Two 45 year old women want to shop in either Montreal or Toronto for 4 days in November? Which city would you recommend? We like one of kind, boutique, artsy shops as well as department stores/malls

You won't go wrong in either city, shopper45, for what you're looking for. The weather is likely to be milder (although it won't necessarily be mild)in Toronto in November, so that may be a reason to sway you toward that city if cold bothers you. That said, I prefer Montreal, a city that to my eyes has a denser selection of eclectic stores per capita. Then again, Toronto is no slacker in the eclectic stores department either, so enjoy whichever you decide.

Both are fabulous in their own ways. But, I prefer Montreal, especially for (really comfortable) shoe shopping at the best prices. I found Toronto nice for WAY "upscale" and top of the line pricey stuff (along with all too "trendy" shops for my over-50 endeavors), whereas there is everything imaginable for every age and budget in Montreal. You can't go wrong in either place; I've just found much more to my liking (kitchenwares, clothing, shoes, home decor, personal care, etc.) in Montreal, not to mention more fabulous dining!

I live in Toronto and always hear that Montreal is great for shopping. I don't really see it myself, but I guess you need to know where to go. I buy most of my clothes at Talbots and Toronto is the only place in Canada (I think) that has a Talbots outlet. They have great sales, so I tend to stock up there.

I've just been at the new "Complexe Les Ailes" that has opened this morning in the old Eaton store on Ste-Catherine in Montreal.<BR><BR>Certainly a new "must" for shopping in Montreal. <BR><BR>Architecture very nicely done too.

My favorite Canadian shoe store is Brown's, which has branches in Montreal and Toronto. There are other Canadian-only chains where you can get great styles, great prices. In Montreal, check out Ogilvy's, which used to be a stuffy waspy department store, now is a good place to see Canadian-designed clothes. For men, Harry Rosen, in Toronto and Montreal, is hard to beat even in New York City for its fantastic selection and super taste. Montreal also stands out for the amazing concentration of excellent hair salons. You will note that the majority of women you see walking around have great haircuts. If you want to get a new look, or hair treatments that would be more expensive in a major U.S. city, Montreal could be the place to go. Also, the popular MAC cosmetics line, which has now been bought out by Estee Lauder and is distributed internationally, originated in Toronto, so either of these two cities would be a good place to investigate MAC boutiques. You could have a great time shopping in either Toronto or Montreal, and hit a lot of the same stores, so it is really a question of which city you would prefer to get to know. If you are into big-ticket shopping, Montreal is of course one of the biggest centers of fur-coat manufacture in the world. We are talking major, major savings. You can visit the factories on and around rue St-Alexandre. If you are bringing the coat back to the U.S., sew in a Saks or Marshall Field label.

We like going to Montreal for shopping even though Toronto is much closer. My wife finds that the quality of sales staff to be noticably higher in Montreal even thought they are using their second language. <BR><BR>For the taller woman the Simons store on Rue Ste. Catherine is a gold mine (according to my 6 foot tall wife).