Destination: Australia
Shop Australia New South Wales - Australiana Australian Capital Territory - Australiana Queensland - Australiana Victoria - Australiana Tasmania - Australiana South Australia - Australiana Western Australia - Australiana New South Wales - Aboriginal Crafts Queensland - Aboriginal Crafts Victoria - Aboriginal Crafts Tasmania - Aboriginal Crafts South Australia - Aboriginal Crafts Northern Territory - Aboriginal Crafts Western Australia - Aboriginal Crafts New South Wales - Opals, Gems & Jewellery Queensland - Opals, Gems & Jewellery Victoria - Opals, Gems & Jewellery Tasmania - Opals, Gems & Jewellery South Australia - Opals, Gems & Jewellery Northern Territory - Opals, Gems & Jewellery Western Australia - Opals, Gems & Jewellery New South Wales - Department Stores & Shopping Centres Australian Capital Territory - Department Stores & Shopping Centres Queensland - Department Stores & Shopping Centres Victoria - Department Stores & Shopping Centres Tasmania - Department Stores & Shopping Centres South Australia - Department Stores & Shopping Centres Northern Territory - Department Stores & Shopping Centres Western Australia - Department Stores & Shopping Centres New South Wales - Markets Australian Capital Territory - Markets Queensland - Markets Victoria - Markets Tasmania - Markets South Australia - Markets Northern Territory - Markets Western Australia - Markets New South Wales - Crafts & Antiques Australian Capital Territory - Crafts & Antiques Queensland - Crafts & Antiques Victoria - Crafts & Antiques Tasmania - Crafts & Antiques South Australia - Crafts & Antiques Western Australia - Crafts & Antiques	Opening Hours Australian shops offer an excellent range of goods and relatively competitive prices - Sydney and Melbourne in particular have a wide variety of retail outlets, selling everything from designer clothing to high-quality souvenirs. Shopping hours are generally 9-5:30 on weekdays and 9-5 on Saturdays. Most large stores and suburban shopping centres are also open on Sundays, and each capital city offers late shopping on one night. Australian Made! International products and labels are well represented, but there are some uniquely Australian purchases that are particularly appealing. Beachwear and designer T-shirts, such as those created by Ken Done, are colourful and innovative, while Aussie 'bush clothing' is also popular. Other Australiana includes unusual Aboriginal-designed clothing and crafts, and home-grown products such as sheepskin items, designer knitwear, opals and South Sea pearls. Opals, diamonds and pearls Australia produces most of the world's opals, and Australian stones are considered to be of a particularly fine quality. You can buy either `white', or the more expensive `black' opals, unset or made up into beautiful jewellery. Other exclusive (and expensive) precious stone purchases - both from the north of Western Australia - are Argyle diamonds, available in white, champagne and pink varieties, and exquisite South Sea pearls. Duty- and Tax-free Australia's duty- and tax-free prices are very competitive and compare favourably with those of Asian ports. Overseas visitors receive a discount of around 30 per cent on perfumes, cigarettes and alcohol, electrical and electronic equipment, jewellery, watches and other items. There are many duty-free shops in city centres and at the airports, and Australia even offers a facility for visitors to purchase duty-free goods on arrival at international airport terminals. Visitors can also obtain a refund for the GST (Goods and Services Tax) paid on goods costing $300 or more. Details are available from the Australian Customs Service (Phone: (02) 6275 6666, www.customs.gov.au). Out of Town Although the best shopping is generally found in the centre of capital cities, many suburbs, and even regional towns, offer some fine shops. City suburbs that are particularly good for shopping include Sydney's Paddington (offbeat fashions) and Double Bay (expensive designer clothing), and Melbourne's South Yarra and Toorak. Country town shopping - particularly for antiques and crafts - is excellent in NSW's Blue Mountains and Southern Highlands. Shopping Tours Shopping is such big business in Australia (many visitors come with this activity very much in mind) that organised tours - usually concentrating on discounted factory and warehouse shopping - are common in the large cities. In Sydney you can join Shopping Spree (Phone: (02) 9360 6220), Melbourne offers the similarly named Shopping Spree Tours (Phone: (03) 9596 6600), while in South Australia, Adelaide Shopping Tours (Phone: 1300 137 897) provide expert local knowledge.	COUNTRY Australia   Viewing   Top Ten   What To See   Where To ...     Eat & Drink     Stay     Shop     Take The Kids     Be Entertained     What's On When   Practical Matters REGION CITIES MAPS World Europe TRAVEL BOOK