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When first opened in 1965, the result of an international design competition won by Finnish architect Viljo Revell, this building was highly controversial. The two curving towers caused an uproar and possibly even led to the then mayor losing an election. The building has since become a prized landmark of the city, and the central plaza, Nathan Phillips Square, an animated symbol of civic life – a place for political demonstrations, winter ice skating, a summer farmers’ market, outdoor concerts, and celebrations. Inside are murals and other fabulous artworks (see City Hall).

While it might seem strange that a shopping center is the city’s most popular tourist attraction – according to the numbers, at any rate – this retail complex is simply a popular place to shop, meet, hang out, and people-watch. (Crowds of boisterous teenagers attest to this fact.) Its massive size – more than 300 stores – ensures that you can find practically anything you would want to buy here. Numerous restaurants, fast-food counters, and specialty treat shops round out the bill (see Eaton Centre).

This funky neighborhood, in a small pocket west of Spadina, is the heart of multicultural Toronto – a place where vendors from almost every corner of the globe have set up shop. Spilling out into the narrow sidewalks are stores selling an array of fruits, vegetables, and bulk dry goods, while music blasts from open doors and loudspeakers. Pedestrians jostle with cyclists and traffic moves at a snail’s pace, everyone vying for their inch of street space, particularly on Saturdays when the area is at its liveliest best. Leave the car behind and wander through the streets, soaking up the atmosphere, perhaps checking out the price of live lobster at a fish vendor’s or browsing through trinkets and secondhand clothes in the many eclectic stores at the south end of Kensington Avenue (see Kensington Market).

In the 1960s, it was ground zero for hippies and the youth culture; today, this neighborhood is ground zero for establishment culture and the city’s most upscale shopping. Expensive shops on Cumberland St and Yorkville Ave, between Bay St and Avenue Rd, sell luxury goods such as cosmetics, jewelry, designer fashions, antiques, and leather luggage. The area’s numerous restaurants and bars cater to equally refined palates and wallets. There are also more than 20 fine-art galleries in the area, exhibiting some of the country’s top names. Sidewalk cafés provide stylish perches for people-watching (see Yorkville).

Yorkville