Get FREE email communications from Fodor's Travel, covering must-see travel destinations, expert trip planning advice, and travel inspiration to fuel your passion.
Sorry! We don't have any recommendations for San Francisco right now.
With its grand department stores and funky secondhand boutiques, San Francisco summons a full range of shopping experiences. From the anarchist bookstore to the mouthwatering specialty-food purveyors at the gleaming Ferry Building, the local shopping opportunities reflect the city's various personalities. Visitors with limited time often focus their energies on the high-density Union Square area, where several major department stores tower over big-name boutiques. But if you're keen to find unique local shops, consider moving beyond the square's radius.
Each neighborhood has its own distinctive finds, whether it's 1960s housewares, cheeky stationery, or vintage Levi's. If shopping in San Francisco has a downside, it's that real bargains can be few and far between. Sure, neighborhoods such as the Lower Haight and the Mission have thrift shops and other inexpensive stores, but you won't find many discount outlets in the city, where rents are sky-high and space is at a premium.
Seasonal sales, usually in late January and late July or August, are good opportunities for finding deep discounts on clothing. The San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Examiner advertise sales. For smaller shops, check the free SF Weekly, which can be found on street corners every Wednesday. Sample sales are usually held by individual manufacturers, so check your favorite company's website before visiting.
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.
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.
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.
Some of the vibrant works on show in this cozy Latin American art gallery come from such artists as Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, and Francisco Toledo.
What started as a print workshop in 1962 now includes studios as well as a large, airy gallery displaying etchings, intaglios, engravings, and aquatints by local and internationally renowned artists.
This gallery prides itself on its friendly staffers, who will educate you about the art (or leave you alone if you prefer). Artists include Conrad Marca-Relli, Esteban Vincente, Kenzo Okada, and Robert De Niro Sr. Specialties are American modern, postwar abstract expressionist, and Bay Area figurative art.
A spirit of fun imbues this inviting space that showcases local emerging artists. Prices range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand, making it an ideal place for novice collectors to get their feet wet.
Priced between $3,000 and $50,000, the paintings and sculptures here by mid-career artists, many of them Californians, are primarily representational. Owner Charles Hespe is an instantly likable art enthusiast who delights buyers and browsers.
One of the city's leading galleries devoted to emerging contemporary artists resides along Chinatown's main thoroughfare. Jessica Silverman has been instrumental in launching the careers of several artists and constantly puts together interesting exhibitions.
Fashion, music, performance, paintings, and photography collide here—literally. Every six to eight weeks a new exhibit enters the space pushing the boundaries of content, concept, and form. The gallery occasionally hosts events with local and international artists.
The 8,000-square-foot facility, San Francisco's largest gallery, exhibits drawings, paintings, and sculpture. Many of the works are by important contemporary academic realists.
Sculpture and works on paper by masters such as Pablo Picasso, Robert Motherwell, David Sultan, and Helen Frankenthaler are the attraction. Guy Dill's whimsical contemporary sculptures draw the eye from across the room.
Multimodal exhibits are on a seven-week rotation and span an impressive arc of multimedia, photography, performance, painting, and sculpture. Featured artists have included Le Corbusier and Erwin Blumenfeld.
This dealer of photographic works shows prints from the 19th century to the present and emphasizes Russian and other Eastern European artists.
Old meets new in Robert Tat’s meticulously selected photography collection. Early 20th-century modernist works hang adjacent to contemporary pieces. A visit takes you back in time and around the world as well.
This nonprofit organization mounts thematic exhibits and has a well-stocked bookstore and a reference library. The lecture program includes noted photographers and critics. Admission is free.
An artist-run, nonprofit gallery, this is an established venue for cutting-edge art. In addition to exhibitions, lectures, performances, and film, video screenings take place.
Jen Rogers and Kerri Stephens's gallery specializes in thought-provoking works such as those by San Francisco–based artist Brian Goggin, known for his public art piece Defenestration. Ransom & Mitchell, two other noteworthy locals the gallery represents, blend photography and set design to create a truly surreal visual experience.
Sign up for Travel Tips & News
Thank you for your interest!
