185 Best Places to Shop in San Francisco, California

With well over a million new and used CDs, DVDs, and records at bargain prices, this warehouse-like offshoot of the Berkeley original carries titles you won't find on Amazon. No niche is ignored—from electronica and hip-hop to jazz and classical—and the stock changes frequently. In-store performances attract large crowds.

Twentieth-century European and American paintings, including Bay Area figurative works, are displayed throughout two airy floors at this well-respected gallery established in 1970. Some recent exhibitions have included the works of Robert Kelly and Isca Greenfield-Sanders. Look for thematic shows here, too; past exhibits have had titles such as Summer Highlights and Four Decades.

San Francisco is one of the culinary centers of the world, and this universally adored grocery store is its beating heart. It's a farmers' market every day inside and well worth browsing around to see the bounty of Northern California, from peak summer tomatoes to local king salmon, plus all kinds of goodies from small producers. Buy a local peach or blood orange to snack on before strolling across the street for a scoop of salted caramel ice cream from Bi-Rite's equally beloved creamery.

Walls of Italian wool in deep, rich colors, yards of faille-striped silk, and neat stacks of fresh cotton prints await your creative touch. A San Francisco institution for more than 70 years, the two-story Britex also sells an endless variety of buttons as well as thread and trim. If sewing is your thing, this will be a visit to paradise.

A local beacon of publishing produces inventively designed fiction, cookbooks, art books, and other titles, as well as postcards, planners, and address books—all of which you can purchase at its home near Oracle Park.

Fantastic organic-milk cheeses—such as the mellow, triple-cream Mt. Tam and bocconcini (small balls of fresh mozzarella)—are produced at a creamery an hour's drive north of the city. These and other carefully chosen artisanal cheeses and dairy products, including a luscious, freshly made crème fraîche, round out the selection at the in-town store.

The original Diptyque boutique in Paris has attracted a long line of celebrities. You can find the full array of scented candles and fragrances in this chic shop that would be at home on the boulevard St-Germain. Trademark black-and-white labels adorn the popular L'eau toilet water, scented with geranium and sandalwood. Candles come in traditional and esoteric scents, including lavender, basil, leather, and fig tree. Also available are Mariage Frères teas.

The partylike Saturday edition of the city's most upscale and expensive farmers' market places baked goods, gourmet cheeses, smoked fish, and fancy pots of jam alongside organic basil, specialty mushrooms, heirloom tomatoes, and juicy-ripe locally grown fruit. Smaller markets also take place on Tuesday and Thursday year-round, rain or shine—and the many passionate San Francisco home cooks who frequent them will come even in a rainstorm.

This renowned gallery represents museum-caliber photographers or their estates, including Nicholas Nixon, Nan Goldin, Richard Misrach, and Garry Winogrand. Recent shows have included work by Robert Adams, Idris Khan, and Hiroshi Sugimoto. Most shows feature one or two artists, but the annual Several Exceptionally Good Recently Acquired Pictures showcases the range of works the gallery exhibits.

A local favorite with a huge used-book department also carries new books in every field. It's known for its history room and rare-books collection, as well as fiction CDs, DVDs, comic books, and graphic novels.

Heath designs and produces sleek, glossy tiles for the home and newly spun bowls, plates, and cups in rich earth colors to decorate kitchens. You'll also find locally inspired cookbooks and high-quality furniture and silverware from trendy peers throughout Heath's immaculately arranged factory showroom. The company's designs can be found at many of San Francisco's top restaurants and cafés, including the adjacent Tartine Manufactory.

The extensive collection of clothing from the 1920s through the 1980s in this vintage store is organized by decade, saving those looking for flapper dresses from having to wade through lime-green '70s polyester sundresses. Shoes, hats, handbags, and jewelry complete the different looks.

If you can only buy one piece of clothing in San Francisco, make it a hand-loomed cashmere sweater by this Irish-born local legend. The perfect antidote to the city's wind and fog, the sweaters are so beloved by San Franciscans that some of them never wear anything else. Pick up an airplane wrap for your trip home.

This store has been making its own salami, sausages, and cold cuts since 1896. Other homemade specialties include meat and cheese ravioli, tomato sauces, and fresh pastas. Do like the locals: grab a made-to-order sandwich for lunch and eat it at one of the sidewalk tables or over at Washington Square Park.

