Toronto has long been a tourist destination – and with a weak Canadian dollar, makes for a great place for tourists to shop. We won’t recommend the latest styles or boutiques here, but will give you the history of the main shopping areas and shopping malls in Toronto. Something more up to date than the wonderful 1918 Queen’s Hotel Traveller’s Guide to Toronto.
Yonge Street runs north-south through the centre of Toronto and has a TTC subway line underneath. We suggest using your favourite directions app to determine the best way to get to the different shopping locations, but we’ll give you a general sense of location here, too.
St. Lawrence Market
Located just east of Yonge Street along Front Street, no trip to Toronto is complete without spending some time shopping, and eating, your way through the St. Lawrence Market.
We recommend you start walking east from Union Station (a TTC and Go Train hub) and spend some time enjoying the fountain and green space in Berczy Park then enjoy the view slightly farther east, looking back past Toronto’s own 1892 Flatiron building with the CN Tower in the background. The area around the market is called St. Lawrence (not to be confused with the river).
One more block, and you’ll arrive at the St. Lawrence Market itself. The first market hall opened here in 1803, and served as Toronto City Hall for a while. A new north hall was opened in the spring of 2025. In April 2012 National Geographic magazine named the St. Lawrence market the world’s best food market. For more details see our webpage: Historic photos and sketches of the market at wholemap.com/StLawrenceMarket
Location and parking at the St. Lawrence Market
- Address 92 Front St E, Toronto, ON M5E 1C4
- Historic photos and sketches at wholemap.com/StLawrenceMarket
- Additional history of the market is available on the Wikipedia page here
- Public transit: The Market is a 10 to 15 minute walk east from Union or King Subway Stations – there are also a number of streetcar lines that run across King Street to Jarvis Street.
- Parking: The area is dynamic and therefore best to search online for parking in the area – there has long been a lot at 129 Lower Jarvis St, Toronto, ON M5E 1Z6 with a walkway over Jarvis Street directly into the South Market.
Distillery District
A bit farther east is the Distillery District, with the largest collection of Victorian-era industrial architecture in North America. Parliament and Front Street East marks the north-west corner of the commercial and residential district. Watch for the red ‘Big Heart’ sculpture on Tank House lane – 14 feet tall and 12 feet wide – to welcome you to the area.
As the name suggests, the area was used as a distillery from 1832 through the late 1980’s. The Gooderham and Worts distillery being the most famous. At its peak, over 2 million US gallons (7.6 million litres) of whisky was exported around the world. Starting in the 1990’s residential condominiums and art spaces were developed in the area, with the 2015 Pan American Games Athletes Village built not far away.
There is also a popular Christmas Market run every year which highlights the many restaurants and shops in the area.
TV and movies filled in the Distillery District
There are a number of TV and film production studios south east of the area, so it has been a popular filming location with over 800 productions to date. Too many to list here, but some highlights include – movies:
- Anne of Green Gables – Megan Follows
- Chicago with Renee Zellweger, Richard Gere, Lucy Liu, Queen Latifa, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Colm Feore
- X Men – Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Romijn Stamos, Iam McKellen, Halle Berry
TV shows:
- Due South – Paul Gross
- Road to Avonlea – Sarah Poley
- Street Legal – Albert Schultz
- The Littlest Hobo
Location and parking in the Distillery District
- Address 51 Mill Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada – M5A 3C4
- Historic photos and sketches at https://wholemap.com/DistilleryDistrict
- Additional history and details is available on the Wikipedia page here
- Biking to the Distillery District: The Lower Don River multi-use trail is an excellent bike trail down the Bayview Extension, around Corktown Common, then south down Cherry Street past the Distillery District and down to Cherry Beach,
- Public transit: There are a number of streetcar lines that run across King Street to Parliament Street. The 504A streetcar takes you to the east side of the Distillery District along Cherry Street.
- Parking: The area is dynamic and therefore best to search online for parking in the area like the Green P Carpark #230 on Parliament Street
Kensington Market
While there is no central market building in the neighbourhood, Kensington Market is another must-see Toronto shopping neighbourhood. This time west of Yonge Street.
In the 1920’s the area was known as the Jewish market with many small storefront businesses and shows – furriers, tailors, bakers and fresh food stores. As new waves of immigrants arrived in Toronto they added to the wonderful character of Kensington Market and the neighbouring China Town area along Spadina Ave to the east. The area is also home to many artists and writers.
