World Travel Guide

City Guide  - Vancouver  - Shopping
Shopping

Chic Robson Street offers fashion boutiques, souvenir and speciality shops and, bizarrely, a fair number of Cuban cigar emporia. Yaletown is the shopping ground of Vancouver's young and aspirational, with designer fashions, art galleries and trendy home décor shops. Other popular areas include Gastown, Granville Island and Chinatown (see the Key Attractions section).

Indoor shopping downtown includes the Pacific Centre, Royal Centre and the Sinclair Centre, while Metrotown is a large suburban mall (with 500 shops and food outlets) connected to the SkyTrain station of the same name. For outdoors enthusiasts, the stretch of Broadway between Ontario and Cambie Streets is a must - Mountain Equipment Co-op (web site: www.mec.ca), 130 West Broadway, is the best known of the clutch of sporting goods stores here.

When it comes to souvenir shopping, the best objects are Pacific Northwest and Inuit arts and crafts: soapstone sculptures, carved masks, totem poles, pottery, jewellery and prints. Try Circle Craft (an artists' co-operative) or Eagle Spirit Gallery on Granville Island, Coastal Peoples Fine Art Gallery at 1072 Mainland Street in Yaletown, the well-respected Marion Scott Gallery at 481 Howe Street or one of the many galleries on Water Street in Gastown. British Columbia smoked salmon is another popular choice.

Lovers of international contemporary art can try the Buschlen Mowatt Gallery, 1445 West Georgia Street, or, more uniquely, can take longer to decide if they like a piece - works curated by the gallery hang in the rooms of the Listel Vancouver at 1300 Robson. South of downtown, there are more than a dozen galleries on Granville Street between 5th and 14th avenues. For more listings, pick up a copy of the Art Guide to British Columbia (web site: www.art-bc.com).

Shops are generally open Monday to Saturday 1000-1800 (until 2100 Thursday and Friday) and Sunday 1200-1700. There is a non-refundable provincial sales tax of 7% in addition to the 7% federal Goods & Services Tax (GST). Foreign visitors may claim a rebate of the GST paid on goods that they take out of Canada within 60 days of purchase as well as on short-term accommodation; the total pre-tax value must exceed C$200, with a C$50 minimum for each individual invoice. Contact the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (tel: (902) 432 5608 or (800) 668 4748; web site: www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/tax/nonresidents/visitors/index-e.html) for further information and forms. A number of private companies will facilitate the process for a hefty fee.



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ENTERTAINMENT
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