Shopping

For the best shopping in Boulder, head to the Pearl Street Mall, where you'll find not only shops and galleries galore but also street entertainers.

Twenty Ninth Street, centered on the former site of the Crossroads Mall at the intersection of Canyon Boulevard and 29th Street (tel. 303/440-0722; www.twentyninth.com), is a major new multiuse development featuring an outdoor shopping center. Open since October 2006, tenants include Wild Oats, MontBell, Borders Books & Music, Apple, and Century Theatres. Hours are 10am to 9pm Monday through Saturday and 10am to 6pm on Sunday.

The indoor-outdoor, 1.5-million-square-foot FlatIron Crossing (tel. 720/887-9900; www.flatironcrossing.com), an upscale mall featuring Nordstrom, Dillard's, and Lord & Taylor among its 200 shops, is a more comprehensive option for the devout shopper. It's 9 miles southeast of Boulder off U.S. 36 in Broomfield. Hours are 10am to 9pm Monday through Saturday and 11am to 6pm on Sunday.

Books

Being a college town, Boulder is one of the best cities in the world for a browsing bookworm. It reportedly has more used-book stores per capita than any other U.S. city. Chain outlets include Barnes & Noble, 2915 Pearl St. (tel. 303/442-1665). The independents run the gamut from the Kerouac and Burroughs specialists at Beat Bookshop, 1713 Pearl St. (tel. 303/444-7111), to the lesbian/feminist/gay selection at Word Is Out, 2015 10th St. (tel. 303/449-1415). Trident Booksellers, 940 Pearl St. (tel. 303/443-3133), is a good used-book shop with a coffeehouse attached.

Gifts & Souvenirs

The best stops for T-shirts, University of Colorado paraphernalia, and other Boulder souvenirs are Jackalope and Company, 1126 Pearl St. ([tel 303/939-8434); Where the Buffalo Roam, 1320 Pearl St. (tel. 303/938-1424); and the CU Bookstore, 1111 Broadway (tel. 303/442-5051). Long a hub for Eastern religion, Boulder also has a plethora of Tibetan gift shops -- Old Tibet, 948 Pearl St. (tel. 303/440-0323) is the longest standing -- and other meditative retailers, like Now & Zen, 1638 Pearl St. (tel. 303/530-9028).

Sporting Goods

Gart Sports, 3320 N. 28th St. (tel. 303/449-9021), is a good all-purpose source, while the following are more specialized -- and interesting -- retail outlets.