FLORENCE, ITALY: I learned of the Prada Outlet from a family friend who had gone two summers ago. She warned me that getting to the outlet was no easy task, but I saw this as a minor detail to the amazing news I had just heard – a Prada Outlet exists!
I immediately told the gal pals that I would be traveling with about it and we all agreed to designate Day 1 of Florence to SPACE, the Prada Outlet in Montevarchi, an outskirt of the city. It’s a good thing we did because getting there turned out to be quite the adventure. And take it from me – Florence’s Galleria degli Uffizi and Statue of David are not sights you want to rush through.
On the morning of the big day, my friends and I woke up late. Panicked that we’d miss our train, we ran– seriously ran– to the main train station, Santa Maria Novella. Luckily we made it just in time to hop on board.
About 45 minutes later, we heard “Montevarchi” announced over the train’s speakers. As we headed for the door, I wondered why no one else was getting off the train.
My trepidation grew stronger as we walked around the perimeter of the Montevarchi train station. The town was deserted and lifeless, exactly the opposite of what I expected. Did we get off at the wrong exit? What is going on? Do people in Italy not like Prada?
We wandered the streets for a few minutes until a cab driver pulled up beside us and asked, “Are you girls going to the Prada Outlet?”
“HA HA!” I thought “Do we have signs on our foreheads or what?” We jumped into the cab and let out a sigh of relief; we were back on track.
Thirty minutes later, the cab let us off in front of this concrete, industrial-looking building in the middle of nowhere.
No signs, no people, no buzz… Where was the long line of stylish girls I had imagined?
I thought only two things could be possible: we were lost, or the cabbie had a plan to kill us. The latter was ruled out when I saw him speed away on the dirt road.
We were just about to put up the white flag, when this woman came out holding four shopping bags. She appeared to be a shopper so we re-traced her steps and ended up in a room with a ticket dispenser. On it was a sign that said “Please take a number.” (FYI, every person in your party must have their own ticket, we learned the hard way. ☺)
After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, a large security guard dressed in a stylish black suit came to
greet us. He escorted us through a glass hallway and into this giant warehouse full of chic clothing displays and endless racks of clothes, shoes, bags and accessories.
Jackpot! The sight alone gave us all a rush of adrenaline. We decided it’d be best to divide and conquer.
I headed over to the handbags and grabbed a sleek brown suede hobo for 185 euro, and a classic wallet in red vinyl for 75 euro.
Most items were selling for half of their original price. A few smaller items, like change purses and leather key holders were marked down even more. My girlfriends made a killing too. One found an adorable wallet for 65 euro and the other a pair of wedges for 95 euro.
From here, prices went up and it’s easy to rack up a bill in the hundreds, but keep in mind you’d never find prices like this in a department store.
If you’re planning a trip to Florence I highly recommend checking out SPACE. It’s open from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 2 to 7 p.m. Sunday.
Just be sure to follow my handy set of tips below.
TIP #1 Devote a day to Prada, you’ll need it. If based in Florence, you can plan on making it back in time for dinner.
TIP #2 Look up train departure times the night before, don’t even think about driving.
TIP #3 Once in Montevarchi, look for a taxi. Just say PRADA to the driver and he/she will know where to go.
TIP #4 Bring a copy of the address and phone number just in case… Levanella Spaceo Strada Statale 69, Montevarchi. Phone: 011-39-55 978-94-81
TIP #5 Save your receipts. If you spend over 185 euros, you can get your tax back at the airport when you leave Italy. It’s called VAT or value-added tax.
Best of luck to ya!
Ciao,
Jess
Filed Under: Shopping Guides, Uncategorized, What's Hot
Tags: directions to the Prada Outlet, directions to the Prada Outlet outside of Florence, Florence, Florence's Galleria delgi Uffizi, Going to the Prada Outlet, How to get to the Prada Outlet from Firenze, How to get to the Prada Outlet from Florence, In General, Italy, pictures of the Prada Outlet in Italy, Prada, Prada Outlet, Prada Outlet in Italy, Prada Outlet in Montevarchi, Review of the Prada Outlet in Florence, SPACE, SPACE Prada Outlet, To Wear, What I bought at the Prada Outlet, What is the Prada Outlet like?
Thanks for this great find! You gals rock, keep up the good work!
[...] Vote The Prada Outlet in Italy [...]
[...] Vote The Prada Outlet in Italy [...]
[...] Vote The Prada Outlet in Italy [...]
Wow! Reading this brings back so many pleasant memories!
I discovered the Prada Outlet in 2002 when I accompanied my husband on a cycling tour of Tuscany. Our tour guides were from Switzerland and USA. Cornelia (”Nell”) from Switzerland not only drove us to the Prada Outlet in Montevarchi, but also to a not-so-far-away general Outlet Mall featuring Gucci and several other famous designers! I bought a wonderfully comfortable and beautiful (I’ve received MANY compliments!) white leather/velcro platform sandals at Prada (about 50 euros)and since, to no avail, I had been looking everywhere I went in Los Angeles county (and Hawaii) for a white leather fanny-pack, I found a small, unique Gucci variation of a fanny pack in a white shiny leather–patent leather?! It was only around 30 euros, as I recall. I added a leather belt to strap it around my waist (8 euros) from an open-air market in Lucca, another beautiful walled city in Tuscany!
I am very interested in this
I will leave a reply as soon as I try it Thank you
I am so excited to read this and go to the PRADA Outlet. Thank you!
[...] the Prada Outlet, this is Burberry’s official factory outlet, so the majority of the merchandise is only a [...]
The warehouse is such a great find!! I was travelling around Tuscany and Umbria in June of 2002 and knew of the warehouse but had no proper address (nor the name Space) except that it was in the village of Montevarchi. We drove there and spent 40 minutes in the wee village asking for directions to Prada…however it was well worth the effort when we found it! I spent the most on my classic black cloth Prada purse still looks brand new and I think I paid about $150. Best find of the day was silver and grey sequin covered kitten heeled Prada mules for some crazy amount like $40!!! Watch for new marked down items being rolled out onto the main floor throughout the day!
Thanks so much for the proper address and travel suggestions – I am thinking of visiting again next year.
Hi,
I am looking for an image of the Space Outlet for a story we are doing on “Best Outlet Stores” for TravelandLeisure.com . I was wondering if we could have permission to use your image of the outlet for the story on our site? Please let me know: kelly.bazely@aexp.com.
Thank you so much,
Kelly
what is the phone number to the prada outlet store in italy.does enyone have it?
prada outlet number in italy please email lorriefranks@yahoo.com