I was in Italy, Germany, France, The Netherlands and UK spring 2017. I had time to look for fabric shops in each country but the UK.
Ferrara Italy, had the most elegant fabric store I have ever been in. I would have spent hours there, if I had not had to catch a bus. The customer service was impeccable. The gentleman who served me was in a suit and tie, the shelves were oak and the fabrics gorgeous. I bought a piece of linen and a another of silk and pit cost me almost $300 Euros. Yes, 300 Euros for two pieces of fabric, the silk was 95 Euro per metre. The silk will be an overlay for a dress. My purchases were practically gift wrapped and presented to me upon completion of the sale.
In Florence there was a fabric shop around the corner from where I was staying, they had lots of fashion fabrics with many wools and silks, plus cotton, linen and others. I was not looking for quilting fabric and do not recall if they had any. I bought 4 pieces of beautiful wool there.
In Freiburg Germany I found a delightful fashion and home dec fabric shop that had a great selection of Burda brand notions that are not available in Canada. I only bought notions there.
In Paris we stayed in the Montmartre area and I spent an afternoon wandering through the many fabric shops. It was an interesting area, but I was not feeling well and could not fully appreciate it. I wanted to buy more, but only purchased some beautiful shirting. Plus a lamb skin for a friend who makes wallets. I loved the African Wax prints, but was not sure if it was appropriate for me to buy them. I spoke with a Nigerian friend and she said to go for it. I will be in Paris again next May and plan to buy some.
In Amsterdam I did not get to the fabric market, but did stop at two quilt shops. One had lots of Dutch reproduction fabrics, plus Aboriginal prints from Australia, an interesting combination. Next door the shop had lots of Kaffe and bright modern prints. I shopped in both.