Shopping and entertainment in the Forest City

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There’s so much to explore in London, from shopping malls to local restaurants to specialty stores. However, because it is such a large city, navigating the streets can be complicated for people new to the area. This guide will, hopefully, help you have a basic idea of where things are.

Northeast London:

The northeast area is where the main Fanshawe College campus and the International London Airport are located, as well as the Kiwanis Park Skatepark. Interesting shops in this area include the video/video game rental store Jumbo Video and a Talize Thrift Store. There are also some grocery stores, such as the Real Canadian Superstore, Unlimited Supermarket and Metro.

Northwest London:

Western University and the CF Masonville Place shopping mall are in the northwest area. The shopping mall contains an assortment of shops from clothing to electronics, such as Hot Topic and EB Games. It also has SilverCity London Cinemas for your film-watching needs, and The Rec Room arcade and restaurant for additional entertainment. There are shops and restaurants around the mall like PetSmart, Best Buy, Swiss Chalet and Jack Astor’s Bar & Grill. West down Fanshawe Park Road from CF Masonville Place is Hyde Park Plaza, with stores like Walmart, Winners, Fabricland and HomeSense. Northwest Oxford Street is where you’ll find the Cherryhill Village area. It has a strip mall containing a branch of the London Public Library, a Service Canada where you can get your passport and shops like Shoppers Drug Mart and Metro. Down the road from Cherryhill Village Mall are places like the Food Island Supermarket, Costco, Heart Sushi and the Fleetway bowling centre.

Southeast London:

Southeast London is known for its Argyle, Pond Mills, Fairmont and Glen Cairn Woods neighborhoods, to name a few. The Argyle Mall/Plaza is the area’s main hub, offering a Walmart, Canadian Tire, Staples, SportChek, EB Games and Winners, among others. There are also restaurants like East Side Mario’s, Burger King and A&W.

Southwest London:

In the southwest part of London, we have White Oaks Mall that has an assortment of shops such as H&M, Le Château, Cinnabon, Starbucks, Lush and Bath & Body Works. Some places nearby are Landmark Cinemas 8 movie theatre, virtual reality arcade Dreamland VR, a Chapters for your book-loving needs, Canada Computers, Plato’s Closet used-clothing store and the Beat Goes On, a store with a focus on selling used movies, disc sets, albums and video games.

Central/Downtown:

Last but not least is the downtown/central area of London, where you’ll find lots to do such as attend festivals in Victoria Park, events at Budweiser Gardens and concerts at London Music Hall.

Nearby the two Fanshawe campuses on Dundas Street is the Covent Garden Market, which has a variety of pre-cooked meals or fresh ingredients to choose from. There’s also the Citi Plaza, where you’ll find the downtown London Public Library and Imagine Cinemas movie theatre.

Stretching from south to north of downtown is Richmond Row, which has a few different types of restaurants, cafés, bookstores, bars and boutiques.

Central London also includes Wortley Village, a unique area that has much to offer even with its small size. Independently owned shops and quaint restaurants that inhabit the area give the place a feeling of a little town in the middle of the city.