One of the best features of shopping in Massachusetts is that there's no sales tax on clothing priced below $175, or on food. Just about every store will ship your purchases home for a fee, but if it's part of a chain that operates in your home state, you'll probably have to pay that sales tax. Be sure to ask first. All other items are taxed at 5% (as are restaurant meals and takeout food).

In the major shopping areas, stores usually open at 10am and close at 6 or 7pm on weekdays and Saturday. On Sunday, most open at 11am or noon and close at 5 or 6pm, but some don't open at all. Closing time may be later on one night a week, usually Wednesday or Thursday. Malls keep their own hours, and some smaller shops open later. Days and hours can vary in winter. If a business sounds too good to pass up, call to make sure it's open before heading out.

Great Shopping Areas -- The area's premier shopping area is Boston's Back Bay. Dozens of classy galleries, shops, and boutiques make Newbury Street a world-famous destination. Nearby, the Shops at Prudential Center and Copley Place (linked by an enclosed walkway across Huntington Ave.) bookend a giant retail complex that includes the posh department stores Neiman Marcus, Lord & Taylor, and Saks Fifth Avenue. The adjacent South End, though less commercially dense, boasts a number of art galleries and quirky shops.

Another popular destination is Faneuil Hall Marketplace. The shops, boutiques, and pushcarts at Boston's busiest attraction sell everything from cosmetics to costume jewelry, sweaters to souvenirs.

If the hubbub at Faneuil Hall and in the Back Bay overwhelms you, stroll over to Beacon Hill. Picturesque Charles Street, at the foot of the hill, is a short but commercially dense street noted for its excellent gift shops and antiques dealers.

One of Boston's oldest shopping areas is Downtown Crossing, a traffic-free pedestrian mall along Washington, Winter, and Summer streets near Boston Common. Here you'll find two major department stores (Filene's and Macy's), tons of smaller clothing and shoe stores, Swedish fashion phenomenon H&M, food and merchandise pushcarts, outlets of two major bookstore chains (Barnes & Noble and Borders), and the original Filene's Basement.

Harvard Square in Cambridge, with its bookstores, boutiques, and T-shirt shops, is about 15 minutes from downtown Boston by subway. Despite the neighborhood association's efforts, chain stores have swept over "the Square." You'll find a mix of national and regional outlets, and more than a few persistent independent retailers.

For a less generic experience, stroll along shop-lined Massachusetts Avenue toward the next T stop (Porter Sq. to the north, Central Sq. to the southeast). Another neighborhood with a well-deserved reputation for variety is Brookline's Coolidge Corner, which is worth a trip (on the Green Line C train).