Shopping in Toronto
Jul 25th, 2003 | 10:05 AM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: Jul 2003
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Shopping in Toronto
My husband, daughter( 22 ) and I will be traveling to Toronto next week. We are looking forward to seeing the area and hopefully will see a play. Any suggestions for a play that is not one of the better known ones...........i.e. Mama Mia? Also--daughter will want to shop and would like suggestions for some trendy, not so expensive shops near the Marriott Bloor-Yorkville. We will have a car but don't mind using the subway or taxi. Many thanks!!!
Jul 25th, 2003 | 10:16 AM
#2
Joined: Jun 2003
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Much of the shopping near the Marriott Bloor-Yorkville is of the expensive variety (Bloor is Canada's upper 5th Avenue). The Hudson's Bay dept. store has a mix of price ranges, but many of the stores around it are Prada, Gucci, Tiffany etc. and a bunch of pricey, independent boutique type stores.
For funky and reasonable, hop on the subway and get off at the Osgoode station then walk west on Queen Street. It's the Haight Ashbury of Toronto.
For funky and reasonable, hop on the subway and get off at the Osgoode station then walk west on Queen Street. It's the Haight Ashbury of Toronto.
Jul 25th, 2003 | 12:18 PM
#3
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 89
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Although Bloor St is generally high-end there are mainstream/chain stores like Roots, Zara, Gap along Bloor.
The Eaton Centre (Yonge/Dundas; 15-20 min walk or 3 subway stops away) is a huge shopping mall and huge tourist destination. The flagship Bay dept store is at Yonge/Queen across from the south end of the Eaton Centre.
Martytravels is right about Queen St West, which starts about 5-10 minutes walk west of the Eaton Centre.
For plays, check toronto.com or torontolife.com. In town (or check websites), you can check out NOW, a free alternative newspaper which comes out each Thursday, Thursday edition of Toronto Star or Sat edition of Globe and Mail. The July 24th Star gave Happy Days 4/5 and No Man's Land 3/5 ratings, both put on by Soulpepper Group. How about comedy at Second City - you can just see the show or do dinner pkg; their show/dinner/hotel/Blue Jays pkg promotion may still be on. Another suggestion is Canstage's Twelth Night done outdoors in High Park (Toronto Star rated 1/5), Toronto's less crowded version of Central Park. High Park is in the west end and is on the subway line (20-25 minutes from Yonge/Bloor). If you are doing a day trip to Niagara Falls, consider Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Another day trip is to the Stratford Festival in Stratford.
Enjoy!!
The Eaton Centre (Yonge/Dundas; 15-20 min walk or 3 subway stops away) is a huge shopping mall and huge tourist destination. The flagship Bay dept store is at Yonge/Queen across from the south end of the Eaton Centre.
Martytravels is right about Queen St West, which starts about 5-10 minutes walk west of the Eaton Centre.
For plays, check toronto.com or torontolife.com. In town (or check websites), you can check out NOW, a free alternative newspaper which comes out each Thursday, Thursday edition of Toronto Star or Sat edition of Globe and Mail. The July 24th Star gave Happy Days 4/5 and No Man's Land 3/5 ratings, both put on by Soulpepper Group. How about comedy at Second City - you can just see the show or do dinner pkg; their show/dinner/hotel/Blue Jays pkg promotion may still be on. Another suggestion is Canstage's Twelth Night done outdoors in High Park (Toronto Star rated 1/5), Toronto's less crowded version of Central Park. High Park is in the west end and is on the subway line (20-25 minutes from Yonge/Bloor). If you are doing a day trip to Niagara Falls, consider Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Another day trip is to the Stratford Festival in Stratford.
Enjoy!!
Jul 25th, 2003 | 05:24 PM
#4
Joined: Feb 2003
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Adding to the above -- one of the good things about expensive stores is sales, so there's still hope in the neighborhood.
The Queen and Yonge Bay has a different product mix than the Bay next to your hotel, so make sure you see both.
Queen Street West is great; it gets funkier west of Spadina Avenue.
Winners is a chain of discoutn stores, clean, neat, tidy, selling good to excellent ends of lines, etc., and is a favorite of Toronto's serious shoppers. Biggest and best Winners is at Yonge and College Street (there's a subway stop), and there's another on Spadina Avenue, a couple of blocks south of Queen.
Now, what to do with your husband?
The whole Yorkville area is full of interesting things, and there are benches on the street, so he won't be bored there.
Same, more or less, for the queen Street West walk from University Avenue west to Spadina and beyond, although if he's a sports fan, he might like to leave you and walk down John Street to SkyDome, and take a tour.
The best place for you to meet uyp later is the Chapters book store, at Richmond and John Strteets, which has a comfortable Starbucks where the shoppers can wait for the sports fan, or visa versa.
Among the plays, Tony and Tina's Wedding has received good reviews from poeple I know who have seen it, and is a great cross-generation show.
And, for the fashion-conscious, the Bata Shoe Museum, a few blocks west of your hotel, at Bloor and St. George, is worth an hour or so.
The Royal Ontario Museum, at Bloor Street West and Avenue Road, is another good husband-storage place, whre he'll be able to spend hours looking at things more interesting than women's shoes.
BAK
The Queen and Yonge Bay has a different product mix than the Bay next to your hotel, so make sure you see both.
Queen Street West is great; it gets funkier west of Spadina Avenue.
Winners is a chain of discoutn stores, clean, neat, tidy, selling good to excellent ends of lines, etc., and is a favorite of Toronto's serious shoppers. Biggest and best Winners is at Yonge and College Street (there's a subway stop), and there's another on Spadina Avenue, a couple of blocks south of Queen.
Now, what to do with your husband?
The whole Yorkville area is full of interesting things, and there are benches on the street, so he won't be bored there.
Same, more or less, for the queen Street West walk from University Avenue west to Spadina and beyond, although if he's a sports fan, he might like to leave you and walk down John Street to SkyDome, and take a tour.
The best place for you to meet uyp later is the Chapters book store, at Richmond and John Strteets, which has a comfortable Starbucks where the shoppers can wait for the sports fan, or visa versa.
Among the plays, Tony and Tina's Wedding has received good reviews from poeple I know who have seen it, and is a great cross-generation show.
And, for the fashion-conscious, the Bata Shoe Museum, a few blocks west of your hotel, at Bloor and St. George, is worth an hour or so.
The Royal Ontario Museum, at Bloor Street West and Avenue Road, is another good husband-storage place, whre he'll be able to spend hours looking at things more interesting than women's shoes.
BAK
Jul 28th, 2003 | 03:28 PM
#6
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 264
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Your daughter (and/or you) might like a store called Mendocino; there are several in Toronto...Eaton Centre, Queen St. Also there is a big Nike store and Club Monaco on Bloor. You could also hop on the subway and go to Yorkdale Mall...lots of great fashion and shoe stores there too.
Jul 30th, 2003 | 11:19 AM
#7
Guest
Posts: n/a
Just though you should know, Mamma Mia is on hiatus until September. There are other good plays, the Producers, Lion King. Check out the Eaton Centre for shopping. Bloor and Yonge can be pricy. Or for real deals check out Spadina just north of Front street
