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Shopping in San Francisco
I'm planning a mother-daughter weekend in San Francisco in June.
I know there is lots of shopping in Union Square, where we will be staying, but am wondering about other interesting locations to shop. I appreciate any advice! Thanks, dina |
Union Street has some nice boutiques. Perpendicular to that, a few blocks away, is Polk Street.
I enjoy shopping & eating on Hayes Street, also known as Hayes Valley. http://www.hayesvalleyshop.com/ (This link has more information on other areas) One of my fave places to shop is Noe Valley. http://www.noevalley.com/ |
Buying new things for your trip to Scotland are you :)
I'd also recommend Noe Valley (but your daughter might go into shopping overload around Union Square/San Francisco Center and you may not get anywhere else) |
Melissa,
thanks for the several good ideas. I had read an article a while back on Hayes Valley and couldn't remember the name! I'm not sure where Noe Valley is, but i will look at a map. |
janis
thanks so much for your reply in my scotland post. believe it or not, i am planning Scotland for june 2008. the problem is, i know NOTHING about it, and will probably buy tickets this summer so i will need to have a sense of what we want to do/time frame to proceed. know what i mean?? by the way, i will be the one to go into shopping overload. my daughter (14) can shop forever. i will look up noe valley. can we take cab there? thanks. dina |
You can catch the bus to Noe Valley, it goes right there! however, I forgot which bus. you'd need to check with MUNI. I've also Bart'ed it there but it's a bit of a hike from the station (i was working off a large dim sum lunch). Bart to the 24th St station. turn left and walk UP the hill.
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I can't drag Mrs Kal away from all the little artist's tables around Aquatic Park/Ghir Square or in front of The Ferry Building at FOMA.
She's always scoring some interesting trinkets. |
off topic re your Scotland trip: "<i>will probably buy tickets this summer</i>" This summer is waaaaaay too early to buy tix for next June. UNLESS you are talking about ff award tickets. I wouldn't even start looking for airfares until maybe Dec at the earliest.
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>>I'm not sure where Noe Valley is, but i will look at a map<<
Just over-the-hill & south of the Castro district. From downtown, take the J-Church Muni Metro & get off at 24th St. As you get on the J-Church, sit on the left side of the train, which will be the side you enter on from the underground station. As you enter Dolores park, look east & slightly behind you (unless you are sitting with your back to the line of travel), and you'll get a great view of downtown from the northwest corner of Dolores park. Stu Dudley |
Here's something I wrote a few years back
Places to shop, browse, & people watch When my wife & I want to shop and enjoy the “ambiance” that makes SF unique, here is where we go. 1. Fillmore St, between Jackson & Sutter. Also walk down Cottage Row (off Bush). Do this in conjunction with City Guides Walk “Pacific Heights Mansions” Sat & Tuesdays at 11:00 (see later description of City Guides). Lots of restaurants & coffee shops (Starbucks, Peets, etc) 2. Union St (between Gough & Steiner), Fillmore (between Union & Chestnut), Chestnut St (between Fillmore & Broderick). If you do this on a sunny Sat or Sunday morning, Chestnut will be loaded with young professionals (yuppies? – is that term still used) going to/from their exercise classes or having breakfast/lunch at one of the many cafes on the street. There are many restaurants in the area (my favorite is Isa on Steiner, North of Chestnut). 3. Polk between California & Green. South end can be a little ruddy, but north of Washington gets better. My favorite restaurant (if someone else is buying) is La Folie near Green. One of my wife's favorite stores is Brown Dirt Cowboy near Union. Good specialty food store at Leonard’s on Polk & Pacific. 4. Hayes St between Franklin & Fillmore, and Gough a few blocks south of Hayes. Lots of unique shops on Hayes. The area around Hayes is a little ruddy, so don’t venture too far west or north. Citizen Cake (Gough & Grove) is a great spot to indulge yourself with cookies & desserts etc, and Absinthe on Hayes is a restaurant that we frequent – both are especially good for lunch/brunch. 5. Sacramento St between Baker & Maple. Many “high class” shops & antique stores. This is located in a residential area with lots of Victorian houses. Many stores will be closed on Sunday. 6. 24th Street between Chattanooga & Douglass, and Church between 24th St & 30th St. This is the Noe Valley. Lots of unique shops along 24th St. Our favorite coffee shop is at Churc & 30th St 7. Union Square area. This, of course, is the downtown shopping center. It’s quite different from the other “neighborhood” shopping areas which we prefer, but we always manage a few trips - especially around Christmas. Shops a few blocks west of Powell on Sutter & Post have some unique stuff. We enjoy this area early in the morning, before all the “street people” wake up. When I worked in The City, I enjoyed walking in this area during lunch time on week days. End of 2 year old post Recently the Westfield complex opened up at the foot of Powell. I needed soeme sunglasses, so I wondered through the complex. IMO, it's not an different than Shoppingmall Anywhere, USA. It has the Gaps, Foot Lockers, Bebes, etc. I did not see many "unique" shops tat would make this place worth a visit. it has Nordstroms & Bloomingdales, but do do many shoping malls elsewhere in the US. Another interesting shopping area would be Hight ST. Get a piercing or a tattoo. Go there on a Sunday & take a free tour of the Haight/Ashbury area from City Guides (www.SFCityGuides.org) before shopping. Stu Dudley |
>>Another interesting shopping area would be Hight ST<<
Don't look up "Hight" on your map - it's "Haight" Stu Dudley |
Stu Dudley has some great recommendation, however based on my recent experience with an out-of-town teenager, you may not be leaving Union Square. I couldn't get my friend's daughter away from Westfield and the national chain stores in Union Square. As much as I wanted to show her unique SF experiences, she wanted places she had heard of or knew; she also liked being around other teenagers and there were plently in the "mall". She did like Haight St. because she (and her friends) had heard of it and again there were plenty of teeenagers. Union St. and Hayes Valley were for "old people".
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:)):)):))
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Ahem. I resemble that remark!!!!
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Another very interesting shopping corridor is Valencia Street, especially between 16th Street and 24th Street. Among the interesting stores, restaurants coffee shops, and bars on that street, you'll find 826 Valencia, San Francisco's only independent pirate supply store (and a writer's workshop); Paxton Gate, home of the weird and wonderful, and a number of art galleries. Add the various used clothing stores and I'm sure you can keep busy for a day just on that street.
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thanks, everyone. i never expected to get so much information!
we wil definitely try to get out of union square and the westfield mall. Stu- i never knew you were a San Francisco expert, too. you practically planned my tuscany itinerary for me last year! thanks! (in fact, i love my photo of the little house with cypress trees on the hill outside San Quirico -- did you see the big posters in Restoration Hardware? I am sure it's the same exact photo, taken from behind that restaurant!!) so sorry about the diversion.. looking forward to shopping in SF!! thanks again, dina |
>>did you see the big posters in Restoration Hardware?<<
Nope - I'll have to run down to the mall & check it out !! Stu Dudley |
The new/ expanded (last year) SF Westfield Shopping Center on Market between 4th and 5th St. is great. Lots of CDs at the Virgin Mega store near there on Market.
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Oh, Chinatown and Union Street were my daughter's faves when she was a teen.
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My Jess reminded me she loves the shops on Haight also, especially Aardvark.
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