Newbury Street is Boston's premier shopping street, although its boutiques and art galleries continue to yield to the incursions of the national retailers. Visit the beautiful flagships of such perennial favourites as Banana Republic, Donna Karen and Ralph Lauren, but be sure to stop at home-grown fashion palace Louis Boston (234 Berkeley St), which is about as edgy and exclusive as Boston designs get. Shreve, Crump & Low on Boylston (330 Boylston St) is Boston's best-known jewellery store famous for its baubles and fine housewares, and a few doors down, is the charming Stop at the Union (356 Boylston St) filled with unique housewares and gifts. Follow Boylston away from the Public Garden to the Prudential Centre (800 Boylston St) and Copley Place (100 Huntington Ave). The malls are connected by a skywalk and feature many well-known apparel stores, with the Copley Place, the ritzier of the pair, home to Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Christian Dior and Tiffany & Co, among other upscale retailers. No shopping trip to Boston would be complete without a visit to the world- famous Filene's Basement in Downtown Crossing (426 Washington St) to take advantage of its automatic markdowns on designer clothes. Be sure to keep one eye on your handbag and pockets as the close quarters are a magnet for pickpockets. Further down Washington Street, find a great pair of name-brand shoes for that new outfit at DSW Shoe Warehouse (385 Washington St).

Charles Street is a great place to find oneof-a-kind shops. Among the most popular are Wish (49 Charles St), which is known for its fun party dresses and Koo de Kir (65 Chestnut St) a shop filled with unique items for the home. The South End is a haven of electric home goods stores, among the most whimsical of which are Fresh Eggs (58 Clarendon St) and Aunt Sadie's (18Union Park St) sort of a hipster's general store.