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| Home > City Guide - Toronto - Shopping | ||
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Shopping Thankfully, Toronto has not succumbed to mall culture to the same degree as its neighbours in the USA – most malls tend to be firmly located in the suburbs, although there are a number of shopping concourses at the bases of the larger Downtown office towers, linked by underground passageways. The one important mall that has managed to take root Downtown is the Eaton Centre, located at the intersection of Yonge and Dundas streets (website: www.torontoeatoncentre.com). The Eaton Centre is a mall for non-mall types – lots of shopping in a more soothing environment, with a huge fountain, a ceiling that is a vast barrel vault of windows and a famous sculpture of flying Canada geese. As a vital, densely populated hub, the city centre is filled with open-air shopping streets, each with its own character. Queen and College streets attract style-conscious twenty- and thirty-somethings. Fashions are original, often with an emphasis on obscure labels, both domestic and imported. Queen Street West also offers a variety of furniture shops, some offering cutting-edge modern designs and others displaying second-hand pieces from ten to 50 years old. There have been some signs of gentrification, sparking the now hip ‘West Queen West’ district, beyond Spadina and Bathurst streets. Yorkville features more upmarket shopping – Prada, Versace, Louis Vuitton – including Holt Renfrew, 50 Bloor Street West, a Canadian equivalent to New York’s Saks or London’s Harrods. Yonge Street offers shopping of every variety from its beginnings near the waterfront right to the northern edge of the city. The bounty of the vast Canadian landscape can be appreciated at St Lawrence Market, at the corner of Jarvis and Front streets (website: www.stlawrencemarket.com). Here, visitors can take in the sight of piles of fresh fish laid out on beds of ice, pick among butcher shops, choose between three delicatessens, five bakeries and many fruit and vegetable shops overflowing with produce. Across town, Kensington Market, tucked in just behind Chinatown (west of Spadina Avenue, between Dundas and College streets) gives a sense of the city’s multi-ethnic make-up, with residents from over 30 cultural backgrounds. The market has been around a long time – since the 1790s – and its winding narrow streets are filled with fruit stands, butcher shops, cafés, Asian markets and local fashion designers. Apart from offering a wealth of good shopping, Toronto is of particular interest to the international traveller due to the relative weakness of the Canadian Dollar. Shopping is available seven days a week and stores are generally open 1000-1800, although it is common to find some open as late as 2200, especially on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. In addition to the 7% Goods and Services Tax (GST), a provincial sales tax of 8% is added to the listed price of most purchases. The GST portion can be redeemed by non-residents for purchases and short-term accommodation totalling over C$200 (minimum C$50 per individual receipt). The Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (tel: (902) 432 5608 or (800) 668 4748; website: www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/visitors) should be contacted for further information and forms. Private companies offer the same service but charge a fee. |
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