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Best Boston Shopping Malls

Guide to the Best and Biggest Shopping Malls in Boston

Are Boston shopping malls basically clones of each other, differing only by location? 

Not by a long shot!  Each one gives you a unique shopping experience.

Here's Boston Discovery Guide's recommendations for the biggest and best shopping malls in Boston - plus tips about where to find the biggest discounts, the best sales, the most unique items, the hippest clothes, and what makes each Boston mall special.

Faneuil Hall Marketplace, popular shopping area in Boston

Boston has an amazing variety of shopping malls and shopping complexes, each hoping to attract lots of customers with a unique mix of stores and amenities.

But when we first moved here, sorting them all out took awhile. If you're coming to Boston for a short visit, you may have time to explore leisurely - so use the information on this page to find:

• Boston Discovery Guide's recommendations for biggest and best shopping malls and top picks in other categories
• More Boston suburban malls
• Photo gallery showing why shopping malls in Boston are so much fun
• Other recommended Boston shopping areas
• Tips on best ways to save
• Guide to mall locations
• "Boston insider" tips about hours and parking

   

  Photo Gallery of Fun Boston Shopping Malls

  Christmas in Boston scenes, left to right:

  1) Shops at Prudential Center, with giant Christmas ornament holiday decorations
  2) Cambridgeside Galleria in Cambridge, MA
  3) Wrentham Village Premium Outlets
  4) Entrance to Faneuil Hall Marketplace
  5) Vendor pushcarts in Faneuil Hall Marketplace's South Market building

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Biggest & Best Boston Shopping Malls

Check out Boston Discovery Guide's picks for the best Boston shopping malls in all kinds of categories.  Or, go straight to our guide to malls in Boston by location or complete list of shopping malls in Boston.

Biggest Shopping Mall in Boston - Natick Mall

With over 200 stores ranging from affordable to high-end, the upscale Natick Mall - sometimes called "Natick Collection" - is not just the biggest Boston shopping mall, it's also the largest mall in New England.  With 6 anchors - Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Macy's, Lord & Taylor, Sears, and JC Penney . . . More about Natick Mall

Best Shopping Mall in Boston for Having Fun - Faneuil Hall Marketplace

100+ stores and artisan pushcarts in Boston's festival-like Faneuil Hall Marketplace / Quincy Market occupy 4 historic buildings in the heart of Boston.  But shopping is just the beginning of the fun you can have here. Faneuil Marketplace's famed street performers entertain crowds every weekend and holiday, and a huge lighted Christmas tree, seasonal ice skating rink, and more restaurants, food vendors, and pubs than you can count add to why this is Boston's most entertaining mall. More about Faneuil Hall Marketplace

Best Discount Shopping Mall in Boston - Wrentham Premium Outlets

Fashionistas, if you love a bargain, you'll want to visit Wrentham Outlets, the only discount shopping mall in the Boston area.  Expect to find 25-65% savings on big-name designers - even more when sales are underway.  More about Wrentham Outlets

Best Discount Shopping Mall Close to Boston - Arsenal Mall

For almost 200 years, Arsenal Mall, located just a couple of miles to the west of Boston, was a military weapons research lab, complete with its own nuclear reactor.  Today, Arsenal Mall offers a pleasing mix of national retailers, discount stores, and outlets - a bargain-hunter's paradise closeto the city!  More about Arsenal Mall

Best Curated Boston Shopping Mall - Atrium Mall

Atrium Mall, located a couple of miles west of Boston in tony Chestnut Hill, provides a carefully chosen mix about 25 popular clothing and home furnishing stores, one of the area's most popular day spas, a consignment shop specializing in designer clothing, and three very nice restaurants.  Perfect choice when you don't want to walk a zillion miles. More about Atrium Mall

Hippest Boston Shopping Mall - Cambridgeside Galleria

Maybe it's Cambridgeside Galleria's Cambridge loction near Harvard, MIT, and a huge concentration of biotech firms that accounts for the trendy fashions - noticeably hipper than most other Boston malls. Located just across the Charles River from central Boston (5 minutes on the Green Line).  More about this convenient Cambridgeside Galleria Mall

Top Boston Shopping Mall for Designer Boutiques - Copley Place

You'll find Neiman Marcus and 75 boutiques, many of them featuring internationally known luxury designers, in this upscale shopping complex in Boston's fashionable Back Bay neighborhood not far from Newbury Street.  More about Copley Place

