128 Best Places to Shop in USA

The partylike Saturday edition of the city's most upscale and expensive farmers' market places baked goods, gourmet cheeses, smoked fish, and fancy pots of jam alongside organic basil, specialty mushrooms, heirloom tomatoes, and juicy-ripe locally grown fruit. Smaller markets also take place on Tuesday and Thursday year-round, rain or shine—and the many passionate San Francisco home cooks who frequent them will come even in a rainstorm.

This year-round, open-air market with roots stretching back to the early 1970s is the soul of the Drag. The unreconstructed hippie ambience is at least as much of a draw as the actual merchandise crafted and sold by various local artisans. The wares include jewelry, leatherwork, candles, photographs, paintings, sculpture, textiles, and the inevitable tie-dyed T-shirts. Note that the market is firmly regulated by the city, and all vendors must be licensed by a commission. Days and hours of operation have been changed and scaled down since COVID; current status updates can be found on their website and social media pages.

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.

Show up in downtown Aspen any Saturday from mid-June to early October, and you can enjoy the Aspen Saturday Market, a sort of farmers' market–meets–arts fair. Tents cluster along the corner of Galena and Hopkins and then extend to the intersection of Hyman and Galena. Everything here is Colorado made (or grown), from pottery and paintings to peppers and peaches. Enjoy live music and ready-made foods to eat on the spot.

Every Sunday, rain or shine, loads of vendors come to Ballard Avenue to set up colorful, welcoming stands to sell produce and all types of local, artisanal foods, as well as gift items like candles and hats. Meanwhile, local buskers entertain foodies and families, and vendors cook up pizzas, crepes, dumplings, and more.

Treat yourself to a view of the agro side of the island with a visit to Bartlett's Farm. Encompassing 200 acres, the farm is overseen by eighth-generation Bartletts. Healthy, tasty prepared foods—within a mini-supermarket—are added incentive to make the trek out. They also offer a variety of farm tours. If you're not up for the trip, a produce truck is parked on Main Street through the summer.

Both a farm market popular with kids and a craft distillery that's a hit with adults, this family-owned apple orchard on the main road between Lynden and Bellingham is a fun stop for stocking up on fresh produce and gourmet snacks and sampling house-made brandy, vodka, and gin. The on-site café is popular for breakfast and lunch, offers hard ciders and beers on tap, and—naturally—serves delicious apple pie.

Open year-round, the indoor Boston Public Market offers a great place to grab a sandwich, sample local foods, and even pick up a tasty souvenir. The New England–centric marketplace has 30 vendors, selling everything from fresh herbs and fruit to meat and seafood, as well as plenty of food stalls. Everything sold at the market is produced or originated in New England, including nonperishables like wool and carved wooden bowls and handmade jewelry. There’s also live music, cooking demonstrations, trivia games, creative-writing nights, music bingo, and more. The Kids’ Nook is a designated area for kids to gather and play, with activities throughout the week.

This bustling farmers' market brings a hive of activity to 13th Street between Arapahoe Avenue and Canyon Boulevard on Wednesday afternoon from early May to early October, and on Saturday, from April through mid-November. This growers-only market, which has been named the number one farmers' market in the country, features produce, baked goods, flowers, wines and spirits, cheeses, meats, and more straight from the local producers (cherries and peaches are prime in late summer).

One of the city's liveliest and most interesting farmers’ markets fills a plaza and spills onto a side street. There's fresh produce galore, various prepared foods, plus music, samples, and plenty of cut flowers. The market is open year-round on Sunday from 11 am to 3 pm, and also June through September on Tuesday from 3 to 7 pm.

Farmers and artisan food producers proffer fresh fruit and veggies, flowers, and other goodies at this phenomenally popular—and quite extensive—downtown farmers' market at Pioneer Park each Saturday from June through late October. Local bakeries and restaurants also sell tasty treats ranging from fresh salsa to cinnamon rolls, and there's a central food truck plaza with live music, too. A smaller version of the market takes place on Thursday afternoon from 4 until dusk in Liberty Park from mid-June through September, and a winter market is held on Saturday morning at The Gateway from November through April. Additional farmers' markets take place around the city, generally in summer, in Sugar House, Murray, South Jordan, and several other locales.

For 150-plus years, this has been the hub of the Capitol Hill community. Vibrantly colored produce and flowers, freshly caught fish, fragrant cheeses, and tempting sweets are sold at the market by independent vendors. On weekends year-round, local farmers sell fresh fruits and vegetables (Tuesdays, too), and artists and exhibitors sell handmade arts and crafts, jewelry, antiques, collectibles, and furniture from around the world. A flea market unfurls on Sundays. The city's oldest continuously operating public market continues to be a vibrant and lively gathering place, complete with entertainment, art showings, and a pottery studio for residents and visitors alike.

