– local stories and history about Chinatown $$ Small Group Kensington Market & Chinatown Walking Tour – Multiple landmarks in both neighborhoods $ Kensington Market & Chinatown Walking Tour If you’d prefer, there are quite a few tours that go through Kensington Market. At one point, you just kind of walk down one street and every single store is vintage! There are honestly even more vintage stores I didn’t include on this list. I found lot of it is more leisure/casual wear, especially sports jerseys and T-shirts. Urban Catwalk is a family-owned vintage store with an absolutely packed selection of options. The owner, Lynn Harpell, opened the store all the way back in 1975 and named the store after the Rolling Stone song, “Exile on Main Street.” This is the stop to go if you’re hoping to find a silky gem from the 1940s! Paul’s Boutiqueįor something a little different – Paul’s Boutiquesells all sorts of vintage guitars and other musical equipment! Urban Catwalk It’s one of the shops that you’ll want to visit if you’re looking for a history-specific piece. Authentic bites, fusion dishes… I wish I’d come much more hungry so I could try as many restaurants as I could!įlamingo Vintage has been a mainstay in Kensington since 1999 and has a truly incredible collection of vintage, especially Levis! ExileĮxile is a very funky, retro-kind of vintage shop that has clothing for a ton of decades and styles. You know the best part about a multi-cultural community is that the food is almost always promised to be amazing. It’s a true melting pot that gives Kensington not only a unique vibe, a very cool one! The best is that the market has stubbornly fought against over gentrification, even kicking out a Nike store and creating policies to protect the working class, immigrant community to this day! A Map of Kensington Market Kensington Market Restaurants What you see today is about 160 years of immigrant cultures layered upon and mixed in with each other. During the 1980s and 1990s, the market saw a whole slew of immigrants from around the world! Then came Caribbean and East Asian immigrants who added even more to the neighborhood. In the 1950s, immigrants from Azores settled into the market, introducing the current residents to their Portuguese culture. Known then as the Jewish Market, the square was full of smaller businesses such as tailors or bakers and an outdoor market was formed. During the 1900s, Eastern European Jewish and Italian immigrants brought their cultures into the mix. With the Irish and the Scotts, came the Victorian style row homes you see around the square, especially on Wales Avenue. It’s with their arrival that the very rich immigrant culture that makes the market what is today began! After he died in 1853, his estate was subdivided into smaller plots, making it the perfect place for Irish and Scottish immigrants to live when they came in the 1880s.

Kensington Market’s history goes all the way back to 1815 when a man named George Taylor Denison bought the land where the market stands today to build his estate. There are seriously so many shops and restaurants in one small neighborhood that I thought I’d put together a bit of a guide to help you when you plan for your trip! Kensington Market History We spent the afternoon trying as much as we could and perusing the vintage shops. Here, you’ll find all sorts of eateries that’ll take you around the world via their authentic and fusion cuisines, vintage shops with all the treasures you can imagine, and a little layer of grit to make it feel more local and less touristy.

(Though I imagine the market is probably one the top things to do in Toronto!). This square, which is formed by College St, Bathurst St, Dundas St W, and Spadina Ave, is exactly what you’d hope to find if you were looking for something lesser known in a huge city. But, no, Kensington Market in Canada is a much different experience.

Similar to Rodeo Drive in LA or 5th Ave in NYC. It’s kind of funny because when I hear Kensington, I think of the borough in London, and it evokes a sort of rich, expensive neighborhood. Luckily Alyshia is from Toronto, so she already knew where to go and what to do, and the big one was fully enjoying the cool, hipster-y Kensington Market. We were (somewhat) refreshed and ready to explore the city! My introduction to Kensington Market happened on the second full day in Toronto while Alyshia and I were on our Ontario-Quebec road trip! We had just spent a few days figuring out all the best things to do in Montréal in the summer, spending a few days in Québec City, one fast day in Ottawa, and one day completely vegged out in her basement to recover from all the travel. Looking for a little guide to the famous Kensington Market in Toronto? Here it is below!

Retro flamingo wallpaper