What Does One Do In Toronto?

**Deth Muncher** · 2012-12-21, 03:38 PM (ISO 8601)

Hey Playground. A friend of mine has extended an offer to me, to go with him to Toronto for New Years. I'm still kinda torn about it (aboot it?), and I'd like input from any of you northlanders or travel-gurus as to recommendations on things to do in the greater Toronto area. Literally, all I have in my head about Canada is lumberjacks, maple syrup and moose/caribou - I haven't been to Canada since I was about 9 years old, and you know how ignorant us Americans are about foreign countries, even ones attached to us. (I kid, of course - I'm sure there are people in America who do fabulously in geography classes. There's got to be one in the whole country, right?)

But yeah. Toronto. What do?

**The Succubus** · 2012-12-21, 04:41 PM (ISO 8601)

Visit Gwyn, I believe?

**Dave Halfbreed** · 2012-12-21, 04:52 PM (ISO 8601)

Planning to go there for vacation next year. Definitely going to check out the zoo, and I've heard that the Royal Ontario Museum's even more awesome since last visit about 15 years ago.

**Pyromancer999** · 2012-12-21, 05:46 PM (ISO 8601)

Places recommended:

CN Tower
Hockey Hall of Fame, even if you're not a hockey fan
All the Tim Hortons and Pizza Pizzas you may come across(Good stuff)

**Surrealistik** · 2012-12-21, 06:16 PM (ISO 8601)

Barhopping downtown is always fun.

**snoopy13a** · 2012-12-21, 06:18 PM (ISO 8601)

Canada is tons of fun. High alcohol beers, Cuban cigars, ballet

.

Toronto is a world-class city. There are tons of fun stuff to do there whether you like fine dining, theater, shopping, bar hopping, museums, etc. The only bad thing is that the Leafs won't be playing

**Flickerdart** · 2012-12-21, 06:19 PM (ISO 8601)

The TV show Layover recently did an episode on Toronto, so if you want to know where the amazing places to eat are, track it down.

CN Tower isn't really worth visiting when it's likely to be snowing or cloudy - it's just a tall thing with a glass floor. Skip it.

In addition to the ROM, the Art Gallery of Ontario and Ontario Science Centre are top-notch if you're into that sort of thing. If you enjoy weird and wacky subculture shops, a blitz through Queen Street will satisfy your craving. Kensington Market is not far from there, and has lots of quirky shops as well, in addition to incredible food. Eaton Centre is fun if you enjoy massive malls. One quirk of Bloor Street is the overabundance of sushi places, so if that tickles your fancy, your choices are vast. In terms of other shopping, there's the World's Biggest Bookstore, but I believe it is no longer actually the biggest.

The islands are very pretty in the summer, as are the myriad parks, but sadly this is not summer. It's also barely winter - snow hasn't stayed on the ground, at least in my area, so it's kind of disappointing in general.

Also, if we have so many Torontonians here, why is there no meetup? I am disappoint in you, fellow canucks.

**Kneenibble** · 2012-12-21, 07:36 PM (ISO 8601)

So close, yet so far away...

**Mercenary Pen** · 2012-12-21, 10:05 PM (ISO 8601)

The responses in this thread may also prove relevant to some extent...

**valadil** · 2012-12-22, 11:44 AM (ISO 8601)

Stalk Rush for me.

**Scarlet Knight** · 2012-12-22, 04:45 PM (ISO 8601)

Toronto is not too far from Niagara Falls; worth the trip. If not, Toronto itself is a top notch city...you'll find plenty of cool things to do...even in winter.

**Mordokai** · 2012-12-22, 05:03 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by Scarlet Knight

Toronto is not too far from Niagara Falls; worth the trip. If not, Toronto itself is a top notch city...you'll find plenty of cool things to do...even in winter.

Do yourself a favor and look around youth hostels. You can get almost the same deal as you would with one of the travel agencies(minus the meal) for more than 100 dollars cheaper. Seriously, I got everything, guided tower and Maid of the Mist(ok, I also had to pay extra for that, but it was about 14 dollars and was well worth extra money, if you ask me), trip to Niagara on the lake and a tasting of ice wine in one of the wineries. All in all, a day well spent, since you will take about three hours in one direction and I don't regret 90 dollars I spent on it. And like I said, it was about 100 dollars cheaper than in the agency only a couple of blocks away.

**Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll** · 2012-12-22, 10:43 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by The Succubus

Visit Gwyn, I believe?

HAH! Oh, this made me smile. I feel popular!

In seriousness, it depends on your interests. If you're an arts fan, the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) is AMAZING.

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If you're interested in just pretty things or history, natural or otherwise, the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is awesome (though the building... not so pretty)

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Both of those are right downtown. The Toronto Zoo is a while away, but also is worth going to even in winter: the animals tend to be more active in the cold, than in the heat.