This is an excellent stop for unique souvenirs, including a large selection of watches and jewelry, as well as artists' monographs and artful housewares. Posters, calendars, and children's art sets round out the merchandise.

Wine nerds will fall in love with this trendy, upscale destination from Master Sommelier Dustin Wilson. Many wine drinkers will also recognize him from the 2012 documentary Somm (and its sequels). High-quality, smaller producers from prominent and lesser-known regions share wall space in this exceptionally organized boutique.

Tea enthusiasts will feel at peace in this bright, spacious haven for sipping. You'll find more than 400 different varieties of tea here, and the staff is extremely knowledgeable on the health benefits of each and every one.

The decadent confection comes in countless flavors here, from the traditional (cocoa-powder-coated Amaretto) to the unusual (flavored with rum-coconut liqueur and coated with coconut flakes). There's something for everyone, even vegans. Bonus: all espresso drinks come with a complimentary truffle.

The brainchild of local author Dave Eggers is primarily a center established to help kids with their writing skills via writing programs, tutoring, and storytelling events. But the storefront is also "San Francisco's only independent pirate supply store," a quirky space filled with eye patches, spyglasses, and other pirate-themed paraphernalia. Eggers's quarterly journal, McSweeney's, and other publications are available here. Proceeds benefit the writing center.

On the center's storefront is an intricate mural designed by graphic novelist Chris Ware as a meditation on the evolution of human communication.

The affable staff can help guys and gals sort through the jeans selection, one of the hippest in the city, from hyperlocal to international brands. On-staff experts pride themselves on being able to match the pants to the person. Occasional release parties are hosted: sign up for the mailing list to get a taste of local fashion and art life combined.

A handblown-glass chandelier winks at you through the store's front window, while DJs do their thing in the back. Sandwiched in between are styles like Cameo miniskirts or Shona Joy's hip-hugging skinny pants. There's something special for men, too: double-layered muscle tees and Gitman Bros. blue oxfords and vintage chambray shirts. Think progressive and of-the-moment.

A visit here is like being in someone's home and being able to buy everything you see, from the organic sheets to the chairs to the shampoo in the shower. The aesthetic is modern, with bright references to Mexico, India, Turkey, and Japan. Aldea is the perfect place to find a hostess gift or to deck out a corner that's missing something special. Nearby Aldea Niños (at 1017 Valencia) sells green products for kids.

The three floors here are stocked with literature, poetry, and children's books, with a focus on hard-to-find works by people of color.

Specializing in beautifully restored furniture from the 1930s through the 1960s, this store sells Heywood Wakefield tambour buffets, art-deco bars, and French art-deco desks. Jewelry, glassware, and lamps are on display, too.

This SoMa maze of museum-quality English and French antiques and objets d'art might include an 18th-century French harp or delicate tortoise-shell miniatures. The shop's inventory leans toward items from the 17th and 18th centuries.

Apple's flagship San Francisco store is a two-level, open-air tech temple to Macs, iPads, iPhones, and Apple Watches. Inside, it's more about getting your iPhone fixed at the Genius Grove, but outside everyone is using those phones to take pictures of the modern structure.

Get a gift for your favorite globe-trotter at this oasis for the unordinary. You'll find maps, boxes, vases, and vintage furniture, as well as European artifacts.

If you like the wine list at Absinthe Brasserie & Bar, you can walk next door and pick up a few bottles from its joint establishment. This unintimidating shop carries hard-to-find wines from small producers. Why wait to taste? Crack open a bottle on the patio of sibling restaurant Arbor out back.

Gadgets and home accessories with a sleek modern design are imported from all over Europe and Japan and sold at this charming store in a courtyard off Union Street. Among the eye-catching items are a Mies cuckoo clock and a wine rack made of leather loops.

Fashion is taken seriously here (a pair of distressed shoes that look like they've been mowed down on the highway can cost you over a grand), but it's always offered with a wink and a smile. Witty touches abound, from the infamous store windows to the design details throughout. As you enter Barneys' six-story corner locale, a flight of stairs extends to the mezzanine, with its salon displaying thousands of shoes. Below street level, cosmetics and fragrances reign.