Til You Drop… a ton of euros.

Discounts are great in any language.

Unless you haven’t left your house in a week, you have probably noticed that all the stores in Rome are holding sales. That’s right, January 5th marked the start of SALE SEASON in Italy, and all over Europe actually.

Being an expert on spending my money on things I don’t need, allow me to give you the run down:
Via del Corso: good ol’ Via del Cors-oh-so-packed-with-people. If you can’t get to one of the malls outside of the city, Via del Corso is your best bet for shopping. There are a zillion stores running from Piazza del Popolo to Piazza Venezia, and about another zillion in all the streets veering off of Via del Corso. However, as I have delicately alluded to before, this street is always uber-packed, as are all the stores and their fitting rooms. Best time to hit Via del Corso? Monday-Saturday before noon.
Cola di Rienzo: Not far from the Vatican, Via Cola di Rienzo offers a few blocks of shopping. The choice of stores is not as varied as Via del Corso (no MANGO, no ZARA), but there are still many other stores, and a COIN department store. No worries, this street has your Intimissimi, Tezenis, Goldenpoint, Fornarina, Trussardi, Sisley, Benetton, Subdued, Ethic… This street, not as crowded as Corso, can be reached by either the Lepanto or the Ottaviano A-metro stations.
Via Nazionale: Take the A-metro to Repubblica , and walk down Via Nazionale to find a lot of shoe stores, and men-suit shops. There are also a handful of great clothes shops, as well as more expensive high-end stores, like Furla, Stefanel, and MaxMara. At the end of Via Nazionale, you can turn left and get into trendy area, Monti.
Monti: As mentioned above, this area is filled with hipster, chic, retro, and trendy boutiques. Unfortunately, the prices in this area are generally higher than elsewhere in Rome. Shops are sprinkled all over Monti, but one good street to start on is Via del Boschetto, easily reachable from the B-metro Cavour stop.
Piazza Spagna/Condotti: Just for shits and giggles- if you really want to spend your money, like really really, check out all the luxury brand names in Piazza Spagna and Via dei Condotti, and the surrounding streets. Just be careful not to be smacked in the face with an obnoxious fur coat, or a huge Louis Vuitton bag!
Malls Malls Malls: To make the most out of a shopping trip, I would suggest getting your hands on a car and heading to one of the great malls outside of Rome: Roma Est, EurRoma2, Porta di Roma. All of these malls are massive, and have all of the main store chains (Zara, Bershka, Pull and Bear…) The only mall easily reachable by public transportation (regional train to Fiumicino Airport) is Parco Leonardo, which is not as big, nor as impressive as the other malls, but still a good shopping point.
Other Areas: Head over to Piazza Bologna (B-metro to Bologna) or Via Appia Nuova (A-metro to San Giovanni or Re di Roma), for more streets of shopping.

One last tip, stay away from all size 38, pretty shoes and boots, because they are all mine!