Page 61 - 2014 Travel Guide to California

Beverly Hills. More than 3,000 jewelry
showrooms stand on 6th and 8th streets
between Olive Street and Broadway Avenue.
The Avenues: Art, Fashion and Design
District features a collection of high-end
fashion, interior design, furniture, decora-
tive arts and luxury brand stores on West
Hollywood’s Melrose Avenue, and
Robertson and Beverly boulevards. Sunset
Boulevard’s world famous Amoeba Music
is the nation’s largest music emporium,
stocking an overwhelming selection of
vinyl, CDs, tapes, posters and collectibles—
all at rock-bottom prices.
In Santa Monica’s breezy, outdoor Third
Street Promenade, find the usual mall sus-
pects, Anthropologie and Gap, as well as
celebrity-soaked Fred Segal and a rare out-
post of Zara, a trendy European chain.
Artsy shoppers should head to nearby
Venice Beach’s hip art galleries, bookstores
and vintage shops. For bargains, drive north
to Camarillo’s giant 160-store Camarillo
Premium Outlets.
In Orange County, quintessential SoCal
shopping experiences await in huge open-
air malls, complete with valet parking.
Inspired by Spain’s Alhambra, the Irvine
Spectrum Center holds 130 stores, restau-
rants and a 21-screen cinema with an
IMAX, anchored by Nordstrom and Macy’s.
Fashion Island, with its casual resort set-
ting featuring splashing fountains and a koi
pond, overlooks the Pacific. Leading with
Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom, this
coastal center has more than 100 shops and
36 restaurants. And Orange County’s pre-
mier mall, the massive South Coast Plaza in
Costa Mesa, runs a shopping shuttle three
times a day, seven days a week, from Dis-
neyland and Anaheim area hotels. Visitors
from the world over come to experience
this unparalleled shopping destination for
fashion, design and dining.
Beyond the malls, Laguna Beach’s
stylish art and craft galleries line streets
sloping to a pretty beach. And, if heading
to Palm Springs, stop at the 130-store
Desert Hills Premium Outlets in Cabazon
for luxury designer brands.
Farther south, start your San Diego
shopping with a delightful morning at
waterside Seaport Village. Then, hop on the
Coronado Island ferry for a watery arrival
at the Ferry Landing Marketplace for more
sunny shopping.
San Diego’s own Rodeo Drive—Prospect
Street in La Jolla—has art galleries, fash-
ionable boutiques and sweeping Pacific
views. In the city center, the 16½-block
Gaslamp Quarter features mall chains as
well as hip shops and art galleries, all occu-
pying restored Victorian buildings.
You’ll find San Diego’s two regional
outlet malls on Carlsbad’s coast and south
at the U.S.-Mexico border.
RODEO DRIVE, Beverly Hills,
left and below; South Coast
Plaza, opposite.
Northern California Elegance
San Francisco’s massive malls and quirky
boutiques showcase the city’s European
style. Dress well if joining the Prada-clad
parade circling downtown Union Square to
max out your platinum card in the upscale
department stores. Stroll down nearby
Maiden Lane, once lined with Barbary
Coast brothels, for more luxury.
Two blocks away, the Westfield San
Francisco Centre, an architectural gem
with gorgeous atriums under a stunning
1908 dome, holds 200 stores, restaurants
and two food emporiums.
Don’t miss San Francisco’s great shop-
ping neighborhoods. Chinatown offers
more than kitschy tourist offerings. On
Stockton Street, you can pick up Asian
antiques, silk clothing bargains or rare tea.
Herbal pharmacies proffer Chinese medic-
inal remedies, ginseng, deer antlers or
herbs costing $100 per pound.
Near Pacific Heights, Sacramento Street
houses fancy consignment shops, luxury
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