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The Ultimate Markham Shopping Guide

November 16, 2022

There are a lot of reasons to live in Markham Ontario – and one of them is excellent Markham shopping.

This region offers plenty of choices when it comes to enjoying some retail therapy –  from designer brands to unique boutiques and enormous shopping malls.  No matter what you are looking for, you’re sure to find it here with this Markham shopping guide.

So, where should you start if you’re in the mood to shop? The following are some of the best options for shopping in Markham, Ontario:

Markham Shopping

King Square Shopping Centre

Billed as “Canada’s Largest Asian Shopping Centre” – King Square is the newest mall in Markham. It is located at 9390 Woodbine Avenue, near 16th and Woodbine. It has a dazzling selection of retailers, as well as shopping, dining and entertainment spaces.

Plus, it’s centrally located from the major highways, which makes it easy to get to. There are over 500 well-known brands to choose from and it’s open until 8:00 pm so you have plenty of time for shopping!

Pacific Mall

Located on the corner of Steeles Avenue and Kennedy Road, this mall is huge – encompassing over 500 stores. It has an Asian theme and the mall corridors are named after streets in Hong Kong – such as Hollywood Avenue, Nathan Avenue and Queen’s Avenue. This is a great place to find electronics, as well as hairdressers, jewelry and other accessories.

As well as the typical retail brands, you’ll also find Pacific Heritage Town, which has been built to resemble a traditional Asian marketplace packed with unique artwork, crafts and other items. Oh, and the food court also has a huge selection of juice bars, noodle restaurants and other great budget eats.

CF Markville Mall and Shopping Centre

Another one of the major Markham shopping centres, this retail hotspot has recently undergone a $110 million redevelopment. It is home to over 160 high-quality retailers including Coach, Michael Kors and Aritzia.

CF Markville Mall has many of the big name retailers such as Best Buy, EB Games, Apple, Walmart and Shoppers Drug Mart. There are also plenty of other quirky smaller brands to discover, as well as amenities such as Good Life Fitness, dental offices and opticians.

Markham Shopping

Main Street Markham Shopping

Another great place to shop in Markham is along the historic and scenic main street. This is the original main street of the village of Markham, which is one of the oldest communities in Ontario and has a rich and storied past.

Today, the historic shop fronts along the street have been transformed into boutiques, art studios, cafes and other businesses. Strolling down the main street on a sunny day is a delight and there are so many interesting shops to check out. If you work up an appetite, you can treat yourself to a slice of Uncle Tetsu’s famous cheesecake.

Read on to find out some reasons to Live in Markham here. A city with culture and history!

Need to stay for more than 30+ days and looking for a modern, condo rental in Markham? 

Be sure to visit our website to see Short-Term Rentals In Markham.

Related Markham Stories from DelSuites:

Downtown Toronto Condos, Family Vacations in Toronto, Toronto Entertainment, toronto toursim

Toronto in Film: Toronto’s Film Festivals

July 20, 2022
Toronto film festival photo by Martin Lopez on Pexels.

The film industry is big in Toronto. Everything from major Hollywood movies to Emmy-winning TV series like Schitt’s Creek and Orphan Black have been shot here. We’ve hosted superhero battles, futuristic space cities, and an endless stream of prop New York taxicabs.

Toronto’s known for an expert local talent pool, great locations, and thriving studios like Pinewood and Revival. But it also has a sophisticated, international audience of local moviegoers to show your finished product.

Whether it’s audio, video, documentaries, or short films: here’s a tour of the Toronto film landscape for both film lovers and filmmakers.

Toronto International Film Festival

When it comes to Toronto film events, the granddaddy of them all is TIFF: an 11-day extravaganza of gala premieres, industry sessions, awards, and networking opportunities.

Founded in 1976, it’s one of the biggest public-accessible film festivals in the world. It’s big enough to have grown its own dedicated five-story film centre: home to a film reference library, learning studios, event spaces, galleries, and vibrant year-round international programming.

With dedicated tracks for national cinemas, pulp, and documentaries, TIFF has nurtured an incredible range of film cultures in Toronto and abroad.

The 2022 edition of TIFF runs from September 8-18.

imagineNATIVE Film + Media Festival

All things Indigenous media—and we mean all of them—make it to imagineNATIVE. The world’s largest Indigenous media and film festival, imagineNATIVE puts on a blizzard of screenings, concerts, industry events, and interactive showcases—all from the vibrant world of Indigenous arts.

Running as a festival since 2000, it’s made a significant mark: early winners of its Best Dramatic Feature award have included Taika Waititi and Reservation Dogs creator Sterlin Harjo. Films produced as part of its Embargo Collective commissions have screened at TIFF and Sundance.

Today, that initial concept has bloomed into partnerships with the Canadian National Film Board and the Berlinale, a film producer mini-lab, tours, and community screening series.

