Shopping in Washington, DC

It’s definitely not hard to find great shopping in Washington, DC, as all over town there’s everything from megastores to cozy independent boutiques.

Home to some of the District’s most popular high-end shops, M Street is a central part of the Georgetown experience. Lined with cobblestone sidewalks and 18th-century colonial homes, the area is awash during the day with local prepsters shopping at mainstream stores like Lacoste, Diesel, and Tommy Hilfiger, and fashionistas maxing out their credit cards at Juicy Couture and BCBG, or heading to vintage emporium Annie Creamcheese for designer styles from the 1920s to 1990s.

Cool boutiques, funky furniture stores, hip clothing outlets, and handmade jewelry stores line the music-lover’s party paradise that is the U Street Corridor, while Dupont Circle is another great Washington, DC shopping area, with trendy galleries, used bookshops, and national retail outlets.

Downtown has seen a major resurgence in recent years when it comes to DC shopping, most notably at the Chinatown’s Gallery Place retail area that includes popular shops like Urban Outfitters, Aveda and City Sports.

And then of course there’s Eastern Market, which has been peddling local produce, meats, and cheeses since 1873, and attracts throngs of lifetime District residents and tourists alike who prefer the neighborhood vibe and fresh offerings unmatched by corporate food chains. Shoppers shuffling through the tall and noisy warehouse will find thirteen vendors selling everything from slabs of bacon and fresh fish to premade salads and pasta. On weekends about a dozen local farmers line up their stalls outside in the plaza, inviting curious foodies to sample fresh produce and jams from neighboring rural counties, while flea market vendors in the corner sell an always unpredictable mishmash of goods, from funky five-for-five-dollars sunglasses to valuable antiques.