Has anyone been to the Gucci, Prada, etc outlets near Florence? Are the prices worth the time and effort?

Has anyone been to the Gucci, Prada, etc outlets near Florence? Are the prices worth the time and effort?

I believe there are two outlet malls near Florence. The one I went to has Gucci, Prada, and a few other designer brands. The other one has other designer brands that I can't remember. The prices sometimes can be quite good, but selection is limited (and changes constantly as most items have only a few in stock). It's really hard to say whether it's worth the trip since you probably won't know if you would "score" a deal until you get there. One thing to keep in mind is that you will get most of your VAT refunded if you pick up a few designer label items (assuming you are from the US).

LAX

Has anyone been to the Gucci, Prada, etc outlets near Florence? Are the prices worth the time and effort?

We went to one ... with Gucci and 10+ other, Prada was not at this one.
You get good stuff, but the prices are pretty high. Mrs. USAFAN buys such things at Saks5thAv. on sale or at Off-Saks much cheaper. If you really want the newest things, the outlet is the way to go.

I made my beloved drive me all the way to THE MALL which is about 45 min south of Florence - believing it to be an 'outlet' in the true sense of the word. It wasn't in my opinion. Of course I was converting everything back into NZ dollars, but there wasn't one thing that seemed reasonable.

My husband peeled off the 'sale' sticker on one item and it was more expensive than the original price underneath!

I would personally give them a miss. You've got better sales and outlets in the US!

Here is a link to an article:

http://travel.guardian.co.uk/article/2003/nov/15/florence.italy.shoppingtrips

Here is a link to an article:

http://travel.guardian.co.uk/article/2003/nov/15/florence.italy.shoppingtrips

Thanks for the link to that article. I was about to ask if anybody had directions from the Sheraton or an address. :)

Cheers,

Adrian

Thanks for the link to that article. I was about to ask if anybody had directions from the Sheraton or an address. :)

Cheers,

Adrian

The Sheraton is near the Autostrada. Go the Autostrada SOUTH (direction Rome) 20 miles or so ... The Sheraton handed me a paper how to get there.
We did not buy at the outlet, very stylish stuff but really expensive....with $1.31 for one Euro.