The Shopping Scene

Where to Go

The City of Hamilton -- The best and widest range of shopping choices is in the City of Hamilton. Most shops are on Front Street, but you should explore the back streets as well, especially if you're an adventurous shopper.

The Emporium on Front Street, a restored building constructed around an atrium, houses a number of shops, including jewelry stores. Windsor Place on Queen Street is another Bermuda-style shopping mall.

Between 7 and 10pm every Wednesday night, Hamilton Harbour Nights are staged along Front Street in Bermuda's capital. Late-night shopping becomes a festival, with street performers, horse-and-carriage rides, a variety of live entertainment, and arts and crafts exhibitions. There's a food court and even children's activities.

Historic St. George -- The "second city" of St. George also has many shops, stores, and boutiques, including branches of the City of Hamilton's famous Front Street stores. King's Square, the center of St. George, is home to many shops. The other major centers are Somers Wharf and Water Street.

In recent years, this historic port has emerged as a big-time shopping competitor to the City of Hamilton. It's easier to walk around St. George than the City of Hamilton, and St. George is more architecturally interesting than the City of Hamilton; so more and more customers are choosing to do their shopping here. Of course, St. George doesn't have as vast an array of merchandise as the City of Hamilton, so the serious shopper might want to explore both cities.

Sandy's Parish -- Don't overlook the shopping possibilities of the West End. Somerset Village in Sandys Parish has many shops (though quite a few are branches of the City of Hamilton stores). At the Royal Naval Dockyard area on Ireland Island, you can visit the Craft Market, Island Pottery, and the Bermuda Arts Centre at Dockyard, where you'll see local artisans at work.

What You Should Know

Store Hours -- Stores in the City of Hamilton, St. George, and Somerset are generally open Monday through Saturday from 9am to 5:30pm. When large liners are in port, stores sometimes stay open later, and are sometimes open on Sundays.

Finding an Address -- Some Front Street stores post numbers on their buildings; others don't. Sometimes the number posted or used is the "historic" number of the building, which has nothing to do with the modern number. You can always ask for directions, and most Bermudians are willing to help. Outside the City of Hamilton, don't expect to find numbers on buildings at all -- or even street names in some cases.

Sales Tax & Duty -- There's no sales tax in Bermuda, but it's not a duty-free island. Depending on which country you're returning to, you may have to pay duty.

Note: Bermuda is covered by the U.S. law regarding "Generalized System of Preferences" status. That means that if at least 35% of an item has been crafted in Bermuda, you can bring it back duty-free, regardless of how much you spent. If you've gone beyond your $800 allotment, make a separate list of goods made in Bermuda. This will make it easier for the customs officials (and for you).

Shoppers Beware -- Many of our readers carry only the Discover Card. But be warned in advance that the popular U.S. card isn't accepted in Bermuda. One reader, John Fisher, wrote us to say that, because Discover is not accepted, "Many of the items we had looked forward to purchasing in Bermuda we had to pass up." MasterCard and Visa are accepted by most stores.

The Eternal Search for Bargains -- During the off season (autumn and winter), stores often reduce prices to make way for goods for the new season. But sales come and go year-round -- there's no particular season. Keep an eye out for SALE signs no matter when you're in Bermuda.

Branching Out --You'll often find branches of City of Hamilton's stores at major resorts. The prices -- even when there's a sale -- are the same as those charged by the parent stores in the City of Hamilton. Although the selection is more limited, resort boutiques remain open on Sunday, when most stores in the City of Hamilton are shuttered.

Last-Minute Purchases -- The international airport in Bermuda offers duty-free shops for those last-minute purchases. One shop is in the international departures lounge, and the other lies near the U.S. departures lounge. U.S. citizens clear customs before flying back to the States. For that specialty purchase, you should still shop around the island, but now you can buy routine duty-free purchases such as perfume, cigarettes, and liquor right before getting on the plane. That sure beats buying such goods a day or so in advance and having them delivered to the airport.

Department Stores

Since 1842, generations of Bermuda-bound visitors made Trimingham's, along Front Street, their number-one place for shopping. In 2005, though, the venerable department store closed its doors. You can find much of the same type of merchandise sold at Trimingham's at H. A. & E. Smith and Marks & Spencer.

Books

In addition to the recommendation listed, another great source for books -- especially about Bermuda -- is the Bermuda Book Store (Baxters) on Queen Street in Hamilton (tel. 441/295-3698).

Counterculture Shopping

If Bermuda is a bit prim for your tastes, we have a couple unusual stores to suggest: Try dropping in at Twice Told Tales, 34 Parliament St. (tel. 441/296-1995), in the City of Hamilton, where kindred spirits gather at one of the few tables for coffee and conversation. We can't think of a better name for this store, which is a secondhand bookshop.

Here's a chance to meet the locals: Rock On, 67 Front St. (tel. 441/295-3468), in the City of Hamilton, provides a full range of herb teas, nutritional supplements, and books and magazines devoted to health issues.

Liquor & Liquers

You are allowed to take what U.S. Customs calls a "reasonable amount" of liquor from Bermuda to the United States. There is a duty-free allowance, but you merely pay overage to U.S. Customs at the airport. Even with the duty, prices are often lower than those in the States.

Orders must be placed 24 hours before you leave Bermuda, except on Sunday, when a 48-hour advance purchase is required. "In-bond" items cannot be consumed on the island; they can only be exported. The bottle you drink on the island is likely to cost 50% more than the "in-bond" bottle.

Searching for That Little Treasure

In Southampton Parish, Deja-Vu Flea Market, 40 Middle Rd. (tel. 441/238-8525; bus no. 3), has recently started to attract a lot of attention from shoppers looking for offbeat and secondhand items. You never know what's been resting in those Bermudian attics all these years -- on this island of seagoing men, many unusual finds were brought back from around the world. As you rummage around, you could find anything from Tibetan rubbings to a complete dinner set used by the Carringtons on the TV soap Dynasty.

Comparison Shopping at Somers Wharf

The best place to begin shopping is at the Somers Wharf & Branch Stores along Water Street (bus no. 7), a coterie of shops that includes all the big names from the City of Hamilton such as A. S. Coopers and the Crown Colony Shop. Of course, the parent stores in the City of Hamilton are better stocked, but Somers Wharf makes shopping a pleasure because all the island's "name" shops are clustered together, making comparison shopping much easier.