Shopping From the fashion triangle to suburban alimentari, shopping in Rome is best approached with a vagabond spirit. Shopping in Rome can be a delightful experience, if you hit the sprawling labyrinth of ancient streets with the right, vagabond spirit. Discover your inner-shopping-self. Stroll aimlessly round Rome's maze of streets: you never know what gems you'll discover tucked away off the beaten track. Stop to observe the local artisans at work; enter a delicatessen and savour the vast selection of meats and cheeses; absorb the atmosphere and clock the breadth of produce in the open-air markets; and ogle jewellery designs like you've never seen before. The posh, high-rent Piazza di Spagna area is home to the city's most-trodden shopping streets; but the hidden oases, the characteristic back alleyways of the Eternal City, offer deeper satisfaction for the shopper's soul. Lesser-known Roman designers have begun congregating in Via del Governo Vecchio. Mid-range high-street fashion is generally uninspired and limited to major arteries, including Via Nazionale, Via del Corso and Via Cola di Rienzo. More offbeat upper-mid-range offerings can be found around Trastevere and Piazza Navona. Just off Piazza dell'Esedra near Termini Station, you can find two bookshops with thousands of English titles to choose from in fiction, travel, cuisine and history: Feltrinelli, Via Orlando 84, and Mel Bookshop, Via Nazionale 254. Both are open Tuesday-Satuday 9:30 am-7:30 pm. Buy beautiful flowers and food delicacies at Campo de' Fiori, between the river and Corso Vittorio Emanuele, and near the French Embassy. It's open every day but Sunday 8 am-2 pm. The best bread maker in all of Rome is located there (try the pizza bianca white bread without sauce or toppings considered by Roman cognoscenti to be the best in the city). Open Monday-Saturday 7:30 am-2 pm and 5-8 pm. Campo de Fiori 22. In many Rome shops you'll find assistants who like to pretend that customers don't exist. Don't be put off. Perfect the essential lines mi può aiutare, per favore? (can you help me please) and volevo solo dare un'occhiata (I just wanted to have a look around): you're ready for any eventuality. When you've found what you want, don't try bargaining: prices are fixed (unless you are buying at a flea market, in bulk from a small-scale outlet, or from an acquaintance). Tax rebates If you are not an EU resident, keep your scontrino (receipt) , as you are entitled to a VAT (IVA in Italian) tax rebate on purchases of personal goods over € 150, providing they are exported unused and bought from a shop with the Europe Tax Free sticker. The shop will give you a form to show to customs when leaving Italy. Paying Most food shops will not accept credit cards; most other shops will. When you're handing over cash, it's normal to put it down in the little tray by the till, rather than placing it in the shop assistant's hand; she or he will do the same when giving you your change. Opening times An increasing number of city-centre shops are open non-stop from 9.30am to around 7.30pm, from Monday to Saturday. Even among shops that still shut for lunch, the traditional 1-3.30pm closedown is growing rarer, and shops are more likely to close just for an hour or so, 1-2pm or thereabouts. Times given below are winter opening hours: in summer (approximately June-October), shops that still opt for long lunches tend to reopen later, at 5pm, staying open until 8-8.30pm. Most food stores close on Thursday afternoons in winter, and on Saturday afternoons in summer. Many non-food shops will be closed on Monday mornings; many very central ones open on Sundays. Note that many shops close for at least two weeks each summer (generally in August), with no guarantee that any one shop will opt for the same weeks every year. Where no holiday closing is indicated below, the shop stays open all year.