Shopping in Toronto, Canada
Most people don’t travel to Toronto thinking of doing a lot of shopping. The fame of the city is not so great in this sense, but a tour can really end up yielding good acquisitions, mainly because the Canadian dollar has a lower price than the US dollar.
For the purchases to be advantageous, it is necessary to evaluate each case individually and compare if the purchase abroad is really worthwhile; in some cases it is an advantage, in others it is not.
Walking through Toronto, nothing better than starting the tour of one of its main sights, Dundas-Yonge Square. This square is in the heart of Toronto and, in its surroundings, are great stores for shopping. On Yonge Street, which is the largest in the world, you will find varied stores that appeal to different tastes.
To find a little bit of everything in the same place, the tip is to visit the Eaton Center, a giant mall with options for all tastes, including luxury brands and more popular brands. This mall has floors above and below the ground, where it connects to PATH, an underground commercial system where there are many stores! The PATH has excellent quality shops and they are great choices for shopping in winter because its corridors are heated and thus, you need not suffer from the cold that is outdoors.
For those who do not like indoor spaces and prefer to shop outdoors, the tip is to walk on Queen Street West, which has several stores related to fashion and design, and the thrift stores at Kensington Market. Another suggestion is to visit Yorkville, an upscale neighborhood in the city, which has beautiful residences and is where many people with high purchasing power do their shopping. In this neighborhood, and especially on Bloor Street, there are stores of sophisticated brands, such as Chanel, Prada and Louis Vuitton and others more accessible, such as H&M.
An alternative for those looking to find low prices or shop in larger quantities is to move away from Downtown in search of outlets. In Niagara Falls, near the border with the United States, and in Buffalo, a city that belongs to the United States, there are outlets with prices much better than those practiced by traditional stores in downtown Toronto. This is an excellent region for those who want to make more money and find good deals.
Bloor-Yorkville
Bloor Street is one of the good alternatives for shopping in Toronto. The street is in the trendy district of Yorkville and has become an open-air shopping center. In this wonderful consumer center formed in the neighborhood, mainly on Bloor Street, you will find refined brands such as Chanel, Prada, Burberry, Coach and Dolce & Gabbana. For those who do not have the purchasing power so high, there are options for stores with better prices, such as GAP and H&M.
Even if it’s not for shopping, Yorkville is worth a visit. The neighborhood has many beautiful and old houses, studios, design shops and is a very pleasant place to walk.
See the list of stores in Bloor-Yorkville here.
55 Bloor St. W, Toronto – CEP: M4W 1A5
Telephone: (416) 928-3553
Website: http://www.bloor-yorkville.com
CF Toronto Eaton Center
The Eaton Center is one of Toronto’s main shopping centers and is a place where you can find everything to buy. The mall is connected to PATH, an underground shopping system, and also to the subway, so in addition to being a place that people visit to shop, it is also a crossing point for those who do not want to face the cold in Toronto during the winter. As it is a shopping center, it is closed and with constant temperature, going to the mall is a good option in winter.
The mall has several floors, up and down the earth, and houses renowned stores and popular stores. Always busy, it is really an unmissable place for those who want to shop!
Among the stores you’ll find at the Eaton Center are Apple, Best Buy, GAP, Banana Republic, Hugo Boss, Champs, Coach, Disney Store, Fossil, Forever 21, Guess, Godiva, Hollister, Kate Spade, Lacoste, Lush, MAC, Michael Kors, Nike, Old Navy, Pandora, Pink, Swarovski, Ted Baker, Zara and others. See the full list of stores here.
220 Yonge St, Toronto – CEP: M5B 2H1
Telephone: (416) 598-8560
Website: http://www.torontoeatoncentre.com
Hours: Mon – Fri: 10: 00–21: 30 \ nSat: 9: 30–21: 30 \ nSunday: 10: 00–19: 00 \ n
Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls
When visiting Niagara Falls, many tourists take advantage of the fact that they are already in the border region to do some shopping. And for those who prioritize economy, an outlet is the best alternative!
