Grand Avenue is St. Paul's main shopping and eating strip — a several-kilometre stretch of Victorian commercial buildings running west from the Cathedral of Saint Paul toward the Mississippi River bluffs. The street is lined with independent restaurants, cafes, boutiques, and bars that have been arriving and departing for decades, but the overall character remains stubbornly local and community-oriented rather than chain-driven.
The Victoria Crossing intersection has the highest concentration of restaurants. Grand Old Creamery is a local institution for ice cream; Café Latte is famous for its turtle cake; the Lexington is an old-fashioned supper club that has survived waves of culinary fashion by being genuinely good. The residential neighbourhood behind Grand Avenue — the streets of Victorian houses running up and down the bluff — is one of the most pleasant walking environments in the city.