The best shopping in Sestri Levante is local food. Via Nazionale is the main shopping street, but the more interesting specialist food shops are tucked into the old town streets behind the Baia del Silenzio.
Look for local olive oil, pesto (made with small-leaf Ligurian basil), cured meats from the inland valleys, local honey, and the area's distinctive nougat. The nougat-making tradition in Sestri Levante is genuine — several family producers have been making it here for generations, and the local product is quite different from the commercial variety. The town is also a good place to buy Ligurian pasta shapes — trofie, corzetti, and pasta al pesto — to take home.