Memphis proudly welcomed major retail back downtown with the opening of Peabody Place (901/261-7529), just a block away from Beale Street, with a Tower Records, Gap, and Victoria’s Secret, as well as a movie theater and several restaurants in the food court.

The most upscale shopping mall in the Memphis area is Wolfchase Galleria (2760 N. Germantown Pkwy., 901/372-9409). Located in Cordova, an east-lying suburb now consumed by Memphis sprawl, the galleria celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2007. It is aging gracefully, and still boasts some of the most exclusive retailers in the city, including Brooks Brothers, Abercrombie & Fitch, and bebe. Department stores at the mall include Macy’s, Dillard’s, Sears, and JC Penney. You can take either exit 16 or 18 off I-40 to get to Wolfchase Galleria.

Also in Germantown, The Shops of Saddle Creek (West St. at Poplar Ave., 901/761-2571) has Williams Sonoma, Banana Republic, and an Apple computer store, among others.

Closer to the city center, Oak Court Mall (4465 Poplar Ave., 901/682-8928) was the location of the very first Starbucks in Tennessee. It is also consistently voted Memphians’ favorite mall, no doubt because it offers a good selection of stores in a pleasant atmosphere, and it’s relatively close to town. Department stores at Oak Court include Macy’s and Dillard’s; the mall also has Aveda, Jos A. Bank, Banana Republic, and dozens more stores.

And if that’s not enough for you, head across the road to Laurelwood Shopping Center (Poplar Ave. at Perkins Ext., 901/794-6022), where you’ll find specialty clothing and shoe boutiques, as well as Davis-Kidd Booksellers, Memphis’s best large bookstore.

In South Memphis, Southland Mall (1215 Southland Mall, 901/346-1210) is Memphis’s oldest mall. Built in 1966, Southland soldiers on. There is a Sears, as well as specialty shops including Radio Shack and Bath & Body Works.