ImagineNATIVE 2022 takes place from October 18-30, both physically and virtually through their digital platform.

Toronto After Dark Film Festival

Can’t get enough horror, science fiction, or action movies? Toronto After Dark Film Festival is all about the pulp, the cult, and the straight-up fun.

With over 10,000 eager viewers each year, Toronto After Dark hits both the highbrow and low, with enough room for moody Scandinavian horror, Troma films, Hollywood hits, and homegrown creations. It boasts a thrillingly international lineup, having showcased films from Israel, Thailand, Mexico, Iran, and Korea.

Hosted at Toronto’s downtown Scotiabank Theatre, the 16th edition of Toronto After Dark takes place from October 19-23, 2022.

Inside Out Film and Video Festival

Canada’s largest and most prestigious LGBTQIA+ film festival had a grassroots beginning in 1991 at Toronto’s Euclid Theatre. Since then, Inside Out has grown into an entertainment juggernaut, with funding and training programs, a school distribution program for new artists, grants, scholarships, and funding forums.

Now hosted at the TIFF Bell Lightbox and co-screens selected films with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Netflix, and Crave. Its own permanent distribution platform operates year-round, and its awards have recognized films from Canada, China, Australia, Argentina, and everywhere between.

Inside Out’s next edition takes place in May 2023.

Hot Docs

Toronto’s all-documentary film festival, Hot Docs, screens over 200 films from around the world every year—and adds on professional development programs, a full industry conference, and a developed schools program.

An annual festival since 1993, Hot Docs expanded to its own dedicated theatre—the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, formerly the Bloor Cinema—in 2012. It also recently launched a podcast festival, complete with a dedicated creators’ and industry forum devoted to the art of audio drama.

Hot Docs is set for an April 2023 return, and the Hot Docs Podcast Festival goes live in January 2023.

A city for movie-lovers and movie-makers

Whether you’re enjoying hot new films, making them, writing about or selling them, DelSuites can be your home base during Toronto’s film festival season. Call us at 647-370-3504 or email info@delsuites.com to find out how we can offer you a comfortable, fully-featured furnished rental—and help you reach the stars.

Entertainment, Events, Family Vacations in Toronto, Toronto Family Travel, toronto toursim, Vacation Travel

Discover Toronto in Six Summer Festivals

July 5, 2022
Toronto summer festivals photo by Maarten van den Heuvel on Pexels.

After two years on hold, Toronto summer festivals are back in action.

From music to theatre, cultural celebrations, and family-oriented fun, they’re a perfect way to enjoy something new, discover a neighbourhood, or spend some much-needed time together.

Here are some of the shows, events, and festivals—indoors and outdoors—that you’ll want to see this summer.

Beaches International Jazz Festival

Big Band, Dixieland—the Beaches have it all. This year’s Jazz Festival is already on, but you’ve got all month to catch it at a string of locations in Toronto’s East End Beaches and Leslieville neighbourhoods.

The main stage shows are the prime attraction, but this year’s jazz festival brings a double handful of fun interactive activities. Learn to swing dance at Jimmie Simpson Park on July 8-9, or see Streetfest transform Queen Street East into a massive, blocks-long concert on the weekend of July 21-23.

The jazz festival runs from July 2-24, with most events public and free of charge. https://www.beachesjazz.com/

Toronto Fringe Festival

It’s the festival that launched Kim’s Convenience, Broadway’s The Drowsy Chaperone, and the team behind Come From Away. And it’s the most fun way to see what might be next.

Toronto’s 34th annual Fringe Festival takes over eleven downtown venues this month with theatre, comedy, storytelling, dance, and musicals, as well as a full kids’ program. With over 1,200 independent, grassroots artists, Fringe is the perfect afternoon for anyone who loves new, fun, experimental, and offbeat shows—and it costs less than a good restaurant lunch.

This year’s Toronto Fringe runs from July 6-17, 2022. Single or multi-show passes are available now, with discounts for kids and teens. https://fringetoronto.com/

Toronto Caribbean Carnival

Toronto has Caribbean roots—and every year, we like to show it.

Toronto’s Caribbean Carnival—or Caribana, for us locals—is the largest Carnival celebration in North America. While the major festivities kick off July 28th, Caribana is a month-long ode to everything Caribbean: from calypso showcases to kids’ events to crown junior kings and queens.

It’s all a buildup to the massive Grand Parade, a whole day of music, dancing, and some of the most incredible costume work anywhere. It’s accompanied by steel pan performances and Carnival Flavours, a showcase for Caribbean food and drink from across the islands.

The party runs from July 7-30, with tickets and event information available at https://www.torontocarnival.ca/.

The Canadian National Exhibition

How about an old-school county fair—but in the city? It’s a Toronto kid’s most beloved cheesy summertime destination—with plenty of room for all ages.

