Interesting shop windows from around the world [photo challenge]

While travelling, you must have seen many intriguing, weird or eye-catching shop windows, or funny objects on display you’d never seen in your home country. I find that very often these original shop windows can be more interesting than typical tourist attractions you’re encouraged to visit by your guidebook.

Recently one of our pictures, taken in León, Spain, showing a cute bakery window with tasty looking bread men on display has been posted by BBC News.

A shop window of a local bakery with tasty looking breadmen on display. The first bite is with the eye, as they say.

Following their idea, I’d like to show you our collection of unusual shop windows we found during our travels.

Would you like to participate?

Post you shop window photos on our Facebook page. Indicate where the photo was taken and write “shop windows – HHH challenge”. The best shots will be added to our gallery with a link to your website.
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If you don’t have a Facebook account, post your shop window photos on your blog/Flickr page, write “shop windows – HHH challenge” underneath, link it to our blog and tell us about it in the comment. The best shots will be added to our gallery with a link to your website.

You have one week to participate. The challenge closes on Saturday 24th November at 12.00 pm (CET).

Let’s begin…

An interesting gift shop in Madrid, Spain. I liked all the hot-air balloons and the photo’s contrast between the shop window and the reflection of the street.

A shop window of a restaurant in Kyoto, Japan. All these tasty looking products are very realistic silicone representations of the dishes that can be ordered in the restaurant. I guess there is no other nation on Earth prepared to make their artificial food with such precision. Apart from whetting the appetite it certainly helps if you are a foreign tourist unfamiliar with Japanese cuisine in all its intricacies.

A stocking and fan shop in Barcelona, Spain. A very specific business to run, but the colourful shop window definitely attracts attention.

A minimalist shoemaker’s shop window in Madrid, Spain. For some reason it reminded me of all those piles of shoes in the Auschwitz museum in Poland.

An optician’s shop window in Thessaloniki, Greece. It’s interesting how in so many European countries people associate owls with wisdom and glasses.

A weird shop window in Valencia, Spain. It was hard to work out what this shop was selling but the window most definitely drew attention.

A hat shop in Madrid, Spain, right next to Plaza Mayor. I took this photo as I thought it quite unique. You don’t see many hat shops these days. Mad hatter would be in heaven here!

An old travel shop in León, Spain. I thought this little shop very interesting with its array of weird and wonderful knick-knacks.

A religious art shop window in Valencia, Spain. There are all your favourite saints on offer here, and for the one who has everything, an imposing Virgin Mary.

Sausage and jamón (ham) shop window in Oviedo, Spain. I thought this shop window full of sausages really interesting and appetising.

Local delicatessen shop window in Barcelona, Spain. As the wooden man says: “Always look on the bright side of life”.

An icon shop window in Thessaloniki, Greece. Not even the religious are recession-proof, given the healthy 50% discount on offer.

A shop selling cushions and cute fluffy animal toys lying in little baskets. There is a pig, a panda and all possible breeds of dogs. Do people really buy that? Found in Madrid, Spain.

A unique shop window in Valencia, Spain, selling all different bits and bobs.

I saw this shop window in Toledo, Spain. What I found interesting was the ambitious pricing scheme. 50 Euros? Really?

Scissors and knives shop in San Sebastian, Spain. It’s amazing that this kind of shops still exist and continue to prosper.

Hand-made colourful animals found in an art shop in Raval, Barcelona, Spain.

Traditional Turkish market in Antakya (Known as Antioch in ancient times), in the Hatay Province in southern Turkey. What you can see in the glass cabinet is a typical costume worn by Turkish boys during the traditional Muslim circumcision ceremony (Sünnet, also known as the “First Joy”). It normally occurs between the ages of five and twelve and is considered to be the first landmark in a boy’s religious life.

written by: Ania