Milan Surpasses NYC as Home of the World’s Most Expensive Shopping Street

For the first time in 34 years, Milan’s Via Monte Napoleone has dethroned New York’s Fifth Avenue to claim the title of the world’s most expensive shopping street.

Rents on the prestigious northern Italian district have surged by 11% over the past year, reaching €20,000 (approx. $21,000) per square meter annually—making it the highest headline rent of any of the 138 global retail hotspots tracked by Cushman & Wakefield.

Once primarily known as Italy’s financial capital, Milan has increasingly become a magnet for the super-rich, fueled by tax incentives designed to attract wealthy individuals that have encouraged a wave of relocations from abroad.

As the city is experiencing a record-breaking year for tourism of over 8.5 million visitors, the broader Lombardy region, including popular destinations like Lake Como, has reported over 13 million visitors arriving in the first eight months of 2024. The growing popularity has had a cascading effect on the city’s real estate, driving up rents and property values in the historic center, where space is at a premium.

Unlike sprawling retail districts in New York, Paris, or London, Milan’s luxury shopping area is compact, centered around a handful of streets with Via Monte Napoleone at its heart. Kering, the French conglomerate behind Gucci and Alexander McQueen, recently acquired a building on Via Monte Napoleone for €1.3 billion—Europe’s largest property deal in two years.

“There is very little available space on Via Monte Napoleone, and the competition is fierce,” Thomas Casolo, head of retail for Italy at Cushman & Wakefield, told the Financial Times. “The street’s relatively small size compared to its international counterparts is a key reason for its growing prestige,” he added.

Here is the full top 10:

1. Via Monte Napoleone – Milan, Italy

2. Upper Fifth Avenue – New York City, USA

3. New Bond Street – London, UK

4. Tsim Sha Tsui – Hong Kong

5. Avenue des Champs-Élysées – Paris, France

6. Ginza – Tokyo, Japan

7. Bahnhofstrasse – Zurich, Switzerland

8. Pitt Street Mall – Sydney, Australia

9. Myeongdong – Seoul, South Korea

10. Kohlmarkt – Vienna, Austria