Tax-free shopping, properly
Visitors can buy tax-free above a threshold at participating shops, which is a real discount rather than a marketing one. You need your actual passport in the shop — not a photograph of it — so carry it every day you plan to shop.
Goods bought tax-free are meant to leave the country with you and some categories are sealed. Do not open the sealed bag before you fly.
What is genuinely better there
Stationery. Not a cliché — pens, notebooks and paper goods are better and cheaper than anywhere else I have shopped, and they weigh nothing.
Kitchen knives and small kitchen tools, if you will actually use them. Buy from a shop that will sharpen and explain, not a department store.
Skincare basics and sunscreen, which are excellent and inexpensive. This is the category I fill the spare bag with.
What to skip
European luxury goods. The price is not meaningfully better and you have used your baggage allowance on something you could buy at home.
Anything electrical without checking voltage and plug type against home.
Bulk anything on day one. The best shops are the ones you find on day three, and you will want the space.
Getting it home
A soft empty bag inside your case on the way out. It costs nothing in weight and it is the difference between a haul and a problem.
Most large shops will ship internationally and it is often cheaper than excess baggage. Ask at the till rather than assuming.
