Unfortunately, I’m one of those annoyingly downtown people who considers Bloor Street to be uptown Toronto and rarely ventures north of it. Can you blame me? I grew up just south of King Street for most of my life, and now live on Queen Street as an adult. Since I don’t frequent the Bloor area often, it can be a treat to venture away from my usual stomping grounds every once in a while.

Last week, Club Monaco invited me to visit their Bloor and Avenue location to check out their latest collection and explore the store’s overall look. It had been a while since I was last inside Club Monaco on Bloor, even though it happens to be my favourite location in Toronto, I mean, have you seen that building? It’s stunning!

Aside from the architecture, I love that Club Monaco really gets to amp up and show off the lifestyle component of their brand at this location due to its immense size. It’s like shopping inside someone’s gorgeous home. And unlike when situated in a mall, this location benefits from so many gem spots nearby that you can enjoy a great afternoon or evening with friends that doesn’t revolve entirely around shopping.

For example, directly across the street you’ll find The Royal Ontario Museum, one of the city’s most beautiful and biggest attractions. From there you can hop over to the Museum Tavern to enjoy a cocktail, lunch or dinner. Or you could get a pick-me-up shot of espresso at Zaza, and enjoy $1 oysters at La Societe on Thursday nights where you can revel in the restaurant’s exquisite interior design.

In fact, after this visit I joined Rema of beauty blog, The Burgundy Book , at Museum Tavern for a wonderful lunch. We indulged in their Truffled Mushroom Perogies and Seared Ahi Tuna Burger that were both incredibly delicious! Of course not before picking up an awesome print-on-print outfit from Club Monaco that will be coming to What I Wore very soon.

What are your favourite spots near Club Monaco‘s Bloor and Avenue location?