Eaton Centre, Toronto (must see)

Toronto caters to any visitor's idea of the "best shopping day ever" as its shopping destinations are perfectly compatible with all budgets, however diverse. Still, no shopping experience in Toronto is complete without visiting the Eaton Centre.

Quite literally "shop-till-you-drop", this Downtown location – anchored between Queen, Dundas, and Yonge streets – is the largest shopping mall in Eastern Canada. The colossal – 160,000 square meters – shopping complex contains more than 230 retail outlets, restaurants, and services under one roof and has definitely something for everyone.

The place is named for Timothy Eaton, owner of a dry goods store on Yonge Street, who in the 19th century revolutionized retailing in Canada. By the 20th century, Eaton's chain of department stores was the largest in the country and owned most of the land in the neighbourhood.

In the mid-1960s, the chain announced plans to build a massive shopping mall that would occupy several city blocks. This implied the demolition of the Old City Hall and the Church of the Holy Trinity. Although the plans were eventually revised, to make way for the new complex, several streets ultimately disappeared from the city street grid.

The Eaton Centre's first phase opened in 1977, featuring ultra-modern, for that time, exterior design as a token of dominance and aspirations. Originally marketed as "Eaton Centre", the complex was renamed "Toronto Eaton Centre" in the early 1990s to disambiguate from other Eaton Centres spawned across Canada.

Today, apart from the high-end boutiques and exclusive stores, inside this premier shopping venue you will find popular universal brands and even bargain marts. With a massive visitor count of over one million a year, the Toronto Eaton Centre has become a regular entry on every tourist’s list.