Where to Buy LEGO in Italy

waltonad

First time poster, long time lurker.

Big AFOL, off to Italy this summer to the Emilia Romagna region. Just wondered if there are any good/hidden places to buy Lego in the following cities I'm planning to visit.

Bologna, Rimini, Ravenna, Reggio Emilia, Parma, San Marino and Venezia.

Thanks.

AvengerDr

Before moving to England I used to live in Southeastern Italy. I have not visited all cities you are going to... apart from Venezia of course :) Your best bet is to check all "family owned" toy shops that you should find while visiting the city centre areas. I found a #10178 still at RRP in my hometown's toy shop that must have had been lying there since several years.

If you are more organized then maybe you can have a look around on Google Maps by searching for "giocattoli" which is the italian word for toys. Every toy shop worth its name will have a Lego aisle.

Keep in mind that (at least in the South) it's very unlikely that you will find any set on sale in family owned shops. They stay forever at RRP until they are found again :) (.. and then they complain that they aren't doing well financially.. you don't say! But this is another story..).

Enjoy your visit in Italy, but next time try to go further South ;) Everything is cheaper and the sea is much better there :D Rimini is very well known and the nightlife is much better, but the beaches of the Salento area (the very southeastern tip of the Apulia region) are in another league.

Steve_J_OM

If you're spending much time in Venice, it might be worth your while taking a 30 minute train to Padova. I was there fore a few days in April, and there were 3 or 4 local toy shops with LEGO, all of which had sets which had been discontinued, some of which have been gone for nearly two years at this stage. It's a beautiful town too so win-win :)

legonut80

I'm finding this interesting as I'm also going to Italy in August. We are Driving over to Umbria for a Family wedding. We've not been before so don't really know much about the area, if we can find Lego while away it would be great.

CCC

I used to live in Bologna, I cannot really remember any toy stores stocking Lego there - although I wasn't an AFOL at the time.

Avoid Venice and San Marino for toys, prices will be way higher than here. As AvengerDr has said, you just need to get lucky and find a family owned store that has old stock. Current stock will be expensive.

If you are as far north as South Tyrol, in the Balzano region, you could try MangioBricks. They have a warehouse type store full of Lego.