Find an eye-opening selection of fresh local produce, gourmet goods, live music, and local art at one of Utah's largest and most popular farmers' markets. The main summer market runs late June through mid-September from 9 am to 2 pm along Historic 25th Street. There's also a shorter fall market from late September through late October, and a winter version of the market from mid-January to late February.

This new upscale shopping and dining center is in the city's former police headquarters, a beautiful and historic Mission-style building featuring an open courtyard with fountains. Restaurants and shops, many locally owned, occupy former jail facilities and offices. Pop into Urban Beach House for coastal-inspired fashion from popular surf brands for men and women, including accessories and home decor. Perfume Gallery offers more than 1,000 different scents in its extensive collection. Madison San Diego offers a great selection of leather goods and accessories, from apparel and handbags to belts and travel accessories.

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.

This bustling food hall and market by the BeltLine draws both residents who live within walking distance and suburbanites driving in from afar. It houses spots like Ticonderoga Club, a venture of barmen Greg Best and Paul Calvert; Tex-Mex from Superica; and worth-the-wait ice cream from Jeni's. Plus, you can walk around with your beer from Hop City while you shop at the small outposts hawking everything from chocolate to handmade soaps.

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.

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.

Twice a year, 200-odd stalls selling clothing, furniture, jewelry, books, and more get treasure seekers' adrenaline flowing. The top-rated event also includes an Indie Designer Fashion Market, showcasing one-of-a-kind wearables by up-and-coming local designers. Weekend admission is $15 at the gate ($12 in advance), and children under 12 get in free.

Browse through the vast selection of local produce, meat, flowers, honey, wine, jams, and cheese—much of it organic—at the thriving Santa Fe Farmers' Market. Dozens of stalls are arranged inside a snazzy, modern building in the Railyard and adjacent to it; it's open year-round on Saturday morning (7 am to 1 pm in summer, 8 am to 1 pm in winter) and additionally on Tuesday morning May through mid-December. The lively space also hosts an artisan market on Sunday from 10 to 3. It's a great people-watching venue, with entertainment for kids as well as food vendors selling terrific breakfast burritos, green chile bread, Taos Cow ice cream, and other goodies. For those staying on the Southside of town, be sure to check out the satellite Del Sur Market, Tuesday from 3 to 6, July through September, at the Presbyterian Medical Center ( 4801 Buckner Road).

You'll find honey, lavender, sea glass jewelry, pottery, and locally grown produce in abundance at this Saturday market, a tented affair with lots of color and live music, held between early May and late October.

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.

Open year-round and seven days a week, this 75-acre market is the place to go for locally grown fruits and vegetables, flowers and plants, and North Carolina crafts. There are also a few restaurants serving country cooking for breakfast and lunch, and Calabash-style fried seafood.

Tacoma's increasingly vibrant maker culture is showcased at its highly popular night markets, which take place at Foss Waterway Seaport. As many as 80 artists and makers sell their wares at gatherings that run from 5 until 10 pm on Saturday nights and feature music and a slew of food and drinks vendors. The night markets are typically followed the next day by a Sunday brunch market from 11 am to 4 pm.

One of the largest farmers' markets in the Northwest, this wildly popular event (held Saturdays and Sundays from mid-March through late October) in leafy Esther Short Park features some 220 vendors offering up everything from crafts and gifts to produce, baked goods, artisan coffee, and a wide range of short-order snacks and foods. There's always live music and great people-watching. A smaller Fall Market takes place here on Saturdays from November through late December.

Right at the cusp of downtown, the 80,000-square-foot flagship store for the natural/organic supermarket chain's world headquarters is both a showcase for the company's philosophy and one of the most entertaining supermarkets you'll ever visit. It's been a major tourist attraction (seriously) since it opened in 2005. You can enjoy a casual sit-down lunch at several places inside the massive store, and the options for a hot, grab-and-go selection are abundant, whether you're craving sushi, pizza, or seafood. The store also has one of Austin's largest wine selections and a walk-in beer cooler, plus several café and bar operations. Ample free underground garage parking is provided.

It may not be a true farmers' market, but this is truly a market experience to remember. In a sprawling warehouse store 9 miles east of Atlanta, some 142,000 square feet are given over to exotic fruits, cheeses, seafood, sausages, breads, and delicacies from around the world. You'll find root vegetables from Africa, greens from Asia, wines from South America, and cheeses from Europe. The store also has one of the largest seafood departments in the country (with some species still swimming) and sizable meat, deli, and wine sections. 

The market is accessible by MARTA bus from the Avondale rail station.

Running on Saturday mornings and early afternoons year-round, this astoundingly large and diverse farmers' market carries not only Oregon's bounty of flowers and produce (look especially for berries in summer and stone fruits in fall) but also hazelnuts, cheese, delectable baked goods, wines and ciders, and other goodies. It's great for people-watching and souvenir shopping, and several stalls sell great food to eat on-site—be sure to come hungry. If you can't make the Saturday market, check the website for locations of smaller but still very popular versions of the market, held most days during the warmer months at various locations around town.