76 Best Places to Shop in USA

On weekends from mid-May to September, the Anchorage Market and Festival opens for business in the parking lot at 3rd Avenue and E Street. Dozens of vendors offer Alaskan-made crafts, international imports, and deliciously fattening food. Stock up on birch candy and salmon jerky to snack on while traveling or as perfect made-in-Alaska gifts for friends back home.

Shopping is excellent and local all over downtown Asheville, with around 200 boutiques, including more than 30 art and crafts galleries. Several streets, notably Biltmore Avenue, Broadway Street, Lexington Avenue, Haywood Street, and Wall Street, are lined with small, independently owned stores. In fact, there are only two chain retailers in all of downtown.

The outdoor Fashion Island mall is designed with archways, courtyards, koi pond, fountains, and a mix of high-end shopping and chain stores. Multiple dining venues include Fleming's Steak House, True Food Kitchen, and Sushi Roku. Well-known department store anchors include Macy's, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and Bloomingdale's; smaller shops include See's Candies and boutiques like Brandy Melville. The newest addition is the four floor RH Newport Beach design gallery filled with sparkling chandeliers, indoor and outdoor furniture, heritage olive trees, and trickling fountains. At the rooftop is RH Ocean Grill offering sweeping views of the California coastline. Enjoy a glass of wine or Champagne from the wine bar while enjoying brunch, lunch, or dinner.

It's worth driving the eight-mile loop road through the arts and crafts community, even if you don't plan to stop. But you probably will—these mountain craftspeople do more than carve chainsaw sculptures (although they do that, too). Along the way, you'll find the works of world-class painters like Jim Gray, whose gallery is housed in a century-old former church. Just behind the gallery, Ogle's Broom Shop is home to third-generation broom makers whose functional and decorative brooms and hiking sticks are treasured by craft aficionados. There are also spots to stop for a meal, a cold drink, or ice cream.

Just before its opening in 1929, the Grove Arcade, which covers an entire city block, was trumpeted as "the most elegant building in America" by its builder, W. E. Grove, the man also responsible for the Grove Park Inn. He envisioned a new kind of retail, office, and residential complex. Grove died before completing the project, and a planned 14-story tower was never built. Still, the building is an architectural wonder, with gargoyles galore. Now it's a public market with about 40 locally owned shops and restaurants, along with apartments, office space, and an outdoor market. A self-guided architectural tour (download a map from the website) takes about 45 minutes.

This is the biggest and best farmers' market on Kauai, sponsored by the Kauai Farm Bureau, Kauai Grown, and Kauai Community College and held 9:30 am to 1 pm on Saturdays in the college's parking lot in Lihue. You'll find fresh produce---including those grown by the college's agriculture students---and flowers, as well as packaged products like breads, goat cheese, pasta, honey, coffee, soaps, lotions, and more, all made locally. The market also offers educational displays and cooking tips. Seating areas are convenient if you want to grab a tasty snack or lunch from the food booths and lunch wagons that set up here.

Opened in 1983 by the late Nach Waxman, a member of the James Beard Foundation’s Hall of Fame, this is so much more than a cookbook shop, with its vast selection of books on food history and culture, beverages, operations and technical manuals, out-of-print finds, and a "terrific array of great food writing," too. With about 12,000 books and magazines in stock, it's no wonder that culinary icons like Julia Child, James Beard, and three-star Michelin chefs have been among the charming shop's customers. The iconic store also has fun with food, serving up a 506-piece puzzle on the Italian sandwich, for example, and contests for cooking enthusiasts. 

The eight-block-long pedestrian mall between Alton Road and Washington Avenue is home to more than 100 shops, art galleries, restaurants, and cafés, as well as the renovated Colony Theatre. A see-and-be-seen theme is underscored by outdoor seating at every restaurant, where tourists and locals lounge and discuss the people (and pet) parade passing by. Due to high rents, you are more likely to see big corporate stores like J.Crew, H&M, and Victoria's Secret than original boutiques. Nevertheless, a few emporiums and stores with unique personalities remain, along with a number of top-notch restaurants, like Juvia and MILA.

This canopied marketplace offers an array of funky African and African-inspired jewelry, Afrocentric art and wood carvings, and festive clothing, mudcloth fabrics, and colorful textiles peddled by vendors hailing from countries like Senegal, Nigeria, Kenya, Gambia, and Ghana. On weekends with nice weather, more vendors open and some shops can tailor items for you right on the spot. It's a one-stop shopping experience: patrons can get their hair braided, sample traditional African cuisine, or pick up some beautiful, authentic African garb.

This unassuming shop is a treasure trove of many different types of items, dating as far back as the 1900s. Costume jewelry resides in several spots around the small space, while there are also eye-catching glassware, paintings, elaborate mirror frames, some furniture, and even accessories, like Lucite purses. Martine, the owner of the store and the collection, had two other stores in the area before opening this location 15 years ago, and started out displaying—and selling—her wares at the flagship Bloomingdale’s department store, so she knows her stuff.

Odyssey has the largest number of working clay artists in the region. It has two ceramics galleries, plus pottery studios and clay classes. Browse the ceramic works, both functional and decorative, as well as figurative and abstract sculptures by juried clay artists. 

Known as the birthplace of Los Angeles, this redbrick walkway is lined with historic buildings and overhung with grapevines. At dozens of clapboard stalls you can browse south-of-the-border goods—leather sandals, woven blankets, and devotional candles, as well as cheap toys and souvenirs—and sample outstanding tacos. With the musicians and cafés providing the soundtrack, the area is constantly lively. Annual events include a tree-lighting ceremony and Día de los Muertos celebrations.

