The popular winter resort of Livigno in Italy - Alta Valtellina - offers its guests, in addition to skiing, also bargain shopping: livigno has been a duty-free zone since 1805. No VAT or other excise duties are paid here, which of course translates very favourably into prices for alcohol, cigarettes, perfumes, branded clothing and sports equipment as well as fuel.
This privilege, granted by Emperor Napoleon, was earned by the mountain town because of its difficult accessibility - as late as the 1950s there was no road leading here in winter.
After the construction of the one-way Munt la Schera tunnel, year-round access via Switzerland was made possible and Livigno became a very popular winter resort. Today it lives almost exclusively on tourism and is one of the most popular ski destinations. However, it has managed to maintain its duty-free privilege even within the European Union, which naturally contributes to its popularity.
Be warned: exports of duty-free goods from Livigno to Switzerland are quite limited, with local customs officers checking the quantity of products very carefully. You are allowed to export, for example, 200 cigarettes, 1 litre of hard alcohol, 4 litres of wine and 16 litres of beer, but you cannot export fuel (only what fits in your car's tank).
