Shopping At Pier 39 San Francisco

You were busy at Pier 39, weren't you?  

I bet you saw sea lions, got something to eat, took a cruise around the bay, and maybe earlier in the day you had visited the famous Lombard Street. But no day is complete without meandering through some stores and doing a little shopping. Okay, that statement isn't really true. Plenty of days are complete without spending more money on stuff. Still, it's always interesting to pop in and out of unique stores and see what the offerings are. Pier 39 is no exception. 

Unique Stores

There are tons of unique stores, including:

* Puppets on the Pier for over 500 different puppets and marionettes.
* California Indian Market & Jewelry for Native American art and jewelry.
* Global Candle Gallery for unique candles created right on site.
* Sea Lion Center Gift Shop for all things Sea Lion!
* Solve It! Think out of the box for cool wooden games and puzzles that use your noggin. 

Those are just a few places. For a full list, you can visit the Pier 39 website under "Shopping".

If you're looking for a cheap, useful souvenir... I found some great jute bags with various San Francisco-y things on them (cable car, Golden Gate Bridge, etc) for about $6-7, which I thought was a real bargain!

Shop for... food!

In addition to souvenir shopping, you probably shopped for food at a restaurant and maybe even some dessert too, like we did... But you can also shop a beautiful rainbow of produce while at Pier 39, thanks to Vlahos' Fruit Orchard! 

Shop for Nostalgia

Take a trip back in time to the simple joys of childhood. Or take your children on the San Francisco Carousel to make some of their early memories of "the simple joys of childhood". This carousel was made in Italy and has hand painted images of San Francisco's famous landmarks. Really cool! 

There is also a little bungee trampoline called Frequent Flyers that you can try out for $10. (if you are between 30 and 230 pounds) Any age!!

Shop for Culture..

Shopping doesn't always have to cost money. In a place like San Francisco, there are so many people of so many backgrounds. It's such a beautiful thing. So while you meander Pier 39, eating, shopping, sailing, whatever...  take time to appreciate the people that surround you, the variety that exists. Stop and smell the roses. In this case.. the people are the roses. But don't stop and smell them literally. That will probably weird them out.......  seriously guys?!!