Queen Street West was recently named the ‘second-hippest district in the world’ by Vogue Magazine. It's the creative heart of Toronto, and that creativity bursts forth not just in art galleries and performance spaces, but also in indie cafes, local designer shops and art hotels. Spend an afternoon walking the 2-kilometre strip and you will be delighted by unending unique finds. Visit some of the many hole-in-the-wall art galleries, and see the latest mural in front of the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art. Stop by Gladstone, an art hotel where are all the rooms were designed by different artists, or The Drake, epicentre of all things trendy. Join the yoga hipsters on the Fresh patio, eat the national dish at Poutini's or imbibe briny bivalves at Oyster Boy.

Queen Street West is the best place in the city to find unique, locally designed clothes and merchandise. Don't miss Fresh Collective for fashionable local designers, Nearly Naked for lingerie, Great Stuff for funky men's wear, and Heel Boy for a wide selection of shoes from the practical to the diabolic.