Visitor Information
Shopping
Vladimir may not yet be able to match the shopping experience in England,
the U.S. or Japan, but that is a part of the City's charm—and challenge.
There is no Wal-Mart or IKEA in Vladimir, not yet anyway. (There are
several IKEA stores in Moscow!) But gone are the days when there was
just one univermag ("universal" or "department store") whose shelves
were either bare or held goods that, for the most part, neither locals or
visitors wanted to buy.
Today the old "department store" is now privately owned—and is officially
called Valentina—but most people still refer to it as the univermag.
Vendors lease space ranging from a few square meters to several hundred
square meters. (1 square meter = 10.8 square feet) There is
a small but decent "super market" on the first floor at the main entrance,
and on the second floor you can not only buy color film—something
that used to be hard to find in Moscow and was almost never available in
the "provinces"—you can get it processed over night. You can
even get a digital color "passport" photo taken and printed immediately.
That private vendor only needs to lease about 1 square meter. Finally,
if you like to bowl, there is a six lane alley on the lower level near the
univermag's main entrance.
A newer department store called "Grand" is within easy walking
distance of "Valentina." It occupies space that was originally
meant to be a multistory parking garage.
The city's newest shopping center, "The Northern Trade Rows," had its grand
opening December 16, 2006. It includes the city's largest "supermarket,"
a "food court," a play area for children, and a good selection of stores.
It is located just off of Bolshaya Moskovskaya in the center of the city.
Sometimes it can still take some searching to find exactly what you are
looking for, including gifts and souvenirs, in part because all the stores
carrying these items aren't necessarily easy to find. But major consumer-oriented
progress is being made. And, of particular value to tourists, prices
are quite reasonable.
When you get to Vladimir, check with the Oblast Tourist Information Center
for the most up-to-date information on the availability of goods and services.
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