Best place outside of US for outlet shopping?

hi there,

I'm hoping to go somewhere on a shopping trip between now and the end of the year. Can't afford to go to the States, so I was thinking of the following:

Manchester
Leeds
East Midlands
Brussels

Has anyone been to these areas to shop? Are they better value for money than Ireland? I would be looking for clothes, shoes, sportswear and possibly gifts/electical goods. Not necessarily designer brands but just something a bit different than you get here.

Any tips/advice gratefully appreciated.
thanks.

Try Portsmouth- fly to Southhampton- I ended up there a couple of years back on my way elsewhere and was pleasantly surprised. Theres a lovely outlet centre there on the Quays and its a gorgeous spot with a marina and loads of restaurants etc. Plus there are very cheap flights to Southhampton.

Ooh, that sounds good, esp with the marina there, am interested in sailing. Do Ryanair fly to Southampton or what airline were you with? In your opinion, would it be better than Manchester (if you've been)?

Many thanks.

Sorry, havent been to manchester for shopping, but the air line I flew with was Aer Arann. Its a pretty nice place alright- look at www.gunwharf-quays.com

Suggest you try East Midlands. Very easy and cheap flights with BMI baby from Dublin. From East Midlands airport can get buses to various places including Nottingham. Has some great shops ranging from the usual M&S, topshop etc to quirky or secondhand clothes shops. Has an ikea and some factory shops including the Speedo factory shop. Lots going on in the evenings - theatre, cinema, comedy nights and if you fancy a bit of walking you can get the bus to the peak district in Derbyshire.

I would strongly recommend Glasgow in Scotland. I was there two weeks ago and I couldn't get over the amount of shops there - it's a shoppers paradise and much cheaper than Ireland, even when you convert the sterling back to euro.

There’s nothing in Brussels that you can’t get cheaper in France. If you want to stick in the eurozone in France try Roubaix / Lille http://www.mcarthurglen.fr, Troyes http://www.troyesmagusine.com, or Calais http://www.marquesavenue.com http://www.cite-europe.com.

ryanair fly to bournemouth, itss about half hour drive to portsmouth