Page 31 - 2022-2023 Travel Guide to California

significant bargains in fine jewelry at prices
up to 70 percent less than those in Beverly
Hills. Some 1,500 jewelry showrooms stand
roughly on 5th and 8th streets to the north
and south, and Broadway and Olive to the
east and west. Behind a facade of bas-reliefs
of Babylonian princes and heraldic griffins,
the Citadel Outlets holds 700,000 square
feet of retail bargains inside a one-time
1929 tire plant modeled on an ancient
Assyrian palace. And between the Farmer’s
Market and The Grove shopping center, the
Grove Trolley provides shoppers free rides
along First Street. Also check out LA’s Bev-
erly Center, having recently completed a
$500 million reimagination.
The West Hollywood Design District fea-
tures high-end fashion, interior design,
furniture, decorative arts and luxury-brand
stores on 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—at rock-bottom prices.
In Santa Monica’s breezy, three-block
pedestrian shopping mecca, 3rd Street Prom-
enade, find the usual mall suspects,
Anthropologie, Zara and Lululemon, as well
as celebrity-soaked cafés and eateries.
Artsy shoppers should head to South
Grand Avenue to the museum shops of The
Broad and the Museum of Contemporary
Art, Los Angeles. 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 offers more than a first-
rate shopping experience, anchored by
Nordstrom and Target. It includes live
entertainment, a 21-screen cinema, a fit-
ness centre and spa.
Fashion Island, with its casual resort set-
ting featuring splashing fountains and a koi
pond, overlooks the Pacific. Leading with
Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale’s, this
coastal center has more than 140 shops and
restaurants and a luxury cinema.
Beyond the malls, Laguna Beach’s stylish
art galleries line streets sloping to a pretty
beach. And, if heading to Palm Springs,
stop at Desert Hills Premium Outlets in
Cabazon, and the upscale Gardens on El
Paseo and El Paseo Village in Palm Desert.
Southward in San Diego, begin your
shopping trip with a delightful morning at
waterside Seaport Village. Then, hop on the
Coronado Island Ferry and cruise to the
Coronado Ferry Landing shops for more
sunny shopping.
In the city center, the 16½-block Gaslamp
Quarter features mall chains as well as hip
shops and art galleries occupying restored
Victorian buildings. San Diego’s own Rodeo
Drive—Prospect Street in La Jolla—has art
galleries, boutiques and sweeping Pacific
views. In coastal Carlsbad, north of San
Diego, you’ll find an elegant outlet mall, the
Carlsbad Premium Outlets.
Heading north? Check out the Outlets at
Tejon along Interstate 5 between Los Angeles
and Bakersfield, just south of the Highway 99
interchange at the base of the Grapevine. The
sprawling, 365,000-square-foot mall con-
tains the usual, Nike and Polo Ralph Lauren,
THE ANSEL ADAMS GALLERY, Yosemite
National Park, left; Westfield San Francisco
Center, opposite.
2022-23 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA 29