37 Best Shopping in Center City, Philadelphia

Shop-'til-you-droppers make a beeline for Rittenhouse Row, the area between Broad and 21st streets and Spruce and Market streets. Lately the chains have been taking over Walnut Street between Rittenhouse Square and Broad Street, but this is still the greatest concentration of swanky stores and tony boutiques, art galleries, and jewelers you'll find in the city.

The flagship shop of the locally based national chain takes up three floors of an elegant Rittenhouse Square building (once someone's mansion, of course). The sales floors that encircle the grand stone staircase are brimming with lush colors, floral patterns, and vintage and ethnic-inspired styles that offer a departure from the ordinary. Pretty jewelry, stylish shoes and handbags, and other accessories add an enchanting femininity to fashion. Head downstairs for an array of home decor, including glassware, pottery, pillows, and mirrors. Be sure to check out the lower level for racks of bargain-priced sale items, and don't forget to look up at the towering first-floor ceiling of the onetime front parlor.

This is the flagship store of a highly respected chain that stocks the world's largest selection of 16th- to 19th-century prints and maps, specializing in botanicals, birds, and the American West.

This shop is filled with unique clothing and toys for haute tots. Specialties include handmade goods, imported fashions, and styles not available elsewhere.

Beneath the royal-blue canopy and white-marble entrance, you can find the largest single-store men's clothier in the country, with nine shops that present the traditional English look, avant-garde Italian imports, and dozens of other styles and designers, from Armani to Zegna. The store has departments for extra tall, large, and short men; formal wear; and shoes; and there's free valet parking, and 60 tailors on the premises. Women can find a small selection of high-quality designer clothes, too.

The store carries a look between conservative and classic in infant to preteen clothes and shoes. You can buy complete wardrobes, specialty gifts, and handmade items. An extensive toy department carries the latest in kiddie crazes.

American and European paintings, drawings, and watercolors from the 16th to the 20th century are on display.

There are three locations to tempt the palate—the original one in the Italian Market and the hipper ones in Rittenhouse Square and Washington West. Di Bruno's is a mecca for cheese lovers—the store carries more than 300 different varieties from around the world, as well as some house-made kinds. You can also find barrels of olives, imported olive oils, Abbruzze sausage, and balsamic vinegar that's been aged for 75 years. The staff is very knowledgeable and will provide friendly advice on storage, preparation, and serving ideas. Ask for recipes and samples.

The two co-owners for whom this shop is named make most of the colorful wedges of soap and the organic scrubs, shampoos, and other skin- and hair-care products locally and infuse them with scents like ginger and mojito. The shop recently expanded to offer a full-service hair salon and a yoga studio on-site.

This low-key, stripped-down boutique set in a beautiful town house specializes in fine jewelry by contemporary designers like Jonathan Wahl and Maria Beaulieu, who craft refined, restrained pieces that highlight the materials and the wearer.

A nonprofit arts organization runs this center and store dedicated to creating new work in fabric and other materials, working with emerging and nationally and internationally recognized artists.

For more than 30 years, Fat Jack's has been a mecca for local comic devotees with fresh-off-the-presses copies from major and independent publishers, including Japanese mangas plus 3-D posters, action figures, and the obligatory Dungeons & Dragons supplies.

You can find fine works by 20th-century self-taught American artists here, such as Martin Ramirez, Joan Nelson, and Joseph Yoakum.

This gallery is a good place to see works by both prominent and emerging artists, with an emphasis on Philadelphia painters.

If the sheer quantity of baubles crammed into this tiny shop doesn't take your breath away, the gorgeous, one-of-a-kind designs will. The shelves, drawers, displays, and even the second-floor balcony overflow with rings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, pins, and much more. The jewelry ranges from classic pearls to mystical amber. Owner Henri David (who designs some pieces) is well known for his lavish and outrageous Halloween fetes. He can do custom work, such as creating mates for single earrings.

Floor-to-ceiling windows showcasing a huge selection of Italian shoes and boots beckon to shoppers passing by this hip shop. Inside you can find women's, men's, and children's footwear in the trendiest styles.

Stogie aficionados make a point of stopping by this cigar emporium, whose Philadelphia roots date back more than 100 years. The shop features a comfortable smoking lounge and one of the nation's largest walk-in humidors. Find private-label Ashton cigars, a wide array of smoking accessories and humidors, and writing instruments from Mont Blanc, Waterman, and Cross. Upstairs is the Ashton Cigar Bar, which pairs cigars with rare whiskeys and also specialty cocktails.

Cutting-edge fashion is displayed in a setting reminiscent of a New York loft. Notable designers include Phillip Lim, Ivan Grundahl, Rich Owens, Etro, Marni, Moschino, and shoes by Maison Margiela.

This funky, luxe boutique on the corner of a residential street stocks unusual garments that stand out for their unexpected twists—a wide-leg pant in black velvet, a white oxford embroidered with flowers—as well as outright showstoppers like Asian tunics with mandarin collars and shimmering silk taffeta skirts. The owner designed the store interior herself, down to the hand-carved vines in the woodwork and the draped-fabric ceiling.

From one store in South Jersey, this family business has grown to be one of the largest independent kitchenware stores in the United States. This is a good source for fine cookware, French copper, cutlery, coffees, and teas.

Lagos jewelry, sold in upscale department stores, gets top billing here. All pieces are handcrafted and designed in Philadelphia by Steven Lagos. Aficionados are thrilled by the selection, including the Diamonds & Caviar, and Signature designs.

Loop is a knitting store stocked with supplies including natural fiber, luxury, and hand-dyed yarn in a rainbow of hues artfully arranged in stark-white ceiling-high cubbies, softened by the addition of comfy couches where crafty types can (and do) bond.

Late-18th- and early-19th-century American furniture, needlework, samplers, and folk art make this an important outpost for lovers of Americana. They also publish the antiques journal Samplings.

Macy's displays the chain's classic merchandise in the spacious former John Wanamaker department store, a Philadelphia landmark. Its focal point is the nine-story grand court with its 30,000-pipe organ—the largest ever built—and a 2,500-pound statue of an eagle, both remnants of the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis. During Christmastime, the space is filled with families and office workers gazing (and listening) in awe at the store's legendary holiday sound-and-light show and organ performances.

This modern, hip, urban home boutique strikes the balance between edgy hipster and hip hostess. The furniture, baby clothes, jewelry, candles, and soaps all manage to be clever and quirky. It's as fun to browse as it is to buy, as there's no pressure from the friendly sales staff.

American and European paintings of the 18th to 20th century are the focus, with an emphasis on Philadelphia artists.

This discount retailer of men's shoes has name-brand merchandise and excellent service. The store stocks extra-wide and extra-narrow widths, as well as sizes up to 16. Look for classic comfort shoes by Cole Haan, Clarks, and Rockport.

At 16th and Chestnut streets is the upscale Shops at Liberty Place. The complex features a food court and popular stores, including Loft, Aveda, Victoria's Secret, Express, J. Crew, and the Body Shop. More than 40 stores and restaurants are arranged in two circular levels within a strikingly handsome 90-foot glass-roof atrium.

You'll find one-of-a-kind artisan crafts—exquisite jewelry, colorful vases, textiles, Murano glass, and unique lamps—in a wide range of price points here. The friendly owner is on hand to answer questions and encourages you to handle the fragile objects.