Which are the most expensive luxury streets in Europe? Of course, none of them can compare to Via Montenapoleone

In recent days, Scenari Immobiliari has published its annual report on the retail real estate market in Italy and Europe, a sector that this year presents itself in a solid and dynamic condition. In Italy in particular, this year has marked strong growth for commercial properties, with the total value of rental fees along the main shopping streets exceeding 1.3 billion euros. The most significant portion of these fees concerns luxury streets and the report shows that Via Montenapoleone in Milan has the highest rental levels globally.

In 2025, at the European level, the overall volume of investments in retail real estate reached almost 40 billion euros, growing by 26.5% compared to 2024, and is expected to reach as much as 45 billion by the end of the year, energy crisis excluded. The interesting fact is that Italy is the best-performing European market since retail is the main investment sector in the country, with business growth of 29% in one year and 3.3 billion euros of invested capital. In second and third place are France and Spain, with investments of 2.9 and 2.8 billion euros respectively. Germany and the United Kingdom, on the other hand, are declining.

How are things going in Italy?

According to the report, the last two years have gone well for the Italian market. The retail sector is somewhat a mirror of the economy as it is influenced by the spending capacity of families and businesses, by spending patterns that animate the territories and by quality of life. As mentioned, retail investments in 2025 amounted to 3.3 billion euros, of which approximately 65-70% (i.e. about 2.25 billion) mainly concerned shopping centers and outlets.

The remaining 30-35%, which instead represents one billion euros, concerned all those shops located on the most important shopping streets, where the interest of investors, especially foreign ones, is high also thanks to the significant tourist flows of the country. This is demonstrated by the revenue from the rents of these properties which reached 7.8 billion euros. The report examined 69 main shopping streets and 65 secondary streets in the cities of Milan, Rome, Turin, Florence, Venice, Bologna, Naples, with the addition of Bari, as well as Capri and Forte dei Marmi. For the country's main luxury streets, the value of rents is around 1.3 billion euros while secondary shopping streets have rent values around 1.72 billion euros.

A very interesting aspect is that, in line with the rise of the customer service role for luxury brands, spaces for services have grown more than those dedicated to sales alone. However, this data was predictable given that the investments made by luxury brands in recent years to expand already existing spaces started from a base of surface area dedicated solely to sales that has remained substantially the same. What has expanded instead are VIC rooms, exhibition spaces and spaces dedicated to various extra-sales services available in boutiques.

The Montenapoleone case: it costs a lot but it is not the best

A significant fact for Milan is the case of Via Montenapoleone. Its rental fees are the highest in the world with 21,150 euros per square meter per year, surpassing the 18,950 euros of New Bond Street in London and the 16,700 euros per year of Upper Fifth Avenue in New York. With 74 shops and 220 windows spread over 450 meters, of which 78 with independent entrances, the Milanese street generates gross yields between 4.2% and 5%.

However, if we analyze not only the price but the commercial quality (that is, the intensity of pedestrian traffic, the solidity and quality of the shops, the average income level of residents and visitors and other factors related to the overall experience of the street) we see that Montenapoleone is actually in fifth place because it is, to put it bluntly, a construction site in a constant state of renovation. In our country, the luxury street with the highest level of quality, especially in terms of the clientele’s spending power, is Salizada San Moisè in Venice.

And what is expected for the future?

If we are not hit by the most apocalyptic energy crisis in living memory, the forecasts for 2026 remain positive: investments continue and increase, needs evolve and therefore new spaces are sought in which to invest and create value, along with the consolidation of pedestrian flows in the main streets.

The role that retail plays in strengthening the identity of urban centers makes it a strategic asset in the field of investments and therefore it should continue to remain an important item not only from an economic point of view but also from an urban planning perspective. So much so that, in the pages of MF Fashion, the director of Scenari Immobiliari, Francesca Zirnstein, appealed to public administrations to monitor the commercial composition of these streets so as not to dilute their value.