3 Best Sights in Yonge-Dundas Square Area, Toronto

With a more than 45-year history of exploring ideas and building cultural understanding through its collection of 15,000 artifacts from across the globe, this boutique museum’s exhibitions and programming connect contemporary art and design to international textile traditions.

A public square at a major downtown crossroads, Toronto's answer to New York's Times Square is surrounded by oversize billboards and bright light displays. Visitors and locals converge on the tables and chairs that are scattered across the square when the weather is fine, and kids (and the young at heart) frolic in the 20 water fountains that shoot out of the cement floor like miniature geysers. From May to October, there's something happening every weekend—it could be an artisan market, an open-air film viewing, a summertime festival, or a live musical performance.

The 3-million-square-foot Eaton Centre shopping mall has been both praised and vilified since it was built in the 1970s, but it remains incredibly popular. From the graceful glass roof, arching 127 feet above the lowest of the mall levels, to artist Michael Snow's exquisite flock of fiberglass Canada geese floating poetically in open space, there's plenty to appreciate.

Such a wide selection of shops and eateries can be confusing, so here's a simple guide: Galleria Level 1 contains two food courts; popularly priced fashions; photo, electronics, and music stores; and much "convenience" merchandise. Level 2 is directed to the middle-income shopper; Level 3, suitably, has the highest fashion and prices. Named for the store (Eaton's) that once anchored it, its biggest tenants are now Sears and H&M. The southern end of Level 3 has a skywalk that connects the Centre to the seven floors of the Bay (formerly Simpsons) department store, across Queen Street.

Safe parking garages with spaces for some 1,800 cars are sprinkled around Eaton Centre. The building extends along the west side of Yonge Street all the way from Queen Street up to Dundas Street (with a subway stop at each end).