Must-see shopping in Vancouver

Known for recycling leather into hip, super-supple bags, belts, hats and purses, this eponymous store has a cult following. Erin herself is often on hand…

Steps from Gastown's Steam Clock, this slender, white-walled gallery has an intriguing approach: distinctive paintings from local artists adorn its walls,…

Locals routinely beeline to this browse-worthy bookstore for discounts on new and just-released titles. If you're not sure what you're looking for, it's…

A museum-like menagerie of everything from vintage taxidermy to retro cocktail glasses – plus clunky-keyed old typewriters that Hemingway would love –…

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…

Ever since Harry Potter, locals have been entranced by this Granville Island fave, which makes its own beautifully handcrafted Shaker-style straw brooms…

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…

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…

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…

A Vancouver favorite specializing in antiques and midcentury items, this retro-cool doubleroom is lined with 1950s-to-1980s furniture and treasures…

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…

A nonprofit social enterprise selling a cornucopia of vintage women's clothing, from 1970s print dresses to elegant silk tops to printed T-shirts of old…

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…

A SeaBus hop from downtown Vancouver, this is the region's second most popular public market (after Granville Island). Look for BC wines and fresh fish…

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…

Like a sweet beacon to the weary, this purple-painted chocolate purveyor stands at the corner of Granville and W 11th Ave calling your name. It's a…

Like walking into a Tokyo convenience store, the shelves here are crammed with brightly packaged Japanese goodies from Calbee potato chips to Pocky…

It's the region's oldest mall but Park Royal does a good job of keeping up with the competition. With 280+ stores (including all the usual suspects), its…

Basically a maple-leaf-emblazoned version of the Gap, Roots designs athletic, plaid-accented streetwear that's unmistakably Canadian. Its retro-style…

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…