3 Best Shopping in Montreal, Quebec

This is the biggest and liveliest of the city's public markets. On weekends in summer and fall, crowds swarm the half-acre or so of outdoor produce stalls, looking for the fattest tomatoes, sweetest melons, and juiciest strawberries. Its shops also sell sausage, fish, cheese, bread, pastries, and other delicacies. Early in the morning you might rub elbows with the city's top chefs. The market is in the northern end of the city, but is easy to get to by métro.

The silver-domed Marché Bonsecours, the city's main public market in the 1800s, has been restored and renovated with a modern edge. The 15 boutiques inside sell First Nations artwork, Quebecois designer fashions, jewelry, kitchenware, and more. The paintings of Michel Sylvain on display at Art et Antiquités Médius capture eloquent Montréal street scenes. Soak it all up over a cup of coffee from Le Café des Arts or a full meal and an artisinal beer at Pub BreWskey.

On the third level of the cavernous Ogilvy department store you'll find the highest quality furs and shearlings, including extravagant, colorful sheared beavers from Montréal's Zuki.Call ahead as there may be closures or disruptions while Ogilvy and Holt Renfrew merge.