If the tourists aren’t lying on the beach in Carmel, then they’re probably shopping -- the sine qua non of Carmel activities. This small town is home to more than 500 boutiques plying unique fashions, baskets, housewares, imported goods, and a veritable cornucopia of art galleries. Most of the commercial action is packed along the small stretch of Ocean Avenue between Junipero and San Antonio avenues.

If you want to tour the galleries, pick up a copy of the Carmel Gallery Guide from the Carmel Business Association. Serious shoppers should also head south a few miles to the Crossroads Shopping Center (from Hwy. 1 south, take the Rio Rd. exit west for 1 block and turn right onto Crossroads Blvd.). As malls go, this one’s a doozy, with oodles of shopping and a few good restaurants.