Living in Yorkville, Toronto, with its myriad of small shops and proximity to huge Toronto shopping malls like Eaton Center may have spoiled you on shopping. Moving to Aurora, Illinois after having such a wealth of options in retail shopping might scare you a little bit. But don't fear. Home owners have an eclectic mix of retail shops to buy wonderful items for their Aurora Illinois home or condo. Allow us to give you an overview of some of the places you can shop and the things you can find there.
Westfield Fox Valley
Westfield Fox Valley, formerly known as the Fox Valley Mall, is the Eaton Center of Aurora, Illinois shopping. It's the place you would go if you were looking for Sophia Tolli dresses or birthday presents for your nieces or a new DVD. It has all the standard stores that can be found all over malls in North America including: Abercrombie and Fitch, Banana Republic, Delia, Foot Locker, Gamestop, Gap, JC Penny, Lenscrafters, T-Mobile, Victoria's Secret, and Zales. However, it also has some unique stores you may not be familiar with, like a Russian gifts store and the Painted Penguin toy store.
Downtown
If you're looking for out-of-the-ordinary items that you maybe wouldn't find on the shelves of a Wal-Mart, downtown Aurora should be your destination. Nestled amongst the historic buildings like the Paramount Theater and the Leland Tower are the small shops of the independent retailers. Here you might find an infant-centric store that carries baby sleeping bags or an art gallery selling prints by local artists. During Downtown Alive in the summer, these shops are augmented by booths from local crafters, jewelry makers and food vendors.
Museum Gift Shops
If you're looking for the perfect souvenir of your new city to send to a friend abroad, you might consider doing your shopping at one of the gift shops in Aurora's museums. You won't be able to find thermal insulation materials there, obviously. For that you'll have to go to the Home Depot at the mall. The gift shops are where you can find unique items with the city name on them. Buy an animal souvenir at the Phillips Park Zoo or a photograph of Aurora as it was in days gone by at the Aurora Historical Society. You can also find some cool tech gear at the SciTech Museum shop.
Weird and Wonderful
Do you have a specialty interest, perhaps making toys from collapsible plastic containers or knitting? Many shops of this kind can be found in the old and declining Stolp District. Here are some specialty stores in and around Aurora, Illinois that might appeal to your particular interests. Bob's Antique Toys in the nearby town of Oswego, the Wardell Art Glass Studio on Stolp Avenue, Happy Times hand-made cigar shop on Galena Boulevard, the Fringe Knitting Salon on Fox Valley Center Drive, Elmer Fudge in Oswego, Assel's Photo shop on Stolp Avenue, the Fox Paintball Store on Farnsworth Avenue, or the Aurora Farmers' Market, every Saturday morning from June to October at the transportation center.
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