This year’s Ex brings back the traditional mix of fairground rides, a late-night midway, a Biggest Vegetable competition, kids’ sports tournaments, and everyone’s annual dip into weird food that is bad for you (deep-fried butter, anyone?). There’s also a few steps into the future: a dedicated Gaming Garage, complete with esports and FIRST Robotics tournaments.

For music fans, the Ex is also the place for shockingly cheap live shows. This year’s mix at the Bandshell runs from indie rockers Hawksley Workman and JJ Wilde to familiar Canadian musicians like Gordon Lightfoot, Bruce Cockburn, and The Spoons.

This year’s Ex runs from August 19-September 5, with all-day passes available. https://www.theex.com/

Toronto International Film Festival

Some events put a city on the map. The Toronto International Film Festival does it with a great big star.

2022 marks the 47th year of this internationally-renowned film festival—one that draws stars, media, and major industry movers and shakers alike to Toronto. It’s a marquee event for film fans—a chance to meet creators, attend Q&As, and see premieres from around the world—and a vital industry conference, wrapped into one. And with programming tracks like quirky cult favourite Midnight Madness or national showcases, it’s a chance for any kind of movie lover to see something sweet, gory, action-packed, incisive, or just plain awesome.

This year’s TIFF runs from September 8-18, and ticket packages are on sale now, with final schedules due at the end of August. https://tiff.net/

International Festival of Authors

Toronto’s most prestigious literary festival is back at the Harbourfront Centre for the Arts this September.

With a hybrid in-person/online format for its 43rd edition, IFOA is bringing marquee authors for readings, interviews, and panel discussions to highlight what’s important and vital about books.

The lineup’s due to be announced late summer, and the festival itself runs September 22-October 2. https://festivalofauthors.ca/

Whether you’re traveling from far away or just from around the corner, let us show you Toronto at its best. Call DelSuites at 647-370-3504 or email info@delsuites.com to find out how we can open the gates to discovering Toronto’s festivals.

Downtown Toronto, Entertainment, Family Vacations in Toronto, Toronto Entertainment, Toronto Family Travel, toronto toursim

Toronto in Eight Quirky Local Museums

June 29, 2022
Toronto local museums photo by Jeff Smith on Unsplash

Local museums can be the best part of a trip abroad: an afternoon of culture you can’t find anywhere else. Fun, affordable, and frequently family-friendly, they’re a great way to find the more laid-back and local side of a city.

If you’re an art-lover, history buff, doing it for the ‘Gram, or just like getting a little culture while you get your steps in, here are some of Toronto’s best lesser-known museums.

Mackenzie House

It’s not everywhere that a city’s first mayor was also its most famous—and failed—revolutionary. Tucked between hospitals, hotels, and high-rises, Mackenzie House—William Lyon Mackenzie’s original 1858 townhouse—is a downtown shrine to Victorian Toronto.

Come for practical tips on daily 1800s life, stay for the political scandals and century-old spicy opinions. Features: a working 180-year-old printing press you can try yourself. 82 Bond Street.

Market Gallery at St. Lawrence Market

St. Lawrence Market is one of Toronto’s most famous foodie attractions. But it’s also home to a lesser-known local history museum and gallery on the second floor—a space that held Toronto’s first City Hall and was lost behind boarded-up doors until the 1970s. (Yes, you can lose an entire City Hall.)

The Market Gallery hosts rotating exhibits from the City’s fine art collection and notes on the historic architecture. Start with a little culture, end it with a sandwich. 2nd Floor, St. Lawrence Market, 95 Front Street East.

The Myseum of Toronto

One of the quirkiest museums Toronto’s got, Myseum is a year-round, city-wide project produced and hosted all around the city. The result? Something that’s part art collective, part distributed historical museum, made of crowdsourced collections and digital walking tours.

While most of their past exhibits are available online, new ones are mounted annually in locations around the city–usually starting in April.

Spadina House

The closest thing to Toronto’s version of Downton Abbey! Spadina House shows off early 1900s Toronto in a sprawling, elegant hilltop mansion—complete with servants’ quarters and evolving architectural décor.

The five-acre grounds, though, are a feature all by themselves, including gardens and a heritage apple orchard that hosts everything from events to autumn cider festivals. Features: Close enough to Casa Loma to make a day of it. 285 Spadina Road.

The Textile Museum of Canada

A favourite of costumers and fashionistas alike, The Textile Museum takes a subject that feels niche—the art and history of fabric—and makes it fascinating. Behind an anonymous side-street door lurks five floors of textile history, modern art, event space, and programs—complete with a gift shop.

With collections that start local and stretch to Peru, China, and Serbia, there’s something for everyone, even if they’re not an enthusiastic crafter. 55 Centre Avenue.