Best Boston Mall for High-End Shopping - Shops at Prudential Center

With more than 75 stores and boutiques plus some of the city's best restaurants, Prudential Center is one of the city's most popular upscale shopping malls.    Located in Back Bay near Newbury Street and Copley Center, Pru Center offers more than just shopping.  More about Prudential Center

Best Sports-Themed Mall in the Boston Area - Patriot Place

Way more than just a shopping mall, this sports, entertainment, and retail complex 22 miles south of Boston also includes Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots football team and the New England Revolution soccer team.  More about Patriot Place

Mall with Boston's Only Bloomingdale's - Chestnut Hill Mall

Anchored by Boston's only Bloomingdale's, Chestnut Hill Mall offers an interesting mix of up-scale stores and boutiques just a few miles west of Boston.  Pricey, yes . . . but sales here can be awesome!  More about Chestnut Hill Mall

Historic Quincy Market building, one of four buildings making up Faneuil Hall Marketplace

More Suburban Shopping Malls in the Boston Area

Burlington Mall

One of the Boston area's largest malls, the upscale Burlington Mall has 4 anchor stores, a huge stand-alone Crate and Barrel, and almost 200 other stores ranging from affordable to high-end.  This popular shopping mall is just north of Boston near Route 128 and, as far as I know, is the only Boston mall to double as a movie set (Anyone remember Paul Blart in Mall Cop?).  More about Burlington Mall

Northshore Mall

With a huge Nordstrom's in place since 2009, this growing mall on Boston's North Shore offers an interesting collection of affordable and high end shops and restaurants.  More about Northshore Mall

South Shore Plaza 

Anchored by Sears, Lord & Taylor, and Macy's, this popular shopping mall in Braintree south of Boston offers 180 other affordable and upscale shops and restaurants.  More about South Shore Plaza

Best Ways to Save in Boston Shopping Malls

Of course a big SALE sign in the window excites shoppers - but if you're visiting Boston from another state in the U.S. or another country, you may find savings on every single item.

How?

For beginners, our sales tax is still only 6.25% - so if you live in a state where sales tax is, say, 8% or a country where you pay VAT of 16%, you get an immediate "discount" of the difference between what you pay at home and what you pay in Boston.

In addition, you'll pay NO sales tax on clothing costing less than $175.

Of course, those SALE signs can also mean big savings - typically 25% - 50%, depending on the season and item.

Where will you find the biggest discounts? Sometimes at the highest priced, most fashion-conscious stores which need to make room for the latest styles.

Not Quite Malls - More Irresistible Boston Shopping Areas

These Boston shopping areas in no way resemble malls - but you should know about them because they concentrate a large number of appealing boutiques, unique shops, and even large department and specialty stores in compact, walkable areas.

Downtown Crossing

Anchored by a huge Macy's, with a large number of top discounters: H&M, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Eddie Bauer Outlet, DSW Shoes, plus several diamond dealers known to offer top value in engagement rings.

What I love best about this mostly pedestrian-only shopping area, though, are the unique one-of-a-kind Boston shops along Washington Street and side streets.

Personal favorites: Brattle Book Store (xx West Street), Commonwealth Books (basement level of Old South Meeting House - shown in the photo), small art and artisan galleries tucked in here and there.

Walk over from Faneuil Hall Marketplace (it's just 2-3 blocks away) and enjoy an afternoon of browsing.

Newbury Street / Boylston Street

Famous for high-end designer boutiques.

In reality, Newbury Street and next-door Boylston Street offer an eclectic mix of top designers plus wonderful homegoods shops (where I could personally spend a small fortune), national brand stores such as Nike, Crate & Barrel, and Anthropologie, Boston's biggest H&M, and other discounters featuring  trendier styles than you'll find in more suburban locations.

More about Newbury Street Shopping

Boylston Street near the Four Seasons Hotel

This very small stretch of very high-end designer boutiques and galleries next to the Four Seasons is too good to miss if you're into top international fashion. Walk over from Copley Plaza - it's a few blocks, but worth it!

Charles Street in Beacon Hill

Best known for its high concentration of superb antique shops, this 6-8 (depending on how you count) stretch of mostly unique shops and boutiques also includes an eclectic collection of fashion, gifts, jewelry, and even high-end hardware.

