Even more fun than stuffing yourself on Thanksgiving is stuffing your shopping bags on Black Friday the next day. Here, IgoUgo travelers describe the best stores in eight US cities, plus two to the near north, for a list of shops you can’t miss if you’re away from home for the kickoff of shopping season.
1. New York
The place: Macy’s Herald Square
The shopper: ripplefan2
The experience: “The building, a whopping full city-block long, has multiple floors that can send a shopper into a whirlwind of emotions. And it only gets crazier near the holiday season, when the windows are done up and the sales last until midnight.”
The place: FAO Schwarz
The shopper: Simon Morley
The experience: “Picture Tom Hanks and Robert Loggia tap dancing on the larger-than-life piano in Big, and that's FAO Schwarz. This is the definitive NYC toy-store experience. Get there early and visions of sugarplums will dance in your head.”
The place: Strand Bookstore
The shopper: Ishtar
The experience: “Strand is famous for their claim of ‘18 miles of books,’ and I wouldn’t doubt it. They occupy 5 of 11 floors at this location. If you think it’s impossible to exhaust a subject, you need to pay Strand a visit.”
The place: Pearl River Mart
The shopper: katie*
The experience: “The store is huge—three floors!—and filled with pottery, tea, clothing, and other curiosities from China. You could buy an elaborate set of dishes for several hundred dollars or an embroidered silk change purse for $3.”
2. Los Angeles
The place: Beverly Center
The shopper: onesundaymorning
The experience: “The Beverly Center is a fashionista’s dream. Designer clothing is everywhere. The Beverly Center offers five levels of parking and three levels of shopping. Stores include Betsey Johnson, Apple, Bebe, Bloomingdale’s, D&G, Coach, Forever 21, DKNY, Footlocker, MAC, Macy's, Sephora, and so many more.”
The place: Digs
The shopper: compass
The experience: “This is one of my favorite home-furnishings stores to browse. Their taste is impeccable and always just ahead of emerging styles for modern, conservative homes. The front room leaves you feeling you've entered an African farmhouse that Meryl Streep might have used to prepare for Out of Africa. There are leather boxes, polished mantel clocks, weathered picture frames, even antique magnifying glasses.”
The place: Olvera Street
The shopper: SFPhotocraft
The experience: “Olvera Street is the birthplace of Los Angeles. Here, in 1781, 44 Spanish people stopped to settle, and the city of Los Angeles was born. Often people think of the history of Los Angeles starting with the birth of the movie industry. On this tiny street, you can get a sense of the real history of how LA was built. There are colorful stands selling trinkets and goods from Mexico, taco stands, historic Mexican restaurants, and carts selling hot churros.”
The place: It’s A Wrap
The shopper: UCLArocks
The experience: “This would be a pretty unexceptional, though big, thrift store if it weren’t for one thing: everything sold here is from the costuming departments of movies and TV shows. I had my eye on a sweet baby-blue tux from One Life to Live. Even if you don’t buy anything, it’s fun to dress up and try on goofy outfits.”
3. Toronto
The place: Eaton Centre
The shopper: bebetx03
The experience: “If you want to shop ‘til you drop, Eaton Centre is for you. Check out stores such as Aritzia (for teens to 30-year-olds), Jacob Connexion (store for all females), Le Chateau (VERY trendy store for both genders), H&M (largest location at this mall), and Roots (a favorite).”
The place: Honest Ed’s
The shopper: tmarzullo
The experience: “If I ever take a car trip to Toronto, I will be loading up my limit with stuff from this store. It has everything you can think of for the home, at deep discounts, and some stuff that is just plain out-of-this-world. The thing I found fascinating is that the store is still running on little price tags attached to the clothes with straight pins. To sum up, this has got to be the greatest collection of junk for sale on the planet.”
The place: St Lawrence Market
The shopper: Tim G
The experience: “Strolling through the busy market is enjoyable whether you're buying or not. Don't miss the second floor either, with its array of specialty shops. The newer building hosts the famous farmer's market on Saturday mornings and flea market on Sunday mornings.”
The place: Art Gallery of Ontario
The shopper: mikro
The experience: “The museum has an extensive shop featuring a large collection of books, prints and posters, note cards, jewelry, and other gift items. A special children's section and items relating to the current Impressionist exhibit rounded out the shop.”
4. Chicago
The place: Marshall Field’s
The shopper: globetrekr
The experience: “I was simply astonished when I arrived. Not only is the store eight stories (eight!), but it also includes a café and deli. I could easily spend a day there! No, make that a week! From the woman handing out free samples at the deli counter to the extremely patient man in the candy department, we were reassured that kindness is not a dead language.”
The place: Moonstruck Chocolate Café
The shopper: Coach Dad
The experience: “I loved the Bailey’s Irish Cream Truffle. The Ivory Cat was as beautiful as it was tasty. This toffee ganache wrapped in ivory chocolate is the cat’s meow. Moonstruck’s truffles are miniature works of art that melt in your mouth.”
The place: Shake, Rattle, and Read Bookstore
The shopper: supercat
The experience: “This is a wonderful used bookstore specializing in pulp fiction and old music magazines. You can find a variety of used books, though: fiction, mysteries, self-help—it's all there. Bands playing at the nearby Aragon Ballroom and Riviera Theatres always stop in.”
The place: American Girl Place
The shopper: tmhhmt
The experience: “The store is amazing—many guides recommend it as well and their entries are full of details. What can I add? My claim to fame is I went through the place twice with two spoiled little girls and only spent $20!”
