132 Best Places to Shop in Australia

This relaxed and friendly beachside market at Bondi is the place to go for clothes—vintage and by up-and-coming designers—plus handmade jewelry, organic cosmetics, art, retro furniture, and secondhand goods. Look closely at the faces in the crowd—you'll often find visiting celebrities lurking behind messy bed hair and dark glasses. The markets are on every Sunday 10–4.

One of the largest produce markets in the southern hemisphere, and Adelaide's pride and joy, the Central Market is chock-full of stellar local foods, including glistening-fresh fish, meat, crusty Vietnamese and Continental breads, German baked goods, cheeses of every shape and color, and old-fashioned lollies (candy). You can also buy souvenir T-shirts, CDs, books, cut flowers, and a great cup of coffee.

The city's largest department store maintains a reputation for excellent service and high-quality goods. Clothing by many of Australia's finest designers is on display here, and the store also sells its own fashion label at reasonable prices.

Carrying beautiful items made from Tasmanian wood, this studio carries custom-designed furniture and locally crafted pottery, glass, and clothing. It's also known for its inspiring contemporary art exhibitions and design collections. The center often has an artist in residence and is just a short walk from the city center.

Celebrated Australian design duo Louise Olsen and Stephen Ormandy create luminous bowls and vases, and bold resin, gold, and silver jewelry. Each piece is distinctive and unique. 

A Melbourne music institution, Greville Records carries rare releases in rock, alternative, and vinyl.

Ask anyone who no longer lives in Adelaide what they miss most about the city and chances are they'll say "Haigh's." Australia's oldest chocolate manufacturer has tempted sweet tooths with corner shop displays since 1915, and although there are now Haigh's stores in several locations across the city and in other capitals, the Beehive Corner store is the original, and a local icon. The family-owned South Australian company produces exquisite truffles, pralines, and creams—as well as the chocolate bilby (an endangered Australian marsupial), Haigh's answer to the Easter bunny. No trip to Adelaide is complete without at least one chocolate indulgence.

Free chocolate-making tours at the Haigh's Visitor Center at 154 Greenhill Road in Parkside run Monday through Saturday beginning at 9 am. Bookings are essential.

This gorgeous collaboration estate is worth dedicating at least a couple of hours to mosey through the gardens, sample wine at the unique self-serve tasting deck, gaze upon the walls of local art, and, of course, shop for pottery, and even watch the artists work their magic on the pottery wheel. You may also meet the resident cat who loves sleeping in the seating areas. If the mood strikes, try the Happs Hamper program, which is a build-your-own-picnic. Grab a supplied basket and choose your items from the fridge and pantry. Pick a bottle of wine and a spot on the manicured lawn for a memorable wine and shopping day out.  Happs Wines offers free tastings in its self-pour cellar door.

A contemporary craft-and-design center at the Lion Arts Centre, JamFactory exhibits and sells unique Australian glassware, ceramics, wood, and metal work and you can often see the artists at work. Its fantastic gift shop is the place to pick up a unique handmade piece of art or jewelry, including a description from the artist.

Find true Aboriginal art here, as well as gifts and souvenirs, including soaps, bath, and beauty products, featuring Australian native plants. Oils and clays are made on-site and native Australian foods and flavors known as bush tucker is available to sample and buy. The gallery is owned and operated by local Aboriginal people who are branching out to include Aboriginal cultural experiences such as bush-tucker talks and tastings. 

Calling all chocoholics! If smooth milk chocolate is your vice and rich dark is your life, then proceed directly to Margaret River's very own chocolate factory. As you step inside this sweet paradise, there are free chocolate tastings to get you started. You'll also find an on-site café and a window into the kitchen where you'll get to see chocolate-making in action. The warehouse-size gift shop is stocked full of chocolate in every shape, size, and combination to satisfy every craving. Look for locations in Perth and the Swan Valley, too.

The Mindil Beach Sunset Market is an extravaganza that takes place every Thursday and Sunday from 4 pm to 9 pm from April through October. Come in the late afternoon to snack at one of more than 60 stalls offering food from more than 25 different countries. You can shop at more than 200 local artisans' booths; enjoy performances by singers, dancers, fire artists, and musicians; catch a whip-cracking demonstration, or join the other Darwinites with a bottle of wine to watch the sun plunge into the sea.

Bookworms and word nerds will adore this delightful bookshop on the corner of High and Henry Streets in the middle of Fremantle's shopping district. Besides a generous selection of books spanning all genres, including travel, you'll find funny greeting cards, games, puzzles, journals, Moleskine notebooks, gift wrap, and quirky stationery.

South of Lake Burley Griffin, this lively Sunday market is in the former Kingston bus depot. Handmade crafts are the staples here, and buskers and inexpensive exotic food enliven the shopping experience. The markets also run on Saturday throughout December leading up to Christmas. When you've had your fill, wander across the road to the Canberra Glassworks to watch artisans at work.

