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| Home - City Guide - Calgary - Shopping | ||
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Shopping As a shopping destination, Calgary offers visitors the opportunity to buy something that captures the flavour of the city and country - like maple syrup or a leather belt from a country market - along with sophisticated boutique products one would expect to find in any major international city. What makes Calgary the most compelling for shoppers, however, is the fact that the Province of Alberta charges no provincial sales tax, resulting in better shopping value than in other Canadian provinces. A federal sales tax of 7% is, however, charged, but this can be redeemed by non-residents for purchases over C$50 by contacting International Tax Refund Services (tel: (403) 274 1113) or the National Tax Refund Service (tel: (450) 434 5555). Stores are open seven days a week, normally 1000-1800 but often as late as 2200 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Sunday shopping hours are 1100-1700. Calgary has a number of districts that offer the city's best shopping. Downtown Calgary has Stephen Avenue Walk, a pedestrian walkway lined with historic buildings that house shops, galleries and restaurants. Nearby, a number of underground shopping areas, including TD Square, the Calgary Eaton Centre and Penny Lane Mall, are all linked by tunnel to create a kind of super-complex offering over 400 stores. The range includes retail chains, department stores and speciality boutiques. The city centre's best-known retail asset, however, is the Eau Claire Market, whose interior houses restaurants and a fresh-food market, around which are lined a variety of speciality shops and kiosks. More upmarket shopping can be found at Uptown 17th Avenue, with fashion boutiques, antique stores and Mount Royal Village - one of the city's more high-end malls. |
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