ESSENTIAL SHOPPING EXPERIENCES
1. Boston Public Market
100 Hanover St
Modern public market features around 40 farmers, fishers, and other small food producers in bright setting. The many vendors of prepared food make it a good breakfast or lunch option. A demo kitchen hosts various activities.
Exterior of Boston Public Market
2. Garment District
200 Broadway, Cambridge
The vintage clothing and bargain-priced trends of the Garment District are every Boston hipster’s retort to fashion. Fancy-dress costumes are found on the first floor, but you can also find retro goods, office wear, and even clothing sold by the pound.
3. Artists’ Open Studios
Boston’s visual artists open their studios to the public on selected spring and fall weekends. Boston’s numerous studio events are mostly in converted former warehouses. One of the most popular is the South End Open Studio event. Start at the Boston Center for the Arts, where there are many studios nearby, and pick up a map for the rest.
4. Copley Place
100 Huntington Ave
This was among the country’s first upscale urban shopping malls. It counts high-end stores such as Louis Vuitton, Tiffany, Neiman Marcus, and Coach as its tenants. Footwear addicts are fond of Stuart Weitzman and Jimmy Choo boutiques.
5. Red Sox Team Store
19 Jersey St
With World Series titles dating back to 1903 and the oldest ballpark in professional baseball, the Boston Red Sox engender a fan loyalty matched by few other teams. This memorabilia shop, across the street from Fenway Park, sells every permutation of hat, jersey, and T-shirt imaginable, as well as signed bats, balls, and gloves, and baseball cards for hardcore collectors.
Red Sox merchandise
6. Newbury Street
Try as it might, Back Bay’s most famous street cannot escape its regional reputation as the city’s Beverly Hills’ Rodeo Drive. True, both offer stupendous people-watching, sophisticated shopping, chic dining, and prestigious galleries. Yet, with its 19th-century charm and convenient subway stops, Newbury Street outclasses its built-yesterday Left Coast counterpart by far (see Around Newbury Street).
7. Harvard Square Bookstores
Harvard Square’s bookstores are some of the country’s most distinguished. The Harvard Coop carries 170,000-plus titles, while rival Harvard Book Store (1256 Massachusetts Ave) stocks count-less new and used books and hosts readings. Nearby Grolier Poetry Bookshop (6 Plympton St) is verse central, while Raven Used Books (23 Church St) stocks 15,000 academic and literary titles.
The Harvard Coop bookstore
8. Charles Street
This charming, bluest-of-blue-blooded street is studded with antique dealers (see Antiques and Gift Shops), specialty grocers, and modern houseware boutiques. Come nightfall, wrought-iron gas lamps illuminate the brick sidewalks, residents hurry home with wine and fresh flowers, and sleek bistros buzz with excitement.
9. Faneuil Hall Marketplace
With its millions of visitors each year, Faneuil Hall Marketplace would not be found on any best-kept secret list. However, its central location, rich colonial history, and plethora of food stalls mean that it offers a unique retail experience. Shoppers can choose from name-brand stores such as Victoria’s Secret or the more unusual offerings from New England artisans (see Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market).
Georgian-style facade of Faneuil Hall
10. SoWa Open Market
460 Harrison Ave
Expect a wide range of clothing, jewelry, and art at Boston’s art and indie design market, held every Sunday in the South End. A farmers’ market augments the summer scene as top Boston food trucks feed hungry shoppers.
