Vancouver
This ironic antidote to the digital age lures ink-stained locals with its journals, handmade pencil boxes and T-shirts printed with typewriter motifs…
Must-see shopping in British Columbia
Vancouver
Arguably Vancouver's coolest record store and certainly the only one named after a much-missed cat… There's a brilliantly curated collection of new and…
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Vancouver
Grown hikers weep at the amazing selection of clothing (including lifestyle wear for urban hipsters), kayaks and clever camping gadgets at this cavernous…
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Vancouver
Proving the printed word is alive and kicking, this small but perfectly curated secondhand bookstore is a dog-eared favorite among locals. A perfect spot…
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Victoria
The name is no coincidence. Victoria's cathedral to reading was established in 1963 by Nobel-prize-winning Canadian author Alice Munro and her husband Jim…
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Vancouver Island
An agreeably Dickensian bookstore stuffed to the rafters with random busts, faded old maps, a grandfather clock and piles of dusty old tomes. Despite its…
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Northern BC
The best bookstore in northern BC, Books & Company is also home to Cafe Voltaire, a top spot to have lunch. The daily soup, sandwich and panini options…
Vancouver
Just when you think you'll never find that combination licorice and hula-hoop store you've been searching for, here it is. This perky little spot with a…
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Vancouver
Grab a paper bag and some tongs then dive into the pick-your-own drawers of brightly colored treats at this slender, white-walled gem dedicated to Swedish…
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Vancouver
You'll feel like you've entered a tranquil forest clearing when you open the door of this delightful nature-themed photography gallery. Cooper's striking…
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Okanagan Valley
The perfect rainy-day refuge, this used bookstore is one of Canada's largest and best.
Vancouver
From used postcards and insect rubber stamps to ladybug stickers and map pages from old books, this brilliant store offers a highly eclectic, ever…
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Vancouver
You'll walk into this busy workshop thinking you don't need an apron. Then you'll fall in love. These handmade, sometimes punkish and always sturdily…
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Vancouver
This seasonal farmers market is one of the city's most popular and is Kitsilano's best excuse to get out and hang with the locals. Arrive early for the…
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Vancouver
You could easily spend a couple of hours perusing the new and vintage clothing in the main space of Front & Company, which colonizes a row of storefronts…
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Vancouver
Art-school cool rules at this mostly womens wear boutique, with skirts, belts and halter-tops whimsically accented with prints of rabbits, narwhals and…
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Vancouver
A magnet for slavering stationery fetishists (you know who you are), this store's treasure trove of trinkets ranges from natty pens to traditional washi…
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Vancouver
Ostensibly a design studio working to commission, its two-story front-of-shop area showcases a kaleidoscopic array of quirky arts and crafts by mostly…
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Victoria
This branch of Vancouver's charming hipster stationery store is socked into a quirky space resembling a hotel lobby from 1968. You'll find the same clever…
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Vancouver
An irresistible, white-walled, double-sized store that appeals to design-minded individuals with its carefully chosen array of Tivoli radios, molded…
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British Columbia
Every islander's favorite chocolate shop, the housemade treats in this excellent little store are hard to resist. But the velvet-smooth hot chocolate is…
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Kelowna
Mosaic Books is an excellent independent bookstore, selling maps (including topographic ones) and travel guides, plus books on indigenous history and…
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British Columbia
An eclectic mix of books with a good section of local-interest reads. Gives great recommendations.
Vancouver
Serving the area's voracious bookworms, this used and new bookstore is one of several Drive literary nooks. It's a minilabyrinth of floor-to-ceiling…
Granville Island Broom Company
Vancouver
Ever since Harry Potter, locals have been entranced by this Granville Island fave, which makes its own beautifully handcrafted Shaker-style straw brooms…
Vancouver
One of the city's best used-book stores (there are also plenty of new tomes in the front room), this is the ideal haunt for the kind of serious browsing…
Vancouver
From classic rock to obscure German metal bands, this local-fave record store takes a no-nonsense approach with its basic racks of new and used vinyl, CD…
Vancouver
Drive coolsters add some vintage glam to their look in this Western-saloon-like establishment. But don't be fooled: this is one of the city's most…
Vancouver
A Vancouver favorite specializing in antiques and midcentury items, this retro-cool doubleroom is lined with 1950s-to-1980s furniture and treasures…
Vancouver
Kitsilano's fave indie music store has downsized in recent years, but it's still easy to blow an afternoon here with the vinyl and CD nerds, flicking…
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Vancouver
If you insist on eating something other than chocolate or ice cream, hit this legendary time-capsule deli and sandwich shop, a family-run holdover from…
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Vancouver
If you're missing your regular dose of Hulkverines or you just want to blow your vacation budget on a highly detailed life-sized model of Conan the…
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Vancouver
Like walking into a Tokyo convenience store, the shelves here are crammed with brightly packaged Japanese goodies from Calbee potato chips to Pocky…
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Vancouver
Basically a maple-leaf-emblazoned version of the Gap, Roots designs athletic, plaid-accented streetwear that's unmistakably Canadian. Its retro-style…
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Vancouver
It's hard not to blow your holiday budget at this store, which showcases a huge array of quirky, often nerdy gifts and creations, from Sasquatch-themed…
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Vancouver
Vancouver's oldest independent record store is still a major lure for music fans, with its High Fidelity ambience and time-capsule feel. But it's not…
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Vancouver
Like an explosion at a garage sale, this rambling used and vintage store invites serious perusing. The front room is packed with racks of mostly women's…
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Vancouver
This arts, crafts and fashion market runs four times a year – one for each season – in the heritage Roundhouse building. Expect to find an eclectic blend…
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Vancouver
From Dolphin Boy to The Wonky Donkey, this huge, highly inviting store – reputedly Canada's biggest children's bookshop – has thousands of novels, picture…
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Vancouver
The smallest of Pulpfiction's miniempire of three Vancouver bookstores, this spartan-looking shop has little decoration but lots of well-stocked wooden…
