Toronto > Shopping
Overview:
In Toronto the streets are lined with some of the best
names the fashion world has to offer: Roots, M.A.C., Club
Monaco, Patrick Cox, Lida Baday, Franco Mirabelli -- all
Canadians. Some designers here even work their own stores.
Below are some of the most popular shopping experiences in
the city.
The Bay (861-9111; www.hbc.com),
at the corner of Yonge, has grouped the top Canadian fashion
talent together in one area. Also look for cosmetic and
fragrance lines, exotic tastes in the Food Hall, and
Canadian art in the Thomson Gallery. This is Canada's
largest department store and oldest commercial venture (i.e.
Hudson's Bay Co.).
A Toronto shopping experience includes everything from
upscale boutiques to 1,200 stores and services in more than
6.5 miles of subterranean pedestrian concourses. First
Canadian Place (862-6294); www.toronto.com/firstcdnplace)
located at the corner of King and Bay Streets, is the
highpoint of the underground city with over 120 shops.
Street entrances are marked with "PATH" signage.
Upscale Bloor/Yorkville, centered at Avenue Road
and Bloor St., W., northeast of the Royal Ontario Museum, is
an international shopping district of high caliber. You'll
find designer boutiques such as Chanel, Hermes, Prada and
Louis Vuitton, as well as first-class art galleries. Lundstrom
Retail Inc., (696-2818; www.lindalundstrom.com)
with fashions for women by award-winning Linda Lundstrom,
designer of LAPARKA, is here too.
Eaton Centre (598-8700; www.torontoeatoncentre.com),
on Yonge between Dundas and Queen Streets, is a downtown
shopping complex with more than 280 shops and restaurants
under a glass ceiling. And just one block north is the
World's Biggest Bookstore (977-7009; www.chapters.ca)
stocked with more than 150,000 titles in 17 miles of
bookshelves.
Queen Street West between Yonge St. and Bathurst Ave.
features cutting-edge fashion, galleries, antique shops,
trendy restaurants and coffee bars.
The bustling bazaar-like area of Kensington Market,
between Dundas and College west of Spadina Ave., has shops
packed with a cornucopia of food items from Europe, the
Caribbean, the Middle East, South America and Asia. Shop for
nuts, lentils, mangoes or fish on the site of Toronto's
first ethnic marketplace, an area that is now also a
treasure trove of vintage and second hand clothing shops.
Toronto's garment district, Spadina Ave. between
Dundas and Front St., has terrific bargains on local
fashions, fabric, leathers and furs.
For antiques check out Harbourfront Antique Market
(888-263-OLDE; www.hfam.com),
390 Queen's Quay West, with more than 100 vendors, and Showcase
Antique Mall (703-6255), 610 Queen St. W., with wares of
300 dealers displayed on four floors.
Located on Toronto's waterfront, Queen's Quay Shops at
Newcourt Centre (203-0510) offers more than 50 specialty
shops, many with a Canadian focus.
Legendary Honest Ed's (537-1574), at 581 Bloor St.
W. and one block from the Bathurst subway station, has
160,000 square feet on four floors filled with bargain
basement merchandise, featuring everything from wine to
twine. A Toronto institution for 52 years, it should not be
missed. "Serve yourself and save a lot of money."
