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Sparkling new luxury watches from Rolex? Check. The latest Hermes birkin or scarf in all three patterns? Check. And the new rose-patterned Louis Vuitton bag with matching shoes? Check again.

Step through the Looking Glass and enter a magical shopping wonderland where every girl is princess for a day, and the shoe always fits.

Colorful and imaginative surprises wait around every corner in a symphony of sights, scents and sounds.

It’s a grown up girl’s fairy tale, where a credit card and a bit of cash always ensures a happy ending.

Built in 1967 on a plot of the Segerstrom family’s lima bean fields, the South Coast Plaza mall is located in Orange County at the intersections of the 55 and 405 freeways. Without traffic, it’s about an hour’s drive from Los Angeles and San Diego counties.

This is not your neighborhood mall. South Coast Plaza stores include exclusive fashion boutiques for 280 of the world’s top fashion designers, including Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry, Dior, Chanel, Escada and Jimmy Choo. You’ll also find luxury watches from retailers like Piaget and Rolex, who chose South Coast Plaza California as its flagship US location.

Like Las Vegas, South Coast Plaza is constantly evolving — and you’ll find fresh, new and exciting fashion clothing, luxury bedding and fashion accessories every time you visit.

When you arrive, I recommend picking up a South Coast Plaza map at the concierge. This is a massive shopping complex, measuring in at 2.6 million retail square feet. There are also several places to view the South Coast Plaza directory in each wing of the mall.

Tip: The concierge can also make restaurant or theater reservations, check packages, offer personal shopping, help with foreign language istance and rent out complimentary strollers.

It’s no surprise that South Coast Plaza is, itself, an attraction drawing more than 24 million visitors a year. In fact, its stores generate more revenue than any other shopping center in the country.

Kids love it for the South Coast Plaza carousel, which has been a crowd pleaser since the beginning. If you save your ticket stub, there are some great discounts on the back!

You won’t find any food courts selling hot dogs on a stick here. South Coast Plaza restaurants are as elegant as its boutiques, serving up some of Southern California’s finest cuisine.

More than 30 Orange County restaurants vie for your attention, from the exquisite Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdales to the homey Antonello Espresso Cafe, an Italian sidewalk bistro that’s great for people-watching.

One of the best values at South Coast Plaza is the $20 three-course lunch at Marché Moderne, a nouveau French restaurant in the Penthouse at South Coast Plaza.

The truth is, South Coast Plaza is unlike any shopping center you’ve been to. I met in the Penthouse with executive director Werner Escher, who, during the past 40 years, has transformed South Coast Plaza into a tourism site as hotly anticipated as Disneyland.

It’s no wonder that South Coast Plaza is a featured stop on several bus tours in California. In fact, most Disneyland area hotels have shuttle service to South Coast Plaza three times daily.

But if you want to stay in the heart of the action, one of the closest South Coast Plaza hotels is the Westin South Coast Plaza, located right across the street. From here, you can walk practically everywhere, from the best restaurants in The OC to the world famous Orange County Performing Arts Center.

And did I mention the South Coast Plaza spa? The Spa at South Coast Plaza serves up some of The OC’s most pampering treatments, from hot stone massages to the bio marine facial.

At Spa Nordstrom, you can get a tropical smoothie mud wrap!

South Coast Plaza hours are 10-9 weekdays, 10-8 on Saturday and 11 to 6:30 p.m. Sundays.

The South Coast Plaza address is at
3333 Bristol Ave
Costa Mesa, CA
(800) 782-8888
www.southcoastplaza.com

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