A sprawling indoor/outdoor shopping hub, Pacific Fair is Queensland's largest mall, featuring Myer and David Jones department stores, major retailers, and more than 400 specialty stores and services (including travel agencies, fashion outlets, and sports and outdoor gear). For a breather, head to the landscaped grounds with restaurants and cafés dotted around sparkling pools and water features, a children's park, and village green, or take in a movie at the 12-screen cinema complex.

About 200 stalls crammed with clothing, plants, crafts, jewelry, and souvenirs fill this busy churchyard market (sometimes called Paddington Bazaar). Distinctly New Age and highly fashion-conscious, the market is an outlet for a handful of avant-garde clothing designers. Go early as it can get very crowded.

This should be the first stop for serious bush adventurers heading for wild Australia and beyond. Maps, books, and mounds of gear are tailored especially for the Australian outdoors.

Local growers and artisans gather on Sunday mornings in Port Douglas's waterfront park to sell fresh tropical produce and gourmet goodies, arts and crafts, handmade garments, precious-stone jewelry, books, and souvenirs. The atmosphere is relaxed, the crowd is colorful, and there's plenty of variety.

This market has buzzed with food and bargain shoppers since 1878. With more than 600 mostly open-air stalls, this sprawling, spirited bazaar is the city's prime produce outlet—many Melburnians come here to buy strawberries, honey, fresh flowers, imported cheeses, meat, and eye-bright fresh fish. There is a section for certified organic produce, and the beautiful Dairy Produce Hall is a plethora of cheeses, fresh pasta and breads, coffee, and deli delights. On Sunday there is less food and more great deals on jeans, T-shirts, and souvenirs. Food trucks and live music on weekends lend the market a festive air.

The place to go for riding boots, Akubra hats, Drizabone raincoats, and moleskin trousers—the type of clothes worn by Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman in the movie Australia.

From bush poetry and traditional bush tucker recipes to anthropological texts on Aboriginal people and their culture, Red Kangaroo Books has an outstanding collection of literature pertaining to all things Australian.

This sprawling covered bazaar transforms the upper end of George Street into a multicultural collage of music, food, arts, crafts, and entertainment. It's open weekends 10–5. Be sure to check out the new Rocks Foodies Market with delicious fare, on Friday 9–3.

Adelaide's main shopping area is Rundle Mall, a pedestrian plaza lined with boutiques, department stores, and arcades, including Australia's two best-known stores, Myer and David Jones, as well as some of the world's big name and luxury brands sprinkled among the local shops. People of all ages hang out on the mall, relaxing on a bench or browsing the shops. Heritage-listed Adelaide Arcade is a Victorian-era jewel, with a decorative tiled floor, skylights, and dozens of shops behind huge timber-framed windows.

Established in 1867, South Melbourne Market is Melbourne's second-oldest market, beloved by grandmothers and the suburb's hipster set. You'll find a huge selection of fresh produce and foodstuffs (the Dim Sims are famous), an incubator section for upcoming local housewares and accessories designers, and a food hall.

This ornate three-story shopping arcade built in 1891 runs between George Street and Pitt Street Mall and is one of Sydney's most elegant shopping strips. Beautiful Victorian-era floor tiles, magnificent cedar staircases, and charmingly old-fashioned shopfronts help make the shopping here refreshingly chain-store free. The upstairs galleries are home to high-end Australian fashion designers and jewelers, while the ground floor has a charming mix of cozy specialty tea and cake shops, beauty and gift stores, and fashion boutiques. Strand Hatters is the best men's hat store in the city and the place to buy an Akubra or fedora. The arcade is bookended by two of the country's iconic chocolate stores—Haigh's Chocolates at George Street and Koko Black on Pitt Street—and both are virtually irresistible.

This award-winning artisanal producer smack-dab in the middle of vineyards and olive trees is an aromatherapy feast for the senses. Inside a converted machinery shed (the soap factory), there are a chemical-free range of soaps and body care products hand blended with natural organic ingredients, as well as yummy olives, tapenades, dukkahs, and pestos all without preservatives or artificial additives. This is a place for gastronomes and purists. Sniff, rub, scrub, pamper, and taste to your heart's content.

Check website for the shop's "make your own" classes.

This gallery and shop sells environmental art, cards, calendars, diaries, jewelry, clothing, and ceramics, all inspired by Tasmania, the "'Wild Island." All wares are made in Australia and all support the Australian environment. Regular exhibitions feature local artists who use the Tasmanian wilderness as their muse, a must-visit for original souvenirs.

Located just off Rundle Mall, the exchange sells high-quality new and antique jewelry. They can also be found in Glenelg, Mitcham, and Modbury.

This store sells high-end jewelry. It also has an outlet at Cable Beach Club Resort and Spa.

Here you'll find a unique mix of high-grade silk caftans and resort wear. Each is handcrafted, with high-quality crystals and beads threaded onto each piece. No two garments are the same.