Ithaca Shopping

What to buy: No trip to Ithaca is complete without buying an "Ithaca is Gorges" T-Shirt or bumper sticker. Styles vary include "Ithaca is Cold" (my favorite) "Ithaca is Gangsta" (only acceptable if you are a local) and "Ithaca is Cloudy" (kind of lame).

What to pay: A basic t-shirt will set you back maybe $10-15

I bought after-sun treatment with lavender, a sandwich for my bus ride, a delicious drink for while I waited for the bus, and some hemp lip balm. Had I enough time in Ithaca, I would have stocked up on the wonderful looking produce and the amazing variety of bulk items. This place rocks!

What to buy: Because it is just across the street from the bus station, I recommend stopping over for a snack or sandwich before you climb aboard. It's a grocery store with a twist.

What to pay: The prices were very reasonable. It's not the place to find weekly specials of two for one...but for an organic market, it was surprisingly affordable. My sandwich was $4 and my chai (cold) was $1.75.

It's covered, but it's also open-air. The Ithaca Farmer's Market is an excellent stop for breakfast or to browse local produce and crafts.

Located at Steamboat Landing every Saturday and Sunday, it's also open for summer months on Thursdays and also on Tuesdays at Dewitt Park.

What to buy: Everything you can get your hands on! No really, there are so many wonderful delicious items...and some unique items as well. Look around once, then go back a second time for the shopping.

What to pay: Fair prices.

This store just expanded into a great space on the Commons. It used to be a cozy corner bookstore, but it got cramped. Now it's in a bigger beautiful store with great lighting, comfy chairs, a great kids area, and a cafe in an upstairs balcony area overlooking the store. The cafe serves Vegetarian and organic food and drinks. It also serves as a meeting place for lots of groups that are open to the public. Check the sign board at the bottom of the stairs to see what's going on.

This is a used bookstore with a huge selection of all types of books, fiction and nonfiction. I found some amazing deals on books that I couldn't find anywhere else.

There's also an ATM in the store in case you're looking for one.

What to buy: Books and coffee!! They also stock some smaller things at the payment counters up front like bookmarks, postcards, and specialty chocolate bars that donate a portion of their proceeds to environnmental causes and saving endangered species. I highly recommend the wolf-bar which has cranberries and almonds :)

What to pay: Since these are used books, they're cheaper than new, but they aren't always dirt cheap. Generally, expect to pay about half of list price. They sometimes have great bargains: I've always seen a $1 rack in the front of the store, and make sure to check out their bargain table towards the front. I've gotten some great hardcovers for $5.

The Waterloo Premium Outlets lie on the other end of Cayuga Lake. You need about an hour to drive there from Ithaca, but every time I'm in Ithaca I take a trip up there - I really like outlet shopping, especially since we don't have much of it in Europe (it's just off the New York State thruway if you come from the other direction).
The outlet center is huge and quite pleasant. All the hundred or more shops are situated around a gigantic parking lot, the centre of the outlets. You can walk around it once and go into all the shops you like. Unlike the really cheap outlet center in Niagara Falls, this one is a bit posh, i.e. it has a lot of designer label shops and also furniture, leather, cosmetics etc. However, there is something for everyone. I have my two or three stores there where I get exactly what I want dirt-cheap! It's just so great to pack the clothes in by the kilos, isn't it?

What to buy: Gap Outlet
Aeropostale
Rue 21
Borders
Reebok
VF
Eddie Bauer
J.Crew

etc. etc.

What to pay: A bit more than at a usual outlet center, but there are still great deals.

Pyramid Mall isn't a special mall, just a regular one, but I guess the one to go to when you want to go shopping in Ithaca proper.
It has some nice shops as for clothing, Sears, Aeropostale, Abercrombie, American Eagle, Old Navy, Target, Shoe Department etc.
There also is a small food court, a Borders bookstore, a Best Buy and you can get your hair cut.

What to pay: Normal prices.

As you might have been able to tell, I love books and reading. Especially in English. Every time I'm in Ithaca I have to get some new books, and for that I go to the Commons in downtown Ithaca. there are two or three used bookshops that are very good. Huge, organized, nice atmosphere, a paradise for me.
Since the books are used but in good condition, you are obviously able to make bargains.

What to buy: Books of almost every kind.

What to pay: About half-price of what books usually cost.

The Arnot Mall in Elmira lies about a 30-45 minute drive away from Ithaca. Every time I'm in Ithaca I go there at least once for some shopping. I always find good deals there, and the shopping is pleasant since I have never found the mall crowded. They have a good selection of shops, and actually there are a few, small outlets near the Arnot Mall which can be good.

What to buy: Mostly clothes and shoes.