Shopping in Galle Fort: posters, design, gems and how to buy well

About Shopping in Galle Fort: posters, design, gems and how to buy well

By the ULTIMATE Sri Lanka Editorial Team

Site Editor: Tara de la Motte

Inside the walls, Church Street, Pedlar Street and Leyn Baan Street are lined with boutiques in old Dutch houses, many with courtyards behind the shop.

Posters and prints

Stick No Bills, which opened in Galle Fort in 2011, sells restored vintage travel posters and new prints inspired by the golden age of Ceylon tourism art, plus postcards.

Textiles and design

Barefoot, the Colombo design house, has a Galle shop in a restored old house with a courtyard, with handwoven textiles, toys, books and postcards. KK The Collection, linked to the KK Collection hotels, fills a converted Dutch house with clothing, homeware and art, much of it made or sourced in Sri Lanka.

The best souvenir in Galle Fort may be a vintage-style poster of Ceylon, rolled up in a tube for the flight home.

Gems on Church Street

Church Street has a cluster of gem and jewellery shops. Aida Gems & Jewellery has a branch at 39A Church Street.

Buying a gem

Decide on your budget first, compare several stones in daylight and ask whether a stone has been heat-treated: it is common and accepted, but should be disclosed, and an unheated stone costs more. For a significant purchase, ask for a certificate and have the stone tested, or the certificate checked, by the National Gem and Jewellery Authority (NGJA). Be wary of anyone who presents a gem as an investment.

VAT refunds

Sri Lanka has a Tourist VAT Refund Scheme for visitors on a visit visa, run by the Inland Revenue Department. As introduced, it applies to purchases of at least LKR 50,000 (excluding VAT) from authorised retailers, with a special refund invoice, claimed at the counters at Bandaranaike International Airport before check-in, with the goods. Ask the shop whether it is an authorised retailer, and check the current rules with the Inland Revenue Department before you rely on a refund.

Our advice: shop in the late afternoon, when the lanes are cooler, buy gems only with a certificate and a receipt, and ask for a VAT refund invoice if you spend enough at an authorised shop.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Shopping in Galle Fort: posters, design, gems and how to buy well before you go.