36 Best Shopping in Union Square, San Francisco

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.

Walls of Italian wool in deep, rich colors, yards of faille-striped silk, and neat stacks of fresh cotton prints await your creative touch. A San Francisco institution for more than 70 years, the two-story Britex also sells an endless variety of buttons as well as thread and trim. If sewing is your thing, this will be a visit to paradise.

The original Diptyque boutique in Paris has attracted a long line of celebrities. You can find the full array of scented candles and fragrances in this chic shop that would be at home on the boulevard St-Germain. Trademark black-and-white labels adorn the popular L'eau toilet water, scented with geranium and sandalwood. Candles come in traditional and esoteric scents, including lavender, basil, leather, and fig tree. Also available are Mariage Frères teas.

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.

Apple's flagship San Francisco store is a two-level, open-air tech temple to Macs, iPads, iPhones, and Apple Watches. Inside, it's more about getting your iPhone fixed at the Genius Grove, but outside everyone is using those phones to take pictures of the modern structure.

Fashion is taken seriously here (a pair of distressed shoes that look like they've been mowed down on the highway can cost you over a grand), but it's always offered with a wink and a smile. Witty touches abound, from the infamous store windows to the design details throughout. As you enter Barneys' six-story corner locale, a flight of stairs extends to the mezzanine, with its salon displaying thousands of shoes. Below street level, cosmetics and fragrances reign.

This classic British menswear store, open since 1939, is so fully stocked that a whole room is dedicated to hats, pants are cataloged like papers in file cabinets, and entire displays showcase badger-bristle shaving brushes. The cable-car logo gear, from silk ties to pewter banks, makes for dashing souvenirs.

The Spanish brand's whimsical footwear is wildly popular with young adults. Unexpected embroidered patterns (leaves, butterflies) adorn many of the pairs, sometimes beginning on one shoe and continuing on the other. Other styles are reminiscent of bowling and boxing shoes.

Three floors of designer shoes, both dressy (Kenneth Cole, Anne Klein) and sporty (Adidas, Timberland), beckon bargain hunters. In return for the bare-bones ambience and do-it-yourself service at this branch of a national chain, you get discounts of 25% to 50%—and up to 70% off the clearance items in the basement.

The cosmetics line's only Northern California store occupies a quaint historic structure built just after the 1906 earthquake. Indulge in oval milk soaps from France, sugar-lemon lotion, and pomegranate conditioner. Fresh is most popular for its body-care sets, the Umbrian Clay being one of them. During the holiday season, the Seaberry Restorative Body Cream can be hard to come by.

After more than a century of selling trunks, handbags, and pet leashes to Parisians, Goyard opened its second store here to offer San Franciscans a discreet alternative to Louis Vuitton. Rather than splash its name everywhere, the store signals luxury with a signature chevron pattern. Even if you walk away empty-handed, you'll be reminded of what travel used to mean.

The gold-label designer exudes luxe elegance in a palatial temple of black lacquer, bronze, and marble. Fine jewelry, handbags, and luggage dominate the first floor, and shoes rule the second. If you make it to the third floor without maxing out your credit card, you'll be rewarded with a flute of champagne for trying on an evening gown or dinner coat.

Hip, youthful designs for men and women are cheap, cheap, cheap at this import from Sweden that's known as the IKEA of clothing stores. Club-going teenagers and those who want to look like them form long lines for the dressing room, so aim to visit midweek, before or after the noon–2 lunch rush.

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.

Dozens of diamond bracelets in the window attract shoppers to one of the city's best vintage jewelry shops, where rings, brooches, and other glittering items represent various eras and styles, from Victorian and Edwardian to art nouveau and Arts and Crafts. The shop has been selling fine jewelry, including engagement rings and a few vintage watches, since 1969.

A San Francisco icon, founded in 1853, Levi's offers every style, size, color, and cut of 501s for men and women at its massive flagship store. You can even get a custom fitting if you book ahead of time.

Towers of bulk soap, which can be cut to order, and mountains of baseball-size fizzing "bath bombs" are some of the first items you'll see in this tightly packed and extremely fragrant little boutique, which resembles a cheese shop more than a Sephora. Some potions are so fresh (and perishable) that they're stored in a refrigerator and come with an expiration date.

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.

The surroundings, which include a Philip Johnson–designed checkerboard facade, a gilded atrium, and a stained-glass skylight, are as ritzy as the goods showcased within. The mix includes designer men's and women's clothing and accessories as well as posh household wares. Although the prices may raise an eyebrow or two, the Last Call sales—in January and July—draw big crowds. After hitting the vast handbag salon, those who lunch daintily can order consommé and bread laden with strawberry butter in the Rotunda Restaurant.

More glitzy multimedia extravaganza than true sporting-goods store, this emporium is nevertheless the best place in town to find anything and everything with the famous swoosh.

Somehow Nordstrom manages to be all things to all people, and this location, with spiral escalators circling a four-story atrium, is no exception. Whether you're an elegant lady of a certain age shopping for a new mink coat or a teen on the hunt for a Roxy hoodie, the salespeople are known for being happy to help. Nordstrom carries the best selections in town of designers such as Tory Burch, but its own brands have loyal followings, too. The café upstairs is a superb choice for a shopping break.

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.

A San Francisco staple since the 1930s, this decadent shop draws designers and other fans for its luxurious bed and bath items and linens. The pretty tablecloths, runners, napkins, fragrant candles, and luxurious bath accessories are popular gifts.

With clean, tailored lines and deep solid colors, there is something elegant yet cutting-edge for every age here. Based on Amsterdam couture, and carrying European labels, this hive of a shop is cool but friendly; it also has an old but new feel to it. The Bodycon Peplum dress is a classic, as is the men's stretch wool blazer. This is a good place to visit if you're looking for a new pair of denims, or a cool shirt for a night out.

Along with gems in dazzling settings, San Francisco's oldest retail store—it's been in business since 1852—carries luxury watches by Jaeger-LeCoultre and others. On Saturdays well-heeled couples scope out hefty diamond engagement rings.

Chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, sconces on the walls, a faux fireplace, and groovy music in the background set the scene at this oasis of hip. Dress shirts, sweaters, swingy pleated skirts, and suits, trousers, and jackets by the British designer have an updated 1960s aesthetic.

The closest thing to Savile Row in San Francisco, this small, cutting-edge, men-only boutique has everything from handmade suits to large handmade silver belt buckles from top-shelf Japanese and Italian designers.