The Distillery District – From Whiskey to Trendy

The Distillery District is Victorian Industrial meets modern chic.  Right in the heart of downtown Toronto, this pedestrian-only zone makes for a great afternoon of strolling and shopping.  Wander along car-free cobblestones streets and do your Christmas shopping or just some fun window shopping.  Galleries display works by Canadian artists and trendy boutiques sell the latest hip, modern thing. 

If you get hungry from all that shopping, there is a great chocolate store – Soma chocolate-maker, which features very high-end specialty chocolate and other cafes full of yummy treats.  Tucked inside the The Young Centre for the Performing Arts there is also a great cafe with scrumptious crepes (around $7CDN).

Some of the galleries sell works of art valued at many thousands of dollars, but there is also plenty of more reasonable Canadian artist made fare.  I found lots of little shops to hold my interest and plenty to choose from in a more reasonable price range. 

Many of the buildings have pieces of old distillery equipment preserved in them.  It lends a neat twist in the middle of a sleek gallery!  It was fun finding different machines, many of which were labeled to explain the role they once played. 

There is a metered parking lot available with very convenient (and easy) parking.  The area is large enough to be interesting but no so huge that it’s overwhelming.  Especially decked out for the holidays it made for a charming and quaint destination where it was hard to remember that you’re really in the middle of a very large city!  all in all a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon!