Shopping Jaunts

• Chestnut Street: One of the city's most enjoyable shopping streets features blocks of interesting shops, restaurants and boutiques.

• Fillmore Street: A good mix of coffee shops, boutiques, restaurants and a small movie theater make this a lively street.

• Haight Street: An eclectic mix of wares and generally affordable prices make the Haight one of our favorites.

• Hayes Valley: Local San Franciscans rave about the fun shops you can find in this area.

• Union Square: One of the largest shopping areas in the western United States, with a large variety of shops.

• Valencia Street: The Mission District's main shopping street offers lots of fun options.

Day Trips Out of Town

• Fourth Street, Berkeley: High-end outlets, some yummy restaurants and food shops and local artisan galleries make for a fun time, even if your shopping bags stay empty.

• Gilroy Outlets: It's so big they have a trolley to take shoppers from one side to the other and you'll find all the standard outlet stores here.

• Santana Row, San Jose: At times it seems a little too contrived, but you'll find good restaurants and nice shops. Weekends, there's a farmers market and any day, the nearby movie theaters offer plenty of diversions.

• Solano Avenue, Albany: One of our favorite places for recreational shopping, withe some of the Bay Area's most interesting shops.

• Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley: Located near the university, Telegraph has lots of great bookstores, some interesting shops that cater to a young clientele and a lively weekend street market.

• Vacaville Outlets: Another big outlet mall, between San Francisco and Sacramento.