World Travel Guide

City Guide  - Quebec City  - Shopping
Shopping

Within Old Town, the main shopping areas are on rues Ste-Anne, De Buade and St-Jean, where there is a mix of tourist shops, clothing stores and boutiques selling everything from handicrafts to Inuit art. The best example of the latter is Brousseau et Brousseau, at 35 rue St-Louis, next door to the Inuit art museum, and its outlets at 69 rue Ste-Anne and 43 rue De Buade, both under the name Aux Multiples Collections.

The most atmospheric place to shop has to be in the Quartier Petit Champlain in Lower Town (web site: www.quartier-petit-champlain.qc.ca). Here, the cobblestone streets are lined with boutiques and shops selling artisanal wares. The Verrerie La Mailloche (web site: www.lamailloche.qc.ca) is especially interesting - one of the province's 'economuseums', it combines a glass-blowing workshop, displays on the craft and a boutique where the finished product can be purchased.

Beyond Old Quebec, most locals shop at the larger suburban shopping malls or on avenue Cartier, a delightful street of boutiques, local fashion designers and restaurants, not far from the Musée du Québec. To the southwest of Quebec City, in the suburb of Ste-Foy where highway 175 meets the 740, is one of the largest shopping complexes in North America, made up of three adjoining shopping malls - Place Laurier, Place Ste-Foy and Place de la Cité - with over 600 shops between them. The other main centre is Galeries de la Capitale, with 250 shops, located at the junction of highways 40 and 740, west of Old Town.

In the Old Port, north of Old Town, at 160 Quai St-André, is the large public market, Le Marché du Vieux-Port. Fresh produce, flowers, cheese and meat are on sale here between 0800 and 1900 daily. For truly farm-fresh goods, it is only a 20-minute drive to the Ile d'Orléans, where dozens of roadside stalls are heaped with fruits and vegetables throughout the summer, and cabanes à sucre (sugar shacks) offer maple syrup products in the early spring.

Shops are generally open Monday to Wednesday 1000-1800, Thursday and Friday 1000-2100 and Saturday and Sunday 1000-1700. The 7% federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) and 7.5% provincial Quebec Sales Tax (QST) are levied on most products and services. Non-residents can apply for a full rebate on goods for use outside of Canada 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. 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) can provide further information.



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