This is the nation's oldest Native American co-op. It displays and sells items created by more than 250 Cherokee craftspeople. The store has a large selection of museum-quality baskets, masks, and wood carvings, some of which can cost hundreds of dollars.

Every Saturday morning from 9 to 1, Soda City Market comes to life with 150 vendors along Main Street. Artists and artisans join the farm stands and food trucks, while shoppers browse to the sounds of local musicians.

Chic Whalers Village has wonderful oceanfront restaurants and shops in the heart of Kaanapali. Upscale haunts include Louis Vuitton and Tourneau, and beautyphiles can get their fix at Sephora. Elegant home accessories at Martin and MacArthur and Totally Hawaiian Gift Gallery are perfect Hawaii-made souvenirs, while the many great surf and swimwear shops will prepare you for a day at the beach. Kids will fall in love with the whimsical two-story climbing structure at the lower courtyard. The outdoor mall also offers free weekly entertainment, lei-making classes, and hula lessons; check its website for a complete schedule.

In a 1938 building that once housed a five-and-dime, Woolworth Walk features the curated work of more than 170 crafts artists, in 20,000 square feet of exhibit space on two levels. There's even a working soda fountain, built to resemble the original Woolworth luncheonette.

Located in a renovated warehouse along the Columbia River, this market offers specialty food products, fresh produce from nearby farms, artisanal cheeses, seafood, coffee, gelato, and charcuterie, as well as a few restaurants and gift shops. It's been likened to an eastern Washington version of the much larger and older Pike Place Market in Seattle.

On the south end of Cedros Design District, the Ocean Art Gallery features works by award-winning surf photographer, Aaron Chang, and his son, Saxon Chang. On display are photographic prints with ocean themes and several striking surfboard sculptures.

This street fair is funky, spiritual, and crafty featuring more than 30 vendors showcasing a creative collection of works on the last Saturday of every month from noon to 5 pm. You'll find everything from jewelry and artwork to clothing and candles.

Sponsored by the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP), nearly everything at this downtown market is local. Offerings usually include produce, free-range eggs, homemade breads, cheeses, and crafts from some 60 local farms, bakeries, and craftspeople. Every Saturday morning it covers an entire city block on North Market Street. ASAP publishes a print and online guide to local food sources and tailgate markets.

This 1887 brick building, one of the oldest industrial buildings in Asheville, is a former factory once owned by Moses H. Cone, whose family mansion is on the Blue Ridge Parkway. With an exterior covered by a colorful mural, it's home to a music venue, photographers, boutique seamstresses, and a trendy tattoo studio.

This complex features more than 100 specialty shops, bars, and restaurants, plus amusement rides and the Crooked Hammock Brewery. Restaurants fronting the Intracoastal Waterway include Greg Norman's Australian Grille and LuLu's. In summer, check out the fireworks displays every Monday night.

Home of San Diego's largest pumpkin patch each fall, this family farm is where you might find a 200-pound pumpkin. It also sells locally grown pecans, macadamia nuts, and almonds. On the 100 acres, there's a farm zoo, a picnic area, and a gift shop.

Once an Army storehouse, this building is now a hub of innovation and entrepreneurship that's home to the Boston Design Center, the award-winning Chickadee restaurant, numerous other dining spots, home furnishing and decor shops, and the Reebok headquarters store. It's at the far reaches of the Seaport District, but it's easy to get to on the Silver Line.

Like many an indoor mall, Las Vegas's first (it opened in 1968) was in danger of becoming a "ghost mall" before new owners began a creative transformation. While some of the bygone anchor stores are now given over to non-retail clients (the old Sears is now a truck-driving school), some time-honored retail chain stores remain and are surrounded with more activity- and entertainment-oriented draws: a Galaxy cineplex with the city's largest indoor movie screen, a SeaQuest Aquarium, and Rex Center, a dinosaur-themed indoor amusement park with arcade games and bumper cars. The Mercado is a separately themed area styled like a street market, with dozens of vendors in small retail kiosks, and a food court with at least 10 south-of-the-border choices. It's worth winding through the Mercado, which has more food-truck style Mexican/Central American offerings.

Dating back to 1872, this former homestead of baking legend Betty Crocker opens its gates monthly for antique shows hosted in a massive white barn. Step inside for themed events, unveiling a range of inventory including midcentury, industrial, vintage, rustic, primitive, and French country items. Ten local artisans, food trucks, craft workshops, and gardens with free-range birds make this a family-friendly outing. You'll often find homemade baked goods and gourmet coffee to enjoy on the manicured grounds. Check their website for show dates and other events.

Lipstick-red soles are the signature of Louboutin's delicately sexy couture stilettos, and his pointy-toe creations come trimmed with beads, buttons, spikes, or patent leather. There's a similar design on stylish lipstick cases with colors such as Diva and Very Prive. Some other styles of shoes are available, as well as purses and other accessories. The brand also has branched out to many products for men and children.

This gallery gives under-exhibited artists well-deserved honorariums along with a platform to showcase their artworks, which range from painting and sculpture to video and installation. With five major exhibitions each year, there’s always something fresh on view here, and visitors can enjoy artist talks with local makers nearly every Saturday.

This funky and attractive shop sells local jewelry, glass, pottery, and clothing from numerous local artisans.

A literary fixture in Carnegie Hill since 1978, the staff at this charming book nook thoroughly selects current nonfiction and fiction titles among such categories as art, poetry, biographies, cookbooks, and mysteries. Influenced by many families residing in this UES neighborhood, the bookstore puts an emphasis on children's books, even having an area within the store for young readers. The employees are quite knowledgeable, and author readings, lectures, and signings happen here frequently.