1. Landmark Mall
City: Alexandria, VA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (703) 354-8405
Address: 5801 Duke Street at I–395
Description: Alexandria’s only enclosed shopping mall is Landmark Mall, which some residents of neighboring Fairfax County happily call their own as well. The three-level mall offers a wealth of (free) covered and surface parking and some 120 stores and restaurants (but no movie theaters), including anchor tenants Macy’s, Lord & Taylor, and Sears. You’ll find specialty stores like As Seen on TV and mall favorites like the Gap and Old Navy. Special programs include a summer farmers’ market and mall concerts. The mall is conveniently located right off I–395.
2. Old Town News
City: Alexandria, VA
Category: Shopping
Address: 721 King Street
Description: This newsstand, conveniently located among the boutiques and restaurants of Old Town Alexandria, carries a wide variety of international newspapers and magazines, as well as a large stock of those published in the United States.
3. The Hardwood Artisans
City: Alexandria, VA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (703) 379-7299
Address: 3622 King Street
Description: Are you short on space? Consider drop-down, foldout furniture. The store specializes in cabinets primarily and can construct a multipurpose piece to fit the tiniest studio apartment. Merchandise includes entertainment units, dressers, bookcases, and Murphy, trundle, and platform beds—or you can have it all combined in one wall system. The solid hardwood pieces don’t come cheap, but they’re built to last. The Woodbridge store is closed on Sunday.
4. Mount Vernon Inn Gift Shop
City: Alexandria, VA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (703) 780-0011
Description: The gift shop at George Washington’s estate has reproductions of his key to the Bastille, Martha Washington’s cookbook, china and silver, and toys and souvenirs. The Christmas ornaments make nice mementos.
5. Sugar House Day Spa & Salon
City: Alexandria, VA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (703) 549-9940
Address: 111 North Alfred Street
Description: Housed in an Old Town row house, this full-service day spa and salon is cozy and inviting. Sugar House’s signature service is the Sugar House Scrub, an intense, invigorating exfoliation with a mixture of sugar crystals and oils designed to leave you feeling smooth and smelling slightly sweet. You’ll also find a full menu of facials for mature skin as well as teenage skin, and a tempting array of massages, plus hair and nail services.
6. Artcraft Collection
City: Alexandria, VA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (703) 299-6616
Address: 132 King Street
Description: A whimsical array of furnishings (including unique, handmade designs by Texan David Marsh), home furnishings, jewelry, glassware, and more greets visitors to these colorful shops. Each store is packed to the gills with eye-catching stuff created by more than 400 contemporary artisans. If you’re looking for unique gifts, you’ll find items ranging in price from around $16 to hundreds of dollars. You can even register your preferences at the company’s Web site.
7. The Christmas Attic
City: Alexandria, VA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (703) 548-2829
Address: 125 South Union Street
Description: Christmas lasts year-round in this magical Old Town shop. The Christmas Attic features hundreds of gorgeous ornaments and decorated trees with themes ranging from Victorian lace to gold-and-glass, musical instruments, and toys. The store even smells like Christmas, thanks to strategically placed potpourri and, during the fall, bushels of apples at the doors.
City: Alexandria, VA
Category: Shopping
Address: 105 North Union Street