10 Best Places to Shop in Albany and Central New York, New York

Caffe Caruso has glass cases packed with fresh cookies, a giant copper espresso machine, and white wrought-iron chairs and glass-topped tables.

Civitello's, a bakery and small café with booths and tables, has been selling cannoli, spumoni, and Italian cookies since 1911.

Crisp-and-creamy cannoli are $1 each, and chocolate pasticciotti (small custard-filled pies) are 80¢ at the Florentine Pastry Shop, open since 1918. Enjoy your treat with a cup of coffee in an adjoining storefront room decorated with maps and photos of Italy.

Gems Along the Mohawk, next to the Erie Canal, has more than 50 local and regional vendors. The complex includes a waterfront restaurant.

Out-of-print books, first editions, and antique prints are the specialties at Lyrical Ballad Bookstore.

Baskets, moccasins, beaded hair ornaments, and carved bone pendants, all handmade by American Indians, are available for purchase at the Mohawk Indian Craft Shop at Kanatsiohareke, a traditional Mohawk community and education center about 10 mi west of Amsterdam. The selection of books for adults and children is large; you'll also find American Indian–style cotton shirts and dresses adorned with flowing ribbons.

The New York Folklore Society sells one-of-a-kind items made by New York folk artists: carved birds and walking sticks, quilts, hand-knitted children's sweaters, American Indian jewelry, baskets, and Ukrainian pysanky (decorated eggs).

A line forms every afternoon at Perreca's Bakery, in business since 1914 and the cornerstone of the city's Little Italy project. It's a Schenectady tradition to wait for a loaf of Perreca's bread, still warm from the oven. Round or rectangular, large or small, the crusty bread is the city's best-known food item. Actor Jack Nicholson developed a craving for Perreca's when he was in Albany filming the 1987 movie Ironweed and has friends pick up a loaf when they're in the area.

The three covered pavilions at the Saratoga Farmers' Market are a social gathering spot on Wednesday 3–6 and Saturday 9–1, from early May to October. There's a good variety of produce, poultry, and meats from area farms, baked goods, and jams from local berries. From November to April, there is an inside location inside the Lincoln Baths at Saratoga Spa State Park.

Although Soave Faire specializes in framing and art and office supplies, it's also the place to buy any type of hat you might want to wear to the track or a picnic on the polo grounds.