The usual Russian souvenirs such as matryoshkas are available in Saratov, although if travelling through Moscow it is probably best to wait to get them there as they will be cheaper.
The markets in Saratov are useful spots to pick up winter clothes if necessary, including coats, boots, leather gloves and of course hats. Haggling is indulged.
Prospekt Kirova is the most upmarket shopping area in the city, with fancy boutiques selling expensive shoes, bags and jewellery. There are branches for Mango, Nike, Reebok, Adidas, United Colors of Benetton, and L'Occitane among others. Also on Prospekt Kirova is an excellent tobacconist, selling all kinds of pipes and tobacco including hookah pipes, as well as a speciality tea shop.
Barrikada, on Ulitsa Gorkogo, is an excellent alternative music store that sells legitimate (i.e. non-pirate) albums and music DVDs at prices much cheaper than in Western Europe, and stocks a diversity of artists unparalleled by even Moscow's gargantuan Gorbushka market.
Electronics can be purchased from one of the city's branches of El Dorado (one particularly large one is located on the embankment near the river station).
Dom Knigi, the book shop on the corner of Ulitsa Volskaya and Prospekt Kirova, has an English language section and is also a good spot to pick up postcards, maps and souvenirs such as books of old postcard views of Saratov. Noviy Knizhniy, on the fourth floor of the Aurora Shopping Center (Chapaeva and Sovetskaya), also features an English language section. Grab a coffee at the nearby cafe, bring your laptop, and enjoy the free wireless on the fourth floor.
Despite its name, Detsky Mir ('Children's World') at the top of Prospekt Kirova near McDonalds, stocks all kinds of everything (clothes, accessories, stationery, hipflasks, penknives...) in cabinets, behind counters, and at individually manned stalls. TsUM (Tsentralniy Universalniy Magazin, 'Central Universal Store') across the way is a similar sort of operation.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Saratov
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Saratov - updated May 2024
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Saratov Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
