25 Shopping Meccas You Need To Visit

Admit it: Even if your next trip abroad is purely for work, to catch you up on some R&R, or in a location so remote you're not even sure your phone's going to work, you've probably searched the web to see where you can visit some local stores. Of course, while shopping might not be the main motivator behind your globetrotting, it is an activity that helps you get in touch with wherever you're visiting. After all, trawling the stalls at Brimfield in Massachusetts and flipping through the racks at Lane Crawford in Hong Kong are two experiences that are totally unique, localized, and special — and that's definitely something you can't replicate with your browser.

As fans of shopping and travel, we find that immersing ourselves in a little retail education is just as enriching as hitting up any other guidebook suggestion. So, if you're like us and always hit the road with a little extra space in your luggage for incidentals, check out our roundup of the most gushed-about shopping meccas that have changed our own editors' lives. The list ahead is by no means definitive — there are thousands more spots we wish we could plug — but these are the 25 locations you should add to your bucket list, stat. Bon voyage — and good buy!