A shopping centre with everything you'll ever need! Or so someone said before I visited Toronto. Having had a look around it, I'm inclined to agree.

The Eaton Centre houses hundreds of shops over three floors and a basement. Chemists, fashion, gadgets, kitchenware... you name it, they sell it.

Staples like Gap and Banana Republic nestle alongside designer names in the centre so there's something for everyone, splashing out or on a budget. Note - the prices seem to go up with the floors. If you're short of cash, probably better to buy fashion further down on level one!

I liked to call in for some window shopping on my way back from work all summer. I soon found that Starbucks inside the third floor bookstore sells 'original oat fudge bar' buns - to die for!

You won't buy anything too original in the Eaton Centre, but it's a lovely way to spend an afternoon's hard shopping - interspersed with coffee breaks at the cafés all around, of course!

The Eaton Centre Toronto is a large shopping mall located in the heart of the city off Yonge Street. It also forms part of Toronto’s underground pedestrian system PATH. It is a magnificent building with a glass roof making it bright and inviting, even in the winter. One of the features of the mall, apart from the shops of course is the display of Canada Geese suspended from the roof. This is a sculpture by Michael Snow called Flight Stop and is well worth a five minute stop to appreciate.

At the time of writing, although these things change regularly, it is Canada’s third largest mall at 1,624,000 sq ft. There are lots of stores in the mall, around 300 I believe including Sears, The Bay, Canadian Tire, Indigo Books, Apple, etc. You need to allow a couple of hours to get around the mall, although my husband's daughter and her friend managed to spend over six hours in the place, no idea how.

When we visited in December the mall was decorated in full Christmas regalia, complete with enormous tree in the centre. Christmas music is piped in and it made for a really lovely shopping experience.

Whenever we arrive in a town of any size, irrespective of location, cultural attractions, history or whatever, the first thing we have to do (not a majority decision)is charge towards the district with the highest density of retail outlets to see how quickly we (term "we" used in it's broadest context) can knock as big a hole as possible in the holiday budget. Consulting the "Rough Guide" quickly identified the "Eaton Centre" as Toronto's most likely. So before breakfast (we'd sort that out when we get there - no time to waste) on our first morning in Toronto we hurtled out in the general direction of this marvellous mecca. It was a 20-minute walk from the Westin as it turned out. Easily located - phase one accomplished, 9:15am - shops not open yet. Oh well--you mentioned breakfast?

We took our breakfast in one of the ubiquitous Tim Horton's coffee shops opposite the centre then wandered across and in to browse the outside of the shops in anticipation of their 10am opening. Sad. It's actually quite pleasant as malls go - open plan, light airy with shops on four or five split levels. All the usual suspects here, I won't list them, and a good size Borders book shop. There's a pretty good food hall on the ground level at the far end too, lined with kiosks serving more-or-less any type of fast food you can think of - Chinese, Japanese, Korean, pizza/pasta, fish & chips, poutine, and more. You can get a great midday feed here for C$7 or less.

The centre is easy to find too--very central and easy to walk to from whichever district you happen to be staying in. The interesting brownstone Old City Hall stands right next to it.

Here's the website with all the details, floor plan, and whatever. Knock yourself out.

If you want to shop til' you drop, Eaton Centre is for you. This shopping mecca is located between Queen St. West and Dundas St. and consists of hundreds of stores. Frequented by many tourists and locals, it consists of a vast diversity of stores.

With your everyday Gap to a large H&M, you could very well spend the day there. For U.S. Residents, don't spend your money at the stores we have (Gap, Old Navy, American Eagle, etc.) because it'll be more expensive after the U.S. dollar conversion. Check out stores, such as: Aritzia (for teens to 30 year-olds), Jacob Connexion (store for all females), Le Chateau (VERY trendy store for both genders), H&M (largest location at this mall), Roots (a favorite) and several others. These stores are directed more towards the younger "heart" of those in the teens to younger adults (30s). However, they do have Talbots and a VERY nice Sears. The Sears in Canada is on a different caliber as those in the US. The Canadian sells high-end brands such as, Tommy Bahama and Kenneth Cole.

With the selection of clothing, Canadian style does not differ that much from most American style. They enjoy the casual look of Gap to the more sophiscated of Chanel.

This mall has two separate food courts. They are both located on the lower level, however are not relatively near one another. One of the food courts contain McDonalds and some other unknown chains. The other food court is cleaner and has a better selection (Quiznos, Arbys, etc.). Also the 2nd food court is brighter and not as loud as the former. For currency exchange, there is one on the 2nd level by Sears. They have a one-time charge for all currency exchange. I forgot the name but definitely check out that one place. If you feel the need to stay inside an air-conditioned location that is constantly busy, this mall is for you.

The Eaton Centre is in the centre of Toronto and has about 300 shops including key stores such as Sears and The Bay. It is set on four levels, but only the bottom three really contain the shops. It also has direct links into the PATH underground walkway system.

It is a very nice shopping centre with large glass roof giving a sense of space and light. There are many small, quaint shops selling authentic Canadian stuff along with the greatest number of luggage and bag shops I have seen in one centre. There is a large tourist centre shop within the center, which we found very useful for leaflets on local attractions etc. There eating areas featuring a number of eateries and seating areas, including New York Fries, KFC, Chinese, etc. There are also other independent restaurants within the centre.

Whilst we were there we never encountered huge crowds, although I’m sure that is not the case at times like Christmas. The Eaton is one of the better shopping centres I have been in and is a must see if you are in Toronto.

I almost forgot! I saw Aerosmith’s Steve Tyler in the Eaton too. I took a picture (below) with my camera phone, so it is not too clear. He is incredibly skinny and very short!