Kensington Market

Kensington Market is a compact neighbourhood of narrow streets, bounded by College Street, Spadina Avenue, Dundas Street West and Bathurst Street. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2006, recognising its role as a market district shaped by successive waves of immigrants.

In the early twentieth century the area was settled by Eastern European Jewish immigrants and became known as the Jewish Market in the 1920s. Azorean and Portuguese families arrived from the 1950s, followed by Caribbean and East Asian communities, and you can still trace that mix in the shops today. Chinatown lies just to the east along Spadina Avenue.

The heart of the market is a handful of streets: Augusta Avenue, Kensington Avenue, Baldwin Street and Nassau Street. Here you will find butchers, fishmongers and greengrocers, bakeries, cheese shops and spice and dry goods stores, along with new and second-hand clothing, surplus stores and restaurants serving food from many parts of the world.

Look out for the Kensington Market Garden Car, a parked car turned into a planter that has been a changing community art piece since 2007. On Pedestrian Sundays, which began in 2004 and have traditionally been held on the last Sunday of the month in summer, Augusta Avenue, Baldwin Street and Kensington Avenue close to motor traffic and the streets are given over to people on foot.

There is no single opening time because each business keeps its own hours, so it is best to come during the day when the food shops are trading. Allow two hours to browse and eat, more if you combine it with Chinatown next door. Three different cars have served as the Garden Car since the first was built in 2006 by the group Streets are for People. Chinese residents are now the largest group living in the area, the latest chapter in a long story of newcomers arriving and opening businesses here.

The market suits food lovers, vintage shoppers and anyone who enjoys exploring a neighbourhood on foot. Its National Historic Site status reflects a market that grew from the everyday trade of immigrant families rather than from any single grand building, and that is still how it feels: a collection of small, independent businesses.