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The areas with the highest concentrations of shops are Polanco, for upscale boutiques, luxury chains, modern furniture stores, and fine-art galleries; and the Zona Rosa, chock-full of clothing stores, adult shops, leather goods, and antiques.
La Condesa and La Roma, though better known for restaurants and cafés, are sprouting designer boutiques, primarily for a younger crowd and artsy types. Jewelers, shoe shops, vintage clothes, and hip housewares stores are squeezing in as well. Most cluster along avenidas Michoacán, Vicente Suárez, Amsterdam, and Tamaulipas, in Condesa, and Alvaro Obregón and thereabouts, in Roma.
Hundreds of shops with more modest trappings and better prices are spread along the length of Avenida Insurgentes and Avenida Juárez.
This upscale department store is mostly filled with high-end designer collections. While it is a local chain, this location of El Palacio de Hierro stands out from the rest of the stores, thanks to its floor after floor of designer goods for men and women. You'll likely find something here you won't be able to get anywhere else. After making your way up to the top floor, stop at the La Terraza Palacio for a quick bite or a cocktail in the extensive food court.
Upscale department store El Palacio de Hierro is noted for items by well-known designers and its seductive advertising campaigns. There are freestanding branches throughout the city, as well as anchor stores in malls such as Centro Santa Fe, Mexico's largest mall. If you're in need of any practical purchases, there's a good chance you'll find them here, but otherwise, it's not much different from any other department store.
