Los Angeles shopping

Find the good places to shop in Los Angeles

Without a doubt, the first stop on any shopper’s L.A. itinerary should be Rodeo Drive. Here, shockingly expensive boutiques and designer stores are a haven for the city’s upwardly mobile and jet setters who fly in from around the world just to go shopping. Even if you don’t have deep enough pockets for buying here, the scene on Rodeo Drive alone is worth a look.

Outside of Beverly Hills, L.A. is the mall capital of the world. It isn’t difficult to find affordable, unique clothing and fashion here, as shopping is one of the city’s favorite pastimes. Much of L.A. shopping is dominated by multi-story malls and outlets where both local and international designers offer goods at varying prices.

Along Hollywood Boulevard, in the heart of L.A.’s tourist zone, you’ll find several indoor-outdoor shopping centers catering to visitors with cheap Los Angeles tourist knickknacks, postcards and t-shirts, as well as less kitschy, more fashionable items. Handbags, clothing, shoes and accessories are the name of the game here.

Downtown, especially along Broadway, you’ll find plenty of L.A. shopping gems - cheap and knock-off items geared towards budget shoppers. Here, pirated CDs and DVDs abound, and you’ll find plenty of slightly dingy stores selling all manner of unusual, brightly colored, cheap clothing. Several out of the ordinary flea markets also make their homes here, so this is the place to go for cheap L.A. shopping.

Downtown is also home to a number of specialty districts, where stores of the same type flourish on individual streets, making each avenue like its own shopping mall. Flower stores, jewelry shops, fashion boutiques, seafood markets and even toy stores all have their own areas of Downtown L.A., so it is worth exploring the areas just east of the Financial District to find exactly what you’re looking for.

If you’re interested in picking up some rare or new music, you should head to L.A.’s most iconic record store, Amoeba Music in Hollywood (6400 Sunset Blvd., +1 323-245-6400; www.amoeba.com), which touts itself as the world’s largest independent record store. Here, rows upon rows of new and secondhand CDs, DVDs and vinyls beckon to be taken home.