I'd also not recommend the CN tower, due to the price. You can see it from almost anywhere though, and it lights up at night. It'll definitely have a special show for new years.

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Niagara Falls isn't far, and is STUNNING.

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I haven't gone to the science center in SO long, so can't really say much about that. Not much my thing...

The two best markets need to be checked out: St. Lawrence Market is an indoor market! Make sure to get the back-bacon-onna-bun, it's a Toronto thing that almost nobody knows about.

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Kensington Market is an outdoor market area filled with counter-culture shops, clothes stores, and fruit markets. And other things. Lots of street performers too.

Yonge-Dundas Square can't be missed! It's Toronto's equivalent of Picadilly Circus or Times Square.

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Nathan Phillips Square, right in front of City Hall, is where the big new years ceremony and stuff is, unless you go to the one in Niagara Falls. It also has a skating rink in front of it!

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There are, as others said, TONS of great bars around, though being as I'm underage still here, can't help you with that.

The super-hip downtown areas are Queen West from Bathurst well into Parkdale now, almost as far as Jameson, and Roncesvalles as well. Lots of great restaurants and bars along those stretches.

The best place to see the city skyline (which is STUNNING) is either from the Islands

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or from Leslie Spit, a constructed piece of land made out of garbage, mostly, which is slowly naturalizing, and makes quite a pleasant bike or walking trail.

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Um, if you're into architecture at all, there are some STUNNING buildings all over the place! Everything from traditional civic buildings like Old City Hall

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to the brilliant brutalist mass that is Robarts Library (which lots of people hate but I adore).

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Oh, AMAZING cafes, especially around Queen West.

Basically everything I named is within walking distance of me, except the zoo and the science center, or roncesvalles. And Niagara falls... So if you do need a guide or anything I can see if I'm available.

I'm just gonna think if I'm missing anything important... There are tons of other little museums and stuff. Tons of art galleries scattered around. The Hockey Hall of Fame. The Bata Shoe Museum, an entire museum dedicated to SHOES. The Textile Museum. Fort York is a mid-19th century fort in the middle of downtown Toronto. the Canadian Air and Space Museum. The Toronto Reference Library.

Various places immortalized in Scott Pilgrim: almost every single place in the comics is an actual place. Even all the Starbucks and things are real actual Starbucks...

You must go to a Tim Hortons at least once. It's a cultural icon. Get a double-double and a doughnut of your choice.

I'm totally missing things, but yeah. It's a great city. And I really only know the very downtown core to any great extent. No doubt there's so much more to do outside the downtown core...

And as for meetups? We tried a while ago. Never happened. I spend most of my time in Montreal now for school, but if a meetup is during the summer I'm game.

Edit: OH MAN THINGS I MISSED!

The Canadian Opera Company and the National Ballet of Canada are both AMAAAAZING! Both are in the 4 Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts! The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is also very good, though Roy Thompson Hall is terrible.
I can't believe I missed High Park, which is a sprawling 161 hectare park, mostly undeveloped, in the middle of the city.
There's lots of great theatres and such, all over the place, both for huge shows off of Broadway, and also tiny local art-theatre places.
The Distillery District still smells like delicious alcohols, but is now mostly restaurants, galleries, and awesome things.
Black Creek Pioneer Village is a reproduction early-1800s village, just like the first English settlers, most of them refugees from America, would have lived in.
The Scarborough Bluffs are some cliffs by the lake, though maybe not so fun in winter...
There are all sorts of "ethnic" neighbourhoods, like Little Italy, Chinatown, Koreatown, Little Portugal, the Danforth (which for some reason isn't called Greektown)...

More Edits: MoCCA! Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art! Love that place!

**Don Julio Anejo** · 2012-12-23, 02:14 AM (ISO 8601)

Actually, if one is ever in Toronto, the first thing one must do is buy a plane ticket to Vancouver.

**Flickerdart** · 2012-12-24, 12:45 AM (ISO 8601)

Of course, the best thing to do in Vancouver is to go back to Toronto.

Except don't fly, that's for suckers. Take the train. Those Vancouverites want you to miss out on the rest of Canada so that their crummy city looks good.

**Don Julio Anejo** · 2012-12-24, 04:43 AM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by Flickerdart

Except don't fly, that's for suckers. Take the train. Those Vancouverites want you to miss out on the rest of Canada ~~so that~~ because their ~~crummy~~ awesome city looks good.

Corrected that for you

**Karoht** · 2012-12-28, 03:50 PM (ISO 8601)

Run around punching people and pick up coins.
Also, we Canadians know kung fu. All of us.
Ask Scott Pilgrim.

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