The Best Shopping in San Diego
From small boutiques to a sprawling outdoor art mart showcasing local crafts, San Diego offers a variety of cool finds to complement hot weather. The area is home to many wonderful artists including glassblowers, painters, photographers, clothing designers, and jewelers.
The nation’s oldest continuously family-owned and -operated bookstore is Warwick’s in La Jolla. That’s thanks to one William T. Warwick, who entered the book business in 1896 in Iowa. Life soon led him to this dreamy stretch of...
At this colorful corner store in North Park, Mexican handicrafts reign supreme. Pick up such gifts as hand-embroidered pillows and table runners, hand-painted wooden stools, glassware, and rainbow huaraches. This wholly original store is the...
Liberty Station, San Diego, CA, USA
Built in the 1920s, San Diego’s onetime Naval Training Center began its transformation into a cultural and retail space in 2000, when the city bought this massive Spanish colonial revival complex to house galleries and shops as well as...
3036, 3039 University Ave, San Diego, CA 92104, USA
Model, surfer, and designer Kahana Kalama co-owns this highly curated surf boutique in North Park, where he sells beach towels, surf gear, and some clothing. Many items are made in the United States, like Miansai leather bracelets and poppy-red...
2225 30th St, San Diego, CA 92104, USA
Gold Leaf cofounder Sonya Kemp worked at design collective SoLo in Solana Beach before fulfilling her lifelong dream of opening her own boutique. Now, she stocks her store with everything from kitchen utensils to kids’ toys, drawing...
2860 Sims Rd, San Diego, CA 92106, USA
Located in Point Loma’s Liberty Station, this multi-concept boutique is as much a place to hang as it is to shop. There’s a café serving locally roasted coffee and artisanal toasts, as well as a 1950s-style cocktail bar with...
3801 30th St, San Diego, CA 92104, USA
Located in a renovated warehouse, this artsy gift shop is a dream for lovers of succulents and other cacti. In addition to pale-green air plants and coral-colored water bottles that match San Diego’s dusty color palette, merchandise runs the...
309 S Cedros Ave, Solana Beach, CA 92075, USA
In Solana Beach’s Cedros Avenue Design District eight women—all with a keen eye for design—make up this collective in a converted warehouse. Each vendor is unique. Ruby Lang sells antiques and oddities; Christie Napier sells children’s toys and...
