Downtown's Pine Street corridor is where you'll find the broadest, most appealing range of shopping in the city. Seattle stalwart Nordstrom, at 5th and Pine, offers nearly 400,000 sq ft of the finest fashions and accessories. Originally a shoe store, Nordstrom is still the place to go for footwear of all kinds plus the additional perks of a doorman, two restaurants, a day spa, shoe museum, aquaria in the children's department and a family restroom. A visit to the ground-level eBar allows you to sip espresso while surfing on the café's free wireless net connection.

The recently renovated Westlake centre at 400 Pine St is the biggest shopping mall in town. Several dozen fashion boutiques, accessory shops, restaurants and antique stores are ensconced in the centre's multilevel, glass-walled edifice. Pacific Place at 7th and Pine is a swankier version of the Westlake as seen in high-end tenants Tiffany, Cartier and Restoration Hardware. This urban mall also houses several restaurants and an 11-screen cinema. In addition to Nordstrom and Pacific Place, big players are Old Navy, Niketown, Banana Republicand Kenneth Cole, the last of the bunch being the definitive spot for the black-clad crowd (both men and women).

5th Avenue near Pike is home to Barneys, the only West Coast outpost of the New York City store prized by fashionistas. Other designers strutting their stuff on 5th include Louis Vuitton, Escada and St John. A block up on 6th is Mario's, where local pro athletes shop for perfectly-cut suits by Hugo Boss.

First and Second Ave Downtown are replete with cutting-edge fashion boutiques, art galleries and purveyors of fine interior design. John Fluevog at 2nd and Pine is the place for chunky, avant- garde shoes while Alhambra (1st and Pine) has the latest in hip yet chic women 's wear and accessories. In a city with a full-on foot fetish, another must stop is Ped (1115 1st Avenue) where the shoes are as fanciful as they are expensive. Watson Kennedy Fine Home(1022 1st Avenue) provides an assortment of glassware, linens and crockery for Francophiles.

Pike Place Market is the place for arts and crafts, fresh foods and hand-made goods. Also in the Market area and worth a stop are Sur La Table (gadget heaven for cooks), Le Panier for warm French bread and Dilettante Chocolates for the best truffles in town.