The shopping districts shown above are the most popular streets or areas of shopping in San Francisco. Some people refer to these as San Francisco's shopping jewels and you will see when you visit many of these districts the creative and unique shopping experience that is hard to find in most cities.
Embarcadero + Ferry Plaza Farmers Market is a mixture of main stream stores in the Embarcadero Center and unusual shopping opportunities only a farmers market mixed with some high end cuisine shops can provide. This is a great place to stop and catch lunch or brunch.
Fillmore Street is a cacophony of trendy, high fashion shops mixed with some more quaint one off shops. Especially notable are some of the eateries and drinking establishments located on Fillmore Street.
Haight Street - Haight Ashbury is world renowned for its history from the sixties. Still maintaining that hippie vibe, it mixes modern cool with urban chic. It is just worth a visit for the colorful fun you will find on the street.
Hayes Valley - Hayes Street has an earthy trendy feel to it and has both some of the most interesting and chic clothing stores as well as some great eateries.
North Beach is full of Italian old world charm. Even though it is more heavily populated with eating and drinking establishments, you will find some of the most interesting and hip shops as well as some old fashioned Italian delis and old world shops and bakeries.
Sacramento Street has a very chic vibe to it and there are many shops catering to the more money set here as well as great restaurants and some unique stores such as one that just sells ribbons. There are also many shops catering to interior design and the home.
Union Square is the big kahuna of shopping for San Francisco. This is where you will find all the big name brands and luxury shops. Union square is made up of blocks of buildings housing all these great stores as well as two enclosed shopping areas. One is a semi-enclosed group of shops and borders on the Financial District called the Crocker Galleria and the biggest jewel of a shopping center is Westfield's San Francisco Centre which contains Nordstrom and Bloomingdales. In the middle of everything is Union Square guarded by some of the larger department stores such as Macy's, Neiman Marcus, Saks and Barneys.
Union Street is often confused by visitors with Union Square but it is much different. The highlight of Union Street is the Victorian architecture of the shops. You will find a lot of interesting small shops running towards trendy but also including classic styles. Jewelry stores and goldsmiths abound on Union Street. If you are getting engaged or looking for a gorgeous bauble... this is the street to be on. There are more jewelry stores per district on Union Street than any other.
We love Red Maps. They are durable, packed full of information and easy to read. Along with shopping information, you will find information on attractions such as museums, parks, churches, libraries, galleries, theatre, and restaurants, along with an easy to use map of San Francisco’s BART metro system.
You can purchase this map for San Francisco at RedMaps.com.