The Toronto Railway Museum

Model railroad fans unite! And—regular railroad fans too. The Toronto Railway Museum packs historical trains, a train-driving simulator, and lots of information into an indoor-outdoor exhibit space. There’s a steady collection of artifacts inside: maps, tools, dishes, and uniforms used by conductors past.

While small, it’s conveniently tucked away right beside the CN Tower, Rogers Centre, and Ripley’s Aquarium on the waterfront—so there are lots of options for a full day out. Features: A mini-train ride. Because nobody says no to tiny train rides. 255 Bremner Boulevard. 

The Bata Shoe Museum

While this attraction has a little more profile than the rest, it’s not every day that a city devotes a whole museum to—shoes. Open since 1995, The Bata Shoe Museum grew from the private collection of shoe company executive Sonja Bata: a trove of rare and traditional footwear from around the world.

The result? A fascinating mix of modern couture, ancient Egyptian, Chinese, and Italian artifacts, history, and celebrity kicks. And a sometimes surprising social insight into how they’re all connected. Features: Enough glitter for your fashionista friends, and enough depth for an anthropologist. 327 Bloor Street West.

Riverdale Farm

Sometimes you just need to have a cow. Or some goats, sheep, pigs, chickens, and horses.

Riverdale Farm is the destination for downtowners who really just need something fluffy to pet. Part working farm, part historic Victorian site for learning about rural life, the farm dates back to 1849. Features: tobogganing hills, hiking trails, a wading pool, picnic areas, and year-round crafts. And the best part for families: admission is always free. 201 Winchester Street.

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The authentic Toronto neighbourhood experience deserves a Toronto neighbourhood stay. Call DelSuites at 647-370-3504 or email info@delsuites.com to find out how we can open Toronto up for you to discover.

 

Downtown Toronto, Entertainment, Toronto Entertainment, toronto toursim, Vacation Travel

DelSuites Gets You In the Action for Toronto Pride Month

May 24, 2022
Toronto Pride hotel photo by Rosemary Ketchum on Pexels.

Toronto Pride is back! After two years of distanced activities and shifting online, festivals are back on in the City of Toronto, and Pride 2022 is going to be bigger, better, and more glamorous than ever.

Toronto is home to one of the biggest Pride Months in North America—and one of the most diverse. There are events, parties, and celebrations of all things queer from the flag-raising on June 1st to the full festival weekend on June 24-26.

If you’re gearing up to get the most out of Pride Month, here’s how DelSuites helps you really enjoy the party.

Stay as close to the action as you want

Some people like to be right in the centre of things. And some—don’t. Staying with DelSuites gives you the choice to get as much quiet—or as much excitement—as you want. With locations scattered through downtown Toronto, you can stay a heartbeat from the party—or a dozen walkable blocks away, for quieter nights.

While the main festival’s one weekend, our theatre district buildings put you in a prime location for major Pride Month events, like Cabana Pool Bar’s massive drag pool party and a full-day party on the Toronto Islands.

And since a DelSuites furnished rental has a minimum of 30 nights, it’s the ideal home base to take in both Pride events and enjoy Toronto’s lakefront neighbourhoods, great food, good vibes, and summer fun.

Go big for Toronto Pride

One thing a DelSuites Pride Month rental gives you is room to spread your wings. Our private, fully-furnished rental suites include everything—and we mean everything—you need to set up for Pride Month.

Your space comes with a full ensuite laundry, multiple bathrooms, and a fully stocked kitchen with pots, pans, dishes, cutlery, and more. Our regular housekeeping service and our linens and towels service keep your space smelling flower fresh. Wide, sunny balconies let you soak up some sun—or have romantic evening drinks.

Your suite lets you access all of our buildings’ common amenities: you can keep up your workout routine, have a swim, or host a big rooftop brunch for all your friends.

If you’re driving to Pride, our units have secure, assigned indoor parking spaces so you can park stress-free—and explore beyond Toronto city limits.

And if you’re putting in remote hours at work, we’ve got reliable wifi internet and North American long-distance calling included. Luxurious living rooms and full cable packages let you get comfortable with a movie when it’s time for a night in.

Stay together and save

Pride’s better when we do it together—and more people can make it to the party when your stay costs less.

Our two- and three-bedroom suites open Pride Month up for everyone who wants to be there. Multiple spacious bedrooms and bathrooms help you split space with friends—and keep enough privacy to stay friends afterwards.

If you are on a budget, our full kitchens give you the option of eating in, not just in restaurants—or treating each other to a home-cooked breakfast.

And with many of our units featuring pullout couches, you’ve got a safe space for someone to spend the night if it’s too late to get home.

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However your Pride looks, we want to make it a month to remember. Call us at 647-370-3504 or email info@delsuites.com to find out how we can host you for Toronto Pride.

 

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