One of the outlet options in the vicinity of the falls is the Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls, on the American side of the border － that is, it requires that the person has seen to the United States.
In this outlet, there are stores of several famous brands and that Brazilians love, among them: Adidas, Aeropostale, Asics, Banana Republic Factory Store, Burberry, Burlington, Calvin Klein, Carter’s, Coach, Columbia, Converse, Crocs, Disney Outlets, DKNK, Foot Locket, Forever 21, Fossil, GAP, Guess and more － see the full list.
Tips to get a discount: register on the Fashion Outlet website and see in which stores the promotions are taking place. Another great option is to look for the costumer service, that place of service to the tourist, and ask for the booklet of coupons, that for a low price guarantees discount in several stores of the outlet.
1900 Military Rd, Niagara Falls – CEP: 14304
Telephone: (716) 297-1233
Website: http: // https: //www.fashionoutletsniagara.com
Hours: Mon – Sun: \ n
Kensington Market
Kensington Market is an area in Downtown Toronto that brings together several restaurants and shops. It’s a cool, young place, good for shopping and finding different types of food. Walking there, you can have lunch in one restaurant, get dessert in another, have an ice cream later… And so on.
In the market, you will find establishments of Italian, Mexican food, fish, sweets, bakery, bars, cold and cheese shops, as well as flower shops, clothes and other objects. It is a place that welcomes more people during the day, meeting you at lunch or until 6pm is ideal for those who want to eat and enjoy the lively atmosphere there. For those who want to drink, it is best to go at night, as the region also has some cool bars.
Unlike St Lawrance Market, Kensington Market is outdoors and is therefore a more interesting spot to visit on sunny days. Weekends close to lunchtime tend to be a busy time in the market.
Queen Street West
Queen Street is one of Toronto’s busiest streets and its western region, known as Queen West, is one of the city’s best areas for outdoor shopping. Queen West has become a point where cultural and fashion-related entities are concentrated; the region has a university, museum, galleries and several shops. For those who want to shop and like fashion, mainly, it is a great alternative to walk, as there are stores of internationally known brands, such as Zara and Anthropologie, in addition to several other vintage stores and local brands.
Toronto PATH System
PATH is considered the largest underground shopping system in the world. It is almost 30 km long and as it is very cold in the city during the winter, being able to walk through the city’s underground streets, where temperatures are constant and pleasant, is a relief. The feeling of walking through it is similar to walking through a normal mall, the number of stores and developments is huge!
PATH has long walkways with food courts, markets, restaurants, shops, banks and other services. It is almost as if it were another city underground, where people can do many daily jobs without facing the cold or the rain.
Connected to the subway, office buildings and some of Toronto’s main sights, such as the CN Tower and the Hockey Hall of Fame, PATH is part of the city. However, for those who are tourists, walking without getting lost is not the easiest task, mainly because the underground streets do not necessarily obey the regular streets.
To locate yourself, remember the letters PATH － in the city slogan, each one has a color and represents a cardinal direction: P (red) represents the south direction, A (orange) represents the west, T (blue) represents the north and H (yellow) represents the east direction. A small map can also be useful for exploring the underground walkways, since with it, you can know which path will be best to take and where to enter or leave PATH. See here the PATH map (in English).
Yonge-Dundas Square
Toronto’s most famous square, it marks the meeting of two important streets in the city, Yonge (considered the longest street in the world) and Dundas. If New York has its Times Square, Toronto has Dundas Square, which is one of the hottest spots in the city. The square hosts events of all kinds, brings together people with different goals and, around it, there are dozens of signs with advertisements that take over nearby buildings. In summary, it is one of the main tourist spots in Toronto, starting the city tour through Dundas Square is a good choice.
Shopping is also an excellent reason to visit this region, because there are several famous stores that are located there, in addition to many others inside the Eaton Center, a shopping center opposite the square.
1 Dundas St E, Toronto – CEP: M5B 2R8
Telephone: (416) 979-9960
Website: http://www.ydsquare.ca