Shopping Overview

From its swank boutiques to its funky thrift stores, San Francisco is simply one of the best shopping destinations in the United States. Deep-pocketed consumers as well as window shoppers visit the dozens of pricey international shops packed into a few blocks around Union Square, and bargain hunters who would never dream of paying full price frequent used-record and thrift shops in the Mission District and the Haight. Some locally owned shops show off San Francisco's countercultural bent. An anarchist bookstore, tiny clothing boutiques owned by creative designers, art galleries exhibiting emerging artists' works, and music stores selling rare vinyl are among the retailers that make the city unique. Excellent Italian delis and Asian and farmers' markets sell foods unavailable at typical grocery chains, and the Ferry Building, at the foot of Market Street at the Embarcadero, has a dense concentration of gourmet markets, offering everything from caviar to artisanal cheese to organic produce.

Visitors with limited time often focus their energies on the Union Square area, where almost all the city's major department stores tower over exclusive boutiques. Nowhere else in San Francisco can you visit so many stores in so little time. And this will be even more true after the fall 2006 opening of the Westfield San Francisco Centre, where Bloomingdale's will anchor the new complex in a restored landmark building adjacent to the San Francisco Shopping Centre. But options are plentiful if you can make more than one shopping expedition, or if you prefer locally owned shops to international boutiques and department-store chains. The Castro is the best destination for men's clothing and gay-theme items; it also has a good selection of stylish and mostly affordable housewares. Nearby, the perennially hip Mission is a bastion of used-clothing and used-furniture stores, left-leaning bookstores, and boutiques selling clothing by the city's funkiest designers. On the north side of town stores tend to be a little more mainstream and more expensive. The densest selection of retailers on this side of town is on Union Street, where women's clothing, jewelry, and housewares are on offer. Japantown, in between these areas, sells Japanese antiques, kimonos, books, and foods to a local Japanese population and in-the-know shoppers. Chinatown is so crowded with tourists that many of the shops stock inexpensive, low-quality kitsch, but hidden down less-trafficked alleyways are shops selling groceries, herbs, and beautiful fabrics to San Francisco's sizable Chinese population.

As for souvenirs, the ubiquitous shops around Union Square and Fisherman's Wharf sell the usual cable-car miniatures, T-shirts, and postcards. But if you look a little farther afield, you can pick up San Francisco-themed books -- perhaps about the Beat poets or radical politics -- at stores such as the City Lights Bookstore in North Beach or beautiful Japanese paper and stationery in Japantown. More ephemeral mementos include chocolates and wines produced in the area.

If shopping in San Francisco has a downside, it's that real bargains can seem few and far between. Sure, neighborhoods such as the Lower Haight and the Mission have thrift shops and other inexpensive stores, but you won't find many discount outlets in the city, where rents are sky-high and space is at a premium. And the 8.5% sales tax adds up for serious shoppers, though tax is waived if you arrange to have your purchases shipped to an out-of-state address. Seasonal sales, usually in late January and late July or August, are good opportunities for finding deep discounts on fashionable clothing. The San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Examiner advertise sales. For smaller shops check the two free weeklies, the San Francisco Bay Guardian and SF Weekly, which can be found on street corners every Wednesday.