In the summer there are often Pedestrian Sunday events where parts of Augusta St., Baldwin St. and Kensington Ave. are closed to cars. turning the streets into a pedestrian mall with live music, street theatre and games – and lots of people watching.
Location and parking in Kensington market
- Address: The area south-west of College and Spadina, centred around Augusta Ave and Nassau Street
- Historic photos at https://wholemap.com/KensingtonMarket
- Additional history and details is available on the Wikipedia page here
- Public transportation: The 510 TTC streetcar runs south from the Spadina subway station (along the Bloor Danforth line), and the 506 streetcar runs west from Yonge Street
- Parking: there is a Green P parking lot at 20 St. Andrew Street, just west of Spadina
Yorkville shopping neighbourhood downtown
Created as a residential suburb of Toronto in 1830, Yorkville has transformed itself a number of times, but some of the history has survived. 100 Yorkville is a good example: the house built there in 1871 was converted to the Lyndhurst Private Hospital in 1914, then was expanded to become the Toronto Hebrew Maternity and Convalescent Hospital (1923) and renamed Mount Sinai Hospital in 1924. The building still stands today, and is currently a Chanel store.
In the 1960’s Yorkville became a centre of bohemian culture (Margaret Atwood, Gwendolyn MacEwen, and Dennis Lee) and music (Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Gordon Lightfoot).
As the city, and subway, grew around it, property values increased and Yorkville transformed itself into the Milk Mile with art galleries, high-end retail and hotels, and restaurants.
Location and parking in Yorkville
- Address: South east of Avenue and Davenport down to Bloor street, east as far as Mt. Pleasant
- For the history buff that might want to take a break from shopping in Yorkville, here are the historic sketches and photos we have collected around Yorkville: https://wholemap.com/Yorkville including the Yorkville Town Hall at https://wholemap.com/YorkvilleTownhall
- Public transportation: There are three TTC subway stations in the Yorkville areas:
- Rosedale TTC subway station on Yonge street at the north end of Yorkville
- Bloor-Yonge TTC subway station
- Bay TTC subway station in the heart of Yorkville
- Parking in Yorkville: There is a Municipal Parking – Carpark 215 lot on Yorkville Ave just west of Bay Street.
Yorkdale shopping mall
People often confuse Yorkville (downtown neighbourhood) and Yorkdale shopping mall slightly north of downtown near Hwy 401.
Yorkdale Mall opened in 1964 as the largest enclosed shopping mall in the world, and it remains one of the busiest malls in Canada with many high end stores. You can see the full list on their website at yorkdale.com
There are also a number of public art pieces at the mall that are worth checking out – see the list on wholemap.com/Yorkdale including sculptures by Graham Coughtry and Gerald Gladstone and others.
Location and parking at Yorkdale
- Address: 3401 Dufferin Street, Toronto, Ontario M6A 2T9
- For the history buff that might want to take a break from shopping in Yorkdale, here are the historic video and photos we have collected from Yorkdale: https://wholemap.com/Yorkdale
- Public transportation: The Yorkdale TTC subway station is located on the south-east corner of the mall as is the Yorkdale Go Bus terminal
- Parking at Yorkdale: There are over 7,000 free parking spots at Yorkdale Mall
Eaton Centre
We’ll end our shopping tour of Toronto with the Eaton Centre – the CF Toronto Eaton Centre. The first par of the mall opened in 1977 and remains one of Toronto’s most visited tourist attractions. It stretches from Dundas in the north, to Queen Street in the south along the west side of Yonge Street.
If you look up towards the south end of the mall you’ll see a flock of geese suspended from the ceiling – the piece is called Flightstop, by artist Michael Snow.
Saved as part of the construction is the 1847 Holy Trinity Anglican Church, along with its 1861 rectory, and the 1857 Scadding House on the west side of the Eaton centre.
Yonge street has long been the heart of downtown Toronto, and a walk along Yonge street is a good reminder of that. Close by is the Elgin & Winter Garden Theatres, Massey Hall, Toronto City Hall and so on.
Location and parking at the Eaton Centre
- Address: 220 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M5B 2H1
- Historic Photos of the Eaton Centre and area: Besides the specific links above, you can see lots of historic photos from downtown Toronto here
- Public transportation: Dundas TTC subway station at the north end of the mall, and Queen TTC Subway station at the south end
- Parking in the Eaton Centre: There are a number of parking lots in the area, one accessible from Bay Street just south of Dundas Street West, and one accessible from Yonge Street at Shuter Street.