Shopping

Heidelberg:
The main shopping street is the traffic-free Hauptstrasse, which is filled with stores selling glass, crystal, handicrafts, and other items. Heidelberg is also known for its markets, including the one held on Wednesday and Saturday mornings at Marktplatz and another held Tuesday and Friday mornings at Friedrich-Ebert-Platz. One Saturday a month, based on a flexible schedule that corresponds to the events being presented in the city's convention center, a giant flea market (Flohmarkt) sprawls along the Kirchheimer Weg, on the city's southwestern edge, beginning at the Messeplatz. Come here for a streetside collection of knickknacks and castaways from another era.

Lucerne:
The Old Town is filled with shops. You'll find several good department stores with reasonable prices for most items, as well as pricy specialty shops. The flagship store of Switzerland's best known watch and high-end jewelry dealer, Bucherer, is located in Lucerne.

Munich:
The major shopping centers are City Center, Schwabing, Glockenbach and Maxvorstadt. In the City Center region, you will find an array of shops and stores selling brand products. The Schwabing features boutiques, jewelry shops, book stores and other small shops. Funky dress items and trendy shoes are available in large numbers. The Elisabethmarkt sells grocery items like fruits, vegetables and spices.

Salzburg:
While Salzburg doesn't have Vienna's wide range of merchandise, there's still plenty of shopping here. Good buys in Salzburg include souvenirs specific to the city (such as lederhosen) and all types of sports gear. Getreidegasse is a main shopping thoroughfare, but you'll also find some intriguing little shops on Residenzplatz.

Most stores are open Monday through Friday from 9am to 6pm, but note that many stores, especially smaller shops, take a 1- or 2-hour break for lunch. On weekends, stores are generally open only Saturday mornings.

Vienna:
Visitors can spend many happy hours shopping or just browsing in Vienna's shops, where handicrafts are part of a long-established tradition of skilled workmanship. Petit-point items are popular souvenirs, as are: hand-painted Wiener Augarten porcelain, gold and silver work, ceramics, enamel jewelry, wrought-iron articles, and leather goods.

The largest of the city's outdoor food markets is the Naschmarkt in the 6th District. It's the most popular and colorful of the markets, as well as the most comprehensive.