The Best Cities In The World To Go Shopping

Whether you're a shopaholic or not, you must visit them all.

This study ranked the top 12 cities in the world based on four items, with each category given a score from 1 to 10:

1. Getting around: How easy it is to move around and how expensive it is to do so.

2. Value: Average price of products.

3. Variety: Available brands and types of stores.

4. Experience: City beauty and staff service.

Here are the results:

12. Seoul, South Korea

Flickr: smulan77

Getting around: 4

Value: 7

Variety: 4

Experience: 6

Total: 21

Great for local goods, but stay away from buying foreign brands since they tend to be marked up. Keep in mind that all shops must accept credit cards, regardless of how low the purchase is.

11. Milan, Italy

Flickr: patrick_nouhailler

Getting around: 5

Value: 5

Variety: 4

Experience: 8

Total: 22

You'll find the most glamorous shops in this beautiful city (remember: Prada, Versace, and Dolce & Gabbana were all born here). Milan being one of the "fashion capitals," anything you find here will be ahead of anything you can find back home.

10. Madrid, Spain

Flickr: promomadrid

Getting around: 6

Value: 6

Variety: 4

Experience: 7

Total: 23

According to the Globe Shopper Index, Madrid is the third-best city in Europe to go shopping because of its friendly prices. The city's "rebajas" (sales) are something to keep an eye on.

9. Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Flickr: bhaktiamsterdam

Getting around: 6

Value: 6

Variety: 8

Experience: 4

Total: 24

The first Bloomingdale's outside of the U.S. is here. But that's not all; every year, it hosts the Dubai Shopping Festival, when products are discounted up to 70%. Ready to go crazy?

8. Vienna, Austria

Flickr: midsommarnights

Getting around: 6

Value: 8

Variety: 3

Experience: 8

Total: 25

Shopping here is more about the experience than anything else. Keep in mind that shops close super early, so make time between all the sightseeing for some window shopping.

7. Buenos Aires, Argentina

Flickr: salonesbuenayre

Getting around: 6

Value: 8

Variety: 6

Experience: 7

Total: 27

Fantastic place for leather goods and shoes. Argentina also has a flourishing fashion industry that was showcased during New York Fashion Week.

6. Hong Kong

Flickr: cokedragon

Getting around: 10

Value: 5

Variety: 6

Experience: 7

Total: 28

Shopping is one of the major attractions in Hong Kong: It's a good place for fashion, electronics, watches, AND jewelry.

5. Paris, France

Flickr: thiagomartins

Getting around: 6

Value: 6

Variety: 8

Experience: 9

Total: 29

Paris is another major fashion capital, so anything you buy here will be stylish and chic. With that comes high prices. At least you can get inspired and fly to another of these 12 cities to buy stuff, right?

4. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Flickr: glowform

Getting around: 6

Value: 10

Variety: 8

Experience: 6

Total: 30

Three of the 10 largest malls in the world can be found in Kuala Lumpur. Does that say enough about the shopping culture in this city? Also, did you see it got the top score for the "Value" category? ;)

3. London, England

Flickr: you-go

Getting around: 6

Value: 6

Variety: 10

Experience: 9

Total: 31

Oh, look, another major fashion capital is here! As expected, the prices in this city will make you want to cry. But the London style cannot be compared to anything, and there are enough little stores to find a bargain you can actually afford.

2. Tokyo, Japan

Flickr: london

Getting around: 8

Value: 8

Variety: 9

Experience: 9

Total: 34

Tokyo is the fourth-cheapest city in Asia!!!! But everything else in this city is über-expensive, so you can forget about eating if you really want to go on a shopping spree.

1. New York, United States

Flickr: garethferrari

Getting around: 8

Value: 7

Variety: 10

Experience: 10

Total: 35

From vintage to retail, from full price to sales, from 5th Avenue to Chinatown, New York has it all.