Calgary Shopping

Lots of stalls line the pedestrian street selling - well guess what - Stampede Season and Christmas all at once - The market stalls are interesting some display the usual tourist tat and cheap souviners, while others have beautifully hand crafted local art work on display. You can grab a quick bite to eat here too from the fast food stalls - well shopping can make you hungry.

What to buy: Some nice tree decorations come complete with that cowboy feeling again.

What to pay: Quite cheap for a fist full of dollars & you'll get change...............

After we had finished our day-trip to Banff National Park, the next day was devoted to shopping for the ladies! We first went to a great shopping mall called Chinook Centre. It has tons of shops and restaurants in a very modern setting.

After having a look to see what was playing at the IMAX theatre, we split up, with the ladies checking out various clothing stores while I browsed in Chapters bookstore. I found the missing 19th novel in the old naval series that I am reading (I was on number 18 and had #20 at home) as well as another novel on an account of UN peacekeeper hostages in Sierra Leone two years ago.

From there, we drove to the other side of Calgary to pick up some bits of furniture at IKEA that my daughter had her eye on (let's just call it an early Christmas present!). Since she does not have a car, this was a great chance to save on the US$38 delivery charge. There was a bit of a hassle in actually picking up the pieces from their warehouse (down to the last item on the major piece) but it all got sorted in the end. Luckily, the little Toyota Echo rental car had fold-down rear seats so we could stick the bar countertop in through the trunk of the car!

I'm not much of a shopper, but it was a fun day even for me!

All things western can be had here - you sure can get yourself suited & booted in Calgary..

What to buy: All western clothing including Jeans - Boots - Shirts - Hats - even saw cowboy T shirts complete with Bible Text
INTERESTING STUFF

What to pay: Any thing from 3 canadian dollars to lots of canadian dollars

McNally Robinson is part of a chain of book shops in North America. The shop is spacious with a nice cosy reading area with big couches to relax on. They stock all manner of books on a vast array of subjects - all clearly marked.
Opening hours are long = Monday - Thursday 9.00 - 21.00 Friday - Saturday 9.00 - 22.00
Sunday 11 - 18.00

What to buy: Books - especially childrens' book beautifully illustrated and such a choice. They also sell some tourist souveniers - audio tapes and CD's

What to pay: The book prices vary depends on what you buy

Being close to the mountain parks, Calgary has many outdoor equipment/clothing stores. Mountain Equipment Co-op is probably Canada's best outdoor store. MEC (as affectionally called by locals) has a wide range of outdoor gear and clothing, attractively displayed on two levels, all at reasonable prices. There is also a climbing wall located in the store as well.

To be able to shop, you must be a member (hence the co-op part of the name), which is easily done by paying $5.00. This keeps prices low.

Their clothing is well-constructed and durable; If you are looking for North Face or Columbia, you will not find it here. If you want big names, you can go across the street to Coast Mountain Sports

What to buy: All types of sporting and camping equipment and clothing. They do not carry items for hunting, fishing, or downhill skiing.

You will spot many Calgarians wearing their clothing for just knocking about town, as it is well-styled and comfortable.

What to pay: Prices tend to be reasonable or downright cheap; if you compare with big names at other stores, you'll be amazed by the low price for the same quality.

There are 4 major malls in Calgary that offer good shopping. In the south, SouthCentre and Chinook Mall. Downtown, there's TD Square (which is connected to Eaton Centre and Scotia Centre). In the north, Market Mall. Market Mall is getting a major overhaul, and they are adding 100 more stores by August 2004 for your shopping pleasure! Of course, there are other smaller malls, but these give you the most variety in one place.

What to buy: The malls have all the usual big chains such as Gap, Old Navy, American Eagle and each one has Canada's department store, The Bay. The Bay tends to have really good sales when you catch them, and have vastly improved their clothing departments. Chinook Mall is probably the best out of all of them - my favorite stores are: Aritzia( women's clothes), Caban(home decor -- tends to be overpriced, but really fun to browse as they carry lots of funky items from all over the world,Club Monaco(clothing for men and women), good selection of trendy stuff without being too "out there" at reasonable prices,L'Occitane,beautifully scented french bath products from Provence,Zara(women's clothes), nice to browse, but tends to be for the more taller, skinnier person.

Eaton Centre is located on 8th Avenue, and stretches from 1st St. SW, to 3rd St. SW; Chinook Mall is located at the intersection of Glenmore Trail and Macleod Trail SW; Southcentre Mall is located at Macleod Trail and Anderson Road SW; Market Mall is located at the intersection of Shaganappi Trail and 40th Ave. NW

This area stretches from 4th Street SW, along 17th Ave. SW, to 14th St. SW. It is referred to as "Uptown 17" and is one of the more trendier places to shop and eat, away from the sterile big chains in the malls. There are over 200 stores in the area, and do turn off 17th Ave., and head north up 11th St., for more stores as well.

Stop by Gravity Pope and try on some funky shoes, and choose an outfit at Purr to go with them. If your taste runs more sophisticated, Primitive Culture, and Focus Clothing tend to have more higher-end designer wear, good to wear to the office or for that big night on the town. Ooh La La carries the big designer names such as Anna Sui and Narcisco Rodriguez, and subsequently big price tags. Smyth and Kang carries stuff for the guys.
For breakfast, try Nellie's(huge line ups on the weekend -- try the other location Nellie's Cosmic Cafe down the road if this is the case). If you're hungry for lunch, stop by The Arden Diner(owned by famed Canadian singer Jann Arden) for good diner-inspired food. For coffee or tea, try Steeps Tea House or Cafe Beanno. For dinner, drop by The Living Room or Chez Jo Jo. For a drink, try the cocktail atmosphere of The Mercury, or the more pub atmosphere of The Ship and Anchor.

This is not my favorite market -- the former Blackfoot Farmer's Market is, but at this time, the landlord has broken the lease off with the tenants. I will be updating this when I hear what is going on.

The Crossroads Market is entertaining -- it's an art gallery, farmer's market and flea market all rolled into one, plus a food court. The building and land used to be an old stockyard, and it used to be the Stockyards Market until Crossroads lost their home and moved in. The indoor part of the market is open year round, with the outside farmer's market open from June to October. The produce is okay, but much of it comes from California, and you don't see a lot of local stuff. However, the indoor market and art gallery is a good way to kill some time on a rainy day, and you may find some deals; be forwarned, you may have to sort through a lot of junk.

When you enter the Artspace Gallery and leave the crowds at the market, it's hard to believe you are in the same place. The gallery occupies the top floor of the old stockyard building, and is an oasis of quiet. There are also some shops and artist's studios, and Artspace also tends to have regular art/cocktail events. Artspace is closed on Mondays.