The main shopping areas in Vilnius can be divided neatly into the two areas of the Old Town (pedestrian streets where you can find antiques, amber, linen, books old and new, some nice pieces of art, handcrafts) and parts of the city’s classiest retail street, Gedimino (designer clothes, fashion shops, more charming crafts). In the Old Town, the very heart of the city, you can find excellent shops, prestigious boutiques, and street markets specialising in local art, crafts, and souvenirs. The most well-known areas for shopping in the Old Town are Pilies and Didžioji streets.
The city’s markets are also well worth a visit for an authentic, blast-from-the-past experience. Large shopping and leisure centres have been popping up increasingly around city fringes. There, you will find clothing, footwear, food, and other numerous shops. These are usually open from early morning until late at night.
Wares guaranteed to please anyone are local linen and amber. According to a local legend, amber originates from the tears of the sea goddess Jūratė and the stones from her castle, which was destroyed by Perkūnas, the pagan god of thunder, when he discovered her passionate love affair with the mortal fisherman Kastytis. Ask most people and they will tell you amber is a dark honey colour. However, visit anywhere selling the stuff and you will soon see it come in such diverse colours as blue, black, white and yellow. White amber is called royal amber and is widely available in Lithuania. Meanwhile, the other good linen is woven from the fibres of the flax plant, a completely natural resource, perhaps the most ecologically sound fabric of all. This fabric that really breathes, is available for just about any part of the body or home.
