Best Beaches & ShoppingThroughout Monterey County

Storybook, artistic, and refined — California's most charming shopping village.

Carmel-by-the-Sea's downtown is a one-square-mile village of storybook cottages, more than 80 art galleries, and independent boutiques threaded along Ocean Avenue and the cross streets above the beach. The real magic is in the hidden passageways — Carmel's famous secret courtyards and 'paseos' tucked between buildings, where you'll find wine-tasting rooms, jewelers, and shops most visitors walk right past. There are no street addresses and no streetlights — just a town built for wandering.

Polished, intimate, and garden-like — Carmel's refined courtyard shopping.

Carmel Plaza anchors the southeast corner of the village at Ocean Avenue and Mission Street — a multi-level, open-air courtyard center landscaped with fountains and flowers. It blends recognizable names like Tiffany & Co. and Anthropologie with local boutiques, wine-tasting rooms, and acclaimed restaurants. It's the most concentrated, easy-to-navigate slice of Carmel shopping without giving up the village's garden-courtyard charm.

Historic, lively, and surprisingly local once you wander off the main drag.

Cannery Row — immortalized by John Steinbeck — runs along Monterey's waterfront where the old sardine canneries once roared. Today it's a walkable stretch of shops, wine-tasting rooms, galleries, and restaurants anchored by the world-class Monterey Bay Aquarium at its north end. Beyond the obvious tourist storefronts, the side alleys and upper levels hide boutique shops, local tasting rooms, and tucked-away discoveries that reward the curious — plus direct access to the Coastal Recreation Trail.

Quiet, friendly, and unpretentious — the Peninsula's most relaxed shopping stroll.

Downtown Pacific Grove centers on Lighthouse Avenue and Forest Avenue, a walkable grid of Victorian storefronts housing independent boutiques, bookshops, antique stores, and cafés. Often recommended as the easier, calmer alternative to busier Carmel and Cannery Row, 'PG' offers genuine local character, simple parking, and a slower pace — the kind of place where shop owners remember you. It's a short walk from Lovers Point and the coastal trail.

Historic, walkable, and authentically Californian — the state's original capital town.

Old Monterey, centered on Alvarado Street and the Path of History, is where California began — adobe buildings, the Royal Presidio Chapel, and Colton Hall (site of the state's first constitution) sit alongside a walkable downtown of shops, restaurants, and the famous Tuesday farmers market. From here you can stroll to Fisherman's Wharf and the bay in minutes. It's a rare place where history, waterfront, dining, and shopping fold into one walkable district.

Practical, open-air, and easygoing — the Peninsula's go-to everyday shopping.

Del Monte Shopping Center is the Monterey Peninsula's main open-air shopping center, set among mature oaks just off Highway 1. It blends national anchors and recognizable brands with a Whole Foods, a movie theater, and a solid lineup of restaurants — the practical, full-service counterpoint to the boutique villages of Carmel and Pacific Grove. Locals come here for the everyday errands the charming villages don't cover.

Lush, relaxed, and design-forward — a flower-filled shopping village outside the Carmel crowds.

The Barnyard Shopping Village, just outside Carmel-by-the-Sea near Highway 1, is a distinctive multi-level center built around terraced gardens, brick pathways, and rustic barn-style architecture. Independent boutiques, art galleries, home-design shops, and restaurants are tucked among flowering landscaping designed to evoke a country village. It offers Carmel-area shopping with easy parking and a relaxed, garden-walk pace.

Friendly, practical, and local — where Carmel residents actually shop.

The Crossroads Carmel sits at the mouth of Carmel Valley near Highway 1, an open-air center that blends a market, everyday shops, and a strong lineup of local restaurants and a wine bar. It's where Carmel and Carmel Valley residents handle real life — groceries, errands, a good meal — in a relaxed, easy-to-park setting. It pairs naturally with the adjacent Barnyard and a drive up into Carmel Valley wine country.