Manchester Designer Outlets

The outlet strip along Route 7A between Manchester Village and Manchester Center is one of the oldest and best-established in New England — more than 50 designer and brand-name stores concentrated in a walkable stretch, including Polo Ralph Lauren, J.Crew, Kate Spade, Orvis, Brooks Brothers, and many others. Prices are genuine discounts from full retail.

The shopping is most enjoyable on weekdays and outside peak season; autumn weekends, particularly foliage weekends, bring significant crowds and parking becomes difficult. The strip is divided between several small outdoor shopping centres — the main ones are Manchester Designer Outlets (at the southern end near Hildene) and the shops clustered near the intersection of Routes 7A and 11/30. Most stores are open daily from 10am.

things to do shopping
A story
Manchester's outlet shopping dates from the 1970s, when Orvis opened a factory store on Route 7A and other brands followed. The strip grew through the 1980s and 1990s into one of the first outlet destinations in the Northeast. The town's location — close enough to Boston and New York for a weekend drive, but far enough to feel like a destination — made it ideal. By the time outlet shopping had become ubiquitous, Manchester's version had the advantage of an actual town around it.