6 Best Places to Shop in Washington, D.C., USA

This yearly holiday outdoor market is located in Penn Quarter, transforming two city blocks on F Street into a one-stop shop, open-air winter wonderland. The market features local businesses and entrepreneurs across the region, finding unique, festive treasures in the heart of the District starting mid-November and usually going through a few days before Christmas. The outdoor shopping village’s expansive footprint allows for wide aisles for shopping, browsing, and also indulging in food stalls by local restaurants.

For chocoholics with a gourmet palate, this is one-stop shopping. Offerings are both foreign (Michel Cluizel from France and Amedei from Italy) and domestic (Askinosie from Missouri and Amano from Utah). Selections from D.C.-area chocolatiers make for tasty souvenirs.

There's a good mix of retailers at this mall in the center of Georgetown, including Anthropologie & Co. (which has floors devoted to housewares and bridal), H&M, J. Crew, and T.J. Maxx. Stop at the Georgetown Visitor Center inside the main entrance to learn about what's happening in the neighborhood. You can even try your hand at bocce or bowling at Pinstripes, a bistro and entertainment spot with a wonderful patio. Grab macaroons at locally owned Olivia Macaroons.

Since 1981, this multilevel used-book store has been selling "rare to medium rare" books with plenty of meaty titles in all genres, especially out-of-print literature. Formerly called Idle Time Books, Lost City Books retains all the charm that has kept it in business for more than four decades, with the addition of thoughtful curation and a well-organized selection of books, making it both easy and enjoyable to browse in a recently remodeled, warm and cozy space.

One of the world's most visited museums has a newly renovated gift shop. You can find plenty of toys and games, plenty of souvenirs, including T-shirts and totes, and an extensive selection of Star Wars and Star Trek licensed products for sci-fi fans. The store showcases a wide assortment of kites and books; you can also find flight suits for both the young and young at heart. Space pens that work upside down and freeze-dried "astronaut" ice cream are best sellers.

Arriving in 2012, massive Union Market is a feast for the senses that’s a favorite destination for locals and out-of-town visitors alike. The space offers a smorgasbord of food and drink options, from sushi and piping hot empanadas to Bloody Marys and fish-and-chips. There are butchers and bakers and candles (though not candlestick makers—yet), as well as cheese vendors, microbrewed coffee, and a shop selling spices you’ve never heard of. It’s all made the market enormously popular, particularly on weekends, when parents descend to sip espresso while the youngsters bound around a generous outdoor seating area that features a host of lawn games.

Union Market is part of the new, buzzing Union Market District, filled with restaurants; a pop-up movie theater, the Angelika, which shows new releases and classic favorites; and La Cosecha, a contemporary Latin market two blocks away.