Need an elegant one-of-a-kind brass door knocker or cabinet knobs and pulls?

Head straight to Charles Street! More about what you'll find while shopping on Charles Street

Harvard Square

Sort of the antithesis of Boston shopping malls is Harvard Square, on the other side of the river in Cambridge.  National brand stores, local shops and boutiques, and student-oriented restaurants cluster around Harvard Square, across from the Harvard undergraduate campus. 

Take the T (Red Line/Harvard Square) - about a 10 minute trip from Park Station in Downtown Boston - and explore the interesting mix of high-end and almost-cheap shopping and dining opportunities.

Boston Shopping Malls - by Location

Trying to figure out where Boston's malls are located? Here's a quick sort, based on each mall's distance from Downtown Boston.

You can also check the map at the bottom of this section.

Shopping malls right in the city - no car needed!

Prudential Center, Copley Place, Faneuil Hall Marketplace, and CambridgeSide Galleria (Cambridge Mall) are city malls - shopping malls that you can easily reach from central Boston on foot or by "T" (that's what we call the subway here). 

Stores in Pru Center, Faneuil Marketplace, and CambridgeSide Galleria range from affordable to expensive. 

Most Copley Place stores hit the very expensive mark.   Look for the best seasonal sales at the priciest boutiques.

A few miles away - a car is helpful

If you have access to a car during your stay in Boston, you may want to explore Chestnut Hill Mall and nearby Atrium Mall, the Arsenal Mall in Watertown, and the Burlington Mall. 

All of these shopping malls are close to Boston - meaning within or just outside of Route 128, the closer of the two highways that circle Boston.  In non-rush hour traffic, you can reach all of them within 20 minutes or less (assuming you don't get lost).

Can't get there without a car

Further afield (meaning beyond Route 128), but worth the trek if you love to shop and have a car are the Northshore Mall in Peabody, South Shore Plaza in Braintree, and the Natick Collection mega-mall. 

Patriot Place, the shopping / entertainment complex that includes Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, is fun and sports-oriented.  With a luxury hotel and spa on site, Patriot Place doubles as a vacation destination.

For true discount shopping, you'll want visit Wrentham Village Premium Outlets, a fabulous collection of designer discount stores.  Especially if you happen to be here when sales or mark-downs are underway, you can save some serious money. No transportation? Get a Boston rental car for a day - you'll likely save enough money at the Wrentham Outlets to cover the costs.

Art exhibit at Shops at Prudential Center in Boston's Back Bay nieghborhood

Boston Mall Tips - Know Before You Go

Mall hours: 

All of the Boston shopping malls listed on this page are open 7 days a week.  Typically, malls open at 9am or 10am and close at 9pm or 10pm on Mondays through Saturdays.  Sunday mall hours are typically noon - 5pm or 6pm. 

Hours for restaurants and department stores within the malls may differ from mall hours. 

Because malls may change their hours based on the season (for example, they may open earlier and close later in November and December to accommodate holiday shoppers) and even the economy or marketing strategies, we do not list their hours on this site. You should confirm their hours on their websites before you go if you think opening or closing hours might be an issue. 

Parking: 

Boston suburban shopping malls offer free parking in the parking lots surrounding the mall complex.  A few such as Natick Collection offer valet or VIP parking for a fee, but there's also plenty of free parking.  At Patriot Place, parking is free for shoppers but you'll pay a fee if you're there for a game.

At Boston shopping malls within the heart of Boston (Copley, Prudential Center, Faneuil Hall Marketplace) and Cambridge (Cambridgeside Galleria), you'll pay - anywhere from a small fee to potentially a lot.  Fortunately, you can take the T (Boston's subway) to these shopping areas as an alternative.

Here are your best parking options for each of them:

Copley Place and Prudential Center - parking is pricey, but get your ticket validated for cheaper rates - go one minute over the validation time limit, though, and you're back to paying big $$s 

Quincy Market - no on-site garage but plenty of options at nearby Boston parking garages

Cambridgeside Galleria - on-site garage for a reasonable fee if you stay a couple of hours or less - although weekends are more expensive

More to places to shop beyond Boston Shopping Malls

Christmas Shopping	Boston Art Galleries	SoWa Open Market

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