Head northeast of downtown proper to Easton Town Center, a massive shopping and entertainment complex that has easily become Columbus's most popular shopping destination. Easton's core is a traditional indoor mall setting, with stores, restaurants, and a movie theatre. However, the rest of Easton consists of outdoor, pedestrian-friendly shopping, with stores and restaurants occupying a Main Street, USA-type feel.
Drive just north of downtown to the Short North neighborhood to shop one-of-a-kind boutiques and art galleries. This is a hip part of town, where you'll find trendy clothing shops, unique art objects, kitchen essentials, books and much more.
Shop on The Ohio State University's campus, which occupies North High St (above the Short North), if you're looking for places with a younger edge. Find used CDs, cassettes and LPs at Used Kids Records. Get an ironic tee-shirt at Urban Outfitters or find the perfect tapestry for your dorm room at The Import House.
Do some antiquing in Clintonville, the neighborhood just north of OSU's campus. If you drive north on High Street from OSU, you'll know you're in Clintonville when you start spotting an antique shop on almost every block. Each shop has its own personality, and specializes in anything from kitsch to pop culture to historic treasures.
Travel further north to Polaris Towne Center and Polaris Fashion Place. Polaris Towne Center features many national chains, such as Barnes & Noble, Lowe's, JoAnn Etc., OfficeMax and Old Navy, just to name a few. Across Polaris Parkway, you'll find Polaris Fashion Place, a traditional mall setting including many national clothing retailers.
Venture south of downtown to German Village and window shop the independent home décor retailers, bookstore and antique dealers. A visit to Columbus is incomplete without walking through The Book Loft in German Village, a 19th century brick home converted into a 32-room bookstore that is consistently rated the city's favorite.