5. Dallas
The place: Galleria Dallas
The shopper: Jeffrey
The experience: “The Galleria is not to be missed if you love to shop at premier department stores and/or fancy specialty shops. Anchor stores include Macy's, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, and a Westin hotel (shopping vacation?). During the holiday season, they have a HUGE and beautiful Christmas tree prominently displayed in the middle of the ice skating rink.”
The place: The Barking Frog
The shopper: StudioZola
The experience: “I love this store. It is mostly devoted to home decor with a distinct ethnic flavor. Kind of a mix between North Africa, India, Indonesia, and the South Pacific. Lots of unique teak furniture, candles, mirrors. Great for unique Christmas presents and decorations.”
6. San Francisco
The place: City Lights Bookstore
The shopper: Little Ayun
The experience: “City Lights has three levels, tons of beat-up leather chairs for lounging (and many signs encouraging you to sit and read for a while), and enough old posters and memorabilia on the walls and shelf-ends to make the Beat Museum across the street just a tiny bit superfluous.”
The place: Union Square
The shopper: cr008k
The experience: “For absolutely the best shopping, go to Union Square. This square and the surrounding blocks on Market St. have every type of brand-name store you could dream of. There's Macy's, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Tiffany, Cartier, Gucci, Prada...everything you would expect from big-city shopping.”
The place: Love of Ganesha
The shopper: tigressa
The experience: “This is one of the most magical places to shop in San Francisco. Imagine an Asian arts shop packed to the brim with the most beautiful, well-priced statues from Thailand and India; gorgeous fabrics; jewelry; clothing; wall hangings; and everything you could imagine. The wonderful owner goes a few times a year to Thailand and comes back with an abundance of treasures, usually better priced than they would be at most similar shops in the Bay Area.”
The place: John Fluevog Shoes
The shopper: tmhhmt
The experience: “I never miss buying myself a new pair of Fluevogs when I'm in town. Fleuvogs are exceptionally funky, cool shoes with lovely, unusual details. They're the kind of shoes that guarantee your friends (and strangers) will come up to you and ask you where you got them.”
7. Boston
The place: Filene’s Basement
The shopper: notso62
The experience: “Deep in the Basement alongside the subway tracks lies the best treasure trove of discount finds in all of Boston. The bins on the upper level are filled with newly arrived merchandise that hasn’t even been sorted or put on a hanger. Here is where you find the best things before other fashion divas have had a chance to get their paws on them.”
The place: Brattle Book Shop
The shopper: barbara
The experience: “The bottom floor is full of used books that you might find at any book swap or flea market. As we browsed the titles, however, my husband pulled out a copy of The Scarlet Letter that had been inscribed by a woman to a friend as a Christmas gift in 1897. We started to pay more attention. On the third floor we found the true gems. These books are the out-of-print books and the first editions.”
The place: Louis Boston
The shopper: violino
The experience: “Shopping at Louis Boston is an experience. The store is housed in an elegant brick townhouse situated between Boylston and Newbury Sts., in the middle of some of the hottest shopping in all of Boston. Once you've exhausted your feet as well as your charge cards, step into their café for a cool drink and a light bite to eat.”
8. Vancouver
The place: Main St.
The shopper: travel77
The experience: “If you're not so interested in chain stores and Fendi is not quite your thing either, then spend a day shopping on Main St. for nifty stuff from local designers and consignment shops. A few favorites: C'est La Vie, Smoking Lily, Eugene Choo, Urban Source, and Red Corner.”
The place: Murchie’s Tea & Coffee
The shopper: girlfromals
The experience: “The Vancouver location of Murchie's has a very calming, modern atmosphere, decorated in sage and eggplant. Surprisingly, it is also spacious, giving you lots of room to walk around, perusing all the choices of tea, coffee, and hot chocolate on sale.”
9. Las Vegas
The place: Forum Shops
The shopper: emerald78
The experience: “All the large hotels have shops, but only Caesar's has the Forum. More shops, more food, more choices—it’s my pick for the best shopping experience.”
The place: Antique Mall of America
The shopper: adaadvocate
The experience: “I am suggesting this because it’s different than the average tourist stop and a good diversion to being ‘trapped’ at the Strip casinos. Inside is an eclectic mix of antiques, collectibles, home decor items, and accessories from over 70 different dealers that covers over 23,000 square feet of space.”
The place: Grand Canal Shoppes
The shopper: ak1
The experience: “This is a must-see destination on any Vegas vacation. The floor looks like cobblestone pathways; the ceiling is painted to give the impression that it’s the sky; and there are canals that run through the middle of this elaborate shopping center.”
The place: Las Vegas Art Stamps
The shopper: LeslieT
The experience: “Being very artistic, I always like to check out art stores in any town that I visit. More than one person told me to check this place out (although you need to rent a car or take a cab to get to it), and I am glad I went. They have an unusually beautiful and interesting collection of art papers for altered books, art journals, etc. They also have a good supply of rubber stamps that run the gamut from whimsical to artistic to eclectic.”
10. Honolulu
The place: Hilo Hattie
The shopper: SarahQSpano
The experience: “I can honestly say that Hilo Hattie was like no other store I've ever shopped in—truly, a one-of-a-kind experience. If you're looking for Hawaiian...well, anything...this is the place to be. It’s guaranteed that you'll leave with your head spinning from the sheer ‘Hawaiian-ness’ of it all.”
The place: Ala Moana Center
The shopper: Lakeisha
The experience: “My husband and I both are shopping freaks, so one of our first stops was Ala Moana. It is the largest open-air mall in the world. The easiest way to explain the types of stores they have is this: if you see it in a magazine, they have it.”
The place: Spark
The shopper: dj_canela
The experience: “Popular with Japanese tourists, this is a great place to pick up collectible, kitschy products from the ‘70s, ‘80s, etc. It is recommended for those who like unique souvenirs.”
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