Toronto Vacation

[Whynotnow]

Your list is a good one, and don’t pay attention to the teasing, it’s a fun city with lots to do. Center island was fun, we rented bikes and toured around. St Lawrence market is fun to eat your way around,

[FlamesAddiction]

Kensington Market is a cool neighborhood to go walk around and eat/shop.

If you go down to the beaches, the local radio stations often have random bands playing sets on stage and it's free. I saw Silversun Pick-ups, Bush, Metric, and Garbage for free doing that. It's not a huge crowd and seems inmate with the crowd. Even got to chat with some of the talent after.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Whynotnow

Your list is a good one, and don’t pay attention to the teasing, it’s a fun city with lots to do. Center island was fun, we rented bikes and toured around. St Lawrence market is fun to eat your way around,

Absolutely pay attention to the teasing. They dont consider themselves the center of the Universe for nothing.

[Galakanokis]

I had an absolute blast went I went back to Ontario a couple of summers ago. We bit the bullet on costs as we knew it was going to be expensive. We were there for two weeks so I had a car but I would 100% recommend Niagara Falls. Yeah, it is awful but still a tonne of fun. Wife and kids loved it ( me not so much but it wasn't about me) and did every cheesy tourist thing we could do. Maid of the Mist, Zip Line, tours, the cheesy museums, upside down house. All of it. Let it got and enjoy.

We stayed down closer to Lake Erie as that is where my family is but we did a few days in TO. Jays of course (didn't look as to when you are going) but everything else has been listed. Be OK with the prices. It is expensive and just know that going in. My wife's one complaint with me while we were there.

[topfiverecords]

One other tip. Be prepared to spend more time in traffic than you will not in traffic.

[troutman]

https://www.horseshoetavern.com/history

[Ped]

Originally Posted by Whynotnow

Your list is a good one, and don’t pay attention to the teasing, it’s a fun city with lots to do. Center island was fun, we rented bikes and toured around. St Lawrence market is fun to eat your way around,

I forgot about Centre Island. There's an amusement park there for kids, and it's probably changed now, but I had a blast there when I was a kid.

[Cheese]

Originally Posted by Galakanokis

I had an absolute blast went I went back to Ontario a couple of summers ago. We bit the bullet on costs as we knew it was going to be expensive. We were there for two weeks so I had a car but I would 100% recommend Niagara Falls. Yeah, it is awful but still a tonne of fun. Wife and kids loved it ( me not so much but it wasn't about me) and did every cheesy tourist thing we could do. Maid of the Mist, Zip Line, tours, the cheesy museums, upside down house. All of it. Let it got and enjoy.

We stayed down closer to Lake Erie as that is where my family is but we did a few days in TO. Jays of course (didn't look as to when you are going) but everything else has been listed. Be OK with the prices. It is expensive and just know that going in. My wife's one complaint with me while we were there.

and if you go to the Falls (definitely drive), which I also recommend, take a side trip to Niagara on the Lake following Niagara River Parkway along the Niagara River. Some of the best wineries and most expensive properties in Ontario and the town of NotL is quite beautiful. A gorgeous drive.

[activeStick]

Haha so much hate for TO! Lots of good suggestions already by people, there is a ton to do in Toronto (big reason why I moved here from Vancouver)! I also live downtown so feel free to PM me for more specific requests - I got you!

If you and the family are good with walking, Toronto is a fantastic city to walk in. A nice walk down Queen Street westward from say University down all the way is fun as you pass by different neighborhoods. Trinity Bellwoods Park (Queen Street, between Ossington and Bathurt) is very nice too and you and the family can find a spot and enjoy the people and sounds and have a nice picnic or something. Good thing is we don't have homeless people there unlike other cities and their parks!

Also, since you're downtown, take the TTC (so, Subway and streetcars). That's the fastest, cheapest and most convenient way to get around downtown (take subway to get to the closest stop to wherever you want to go and streetcars to take you east/west). Uber in downtown traffic will be tiring.

Finally, go to https://www.toronto.com/events/ and filter for the dates you are in town. Toronto is amazing in the summers for activities and festivals. There's always something happening!

Edit to add that Toronto has done a really good job to make sure that many of the weekend festivities are free or very low cost specifically for families, which helps in today's economy!

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by topfiverecords

One other tip. Be prepared to spend more time in traffic than you will not in traffic.

Yeah on that note:

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

If you have a car…

…go ahead and cancel that rental. You don’t even want to have a car.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by Scroopy Noopers

Yeah on that note:



…go ahead and cancel that rental. You don’t even want to have a car.

Yeah, you know that opening scene in Office Space where the old guy with the walker is moving faster than the traffic. That's Toronto.

[TherapyforGlencross]

Check out Burger Drops in TO. Really good smash burgers. I also enjoy going to the St.Lawerence Market, tons of food options there. Thank god CNE isn’t going on, biggest waste of money EVER!! For Canad’s Wonderland take TTC Line 1, then use the Route 20 North bus and exit off Jane St.



Niagara Falls is a solid option for a day trip. Clifton Hill is your best spot with lots of expensive attractions, $15 to go on the ferris wheel. Although there’s a new go cart attraction near the Hill that looks fun, never been on it though. Small hiking trails in Dufferin Islands. If you’d like a beach day, you’ll find the best beaches along Lake Erie, Crystal Beach likely the most notable. Tons of wineries in NOTL and Jordan (off QEW, or shall I say the King Charles Way now), but with kids, not sure if that’s an option you’re interested in. NOTL is a beautiful town, they have ghost tours at night, and lots of little shops downtown. Very historic. There’s Fort George tours that detail the War of 1812.

[PepsiFree]

I feel like my opinion counts for more because I don’t live in Ontario, so I have a couple requests that echo or contrast some of the above.

Please don’t rent a car. It sucks. I have rented a car, ubered, walked, trained, and by far driving myself around in Toronto was the least convenient and most annoying experience. There is nothing redeeming about it. It’s expensive and provides literally no value. I have friends with young kids who live outside of Toronto. They do not drive into Toronto - ever. They take the train. I have driven extensively in bigger, busier cities, some where the traffic is infamous (LA), and Toronto is somehow worse. Often, you can walk faster than you can drive unless you have a physical disability, I’m not joking. Walking plus transit, you’re laughing.

If you’ve already decided not to have a car, this won’t matter. But please, do not drive to Niagara Falls. Forget what the people above me are saying, it’s a pile of ####. It’s not nice. The drive there sucks, the place is worse. Imagine the worst hillbilly tourist trap you can think of - it’s worse. If you feel the desperate need to blow a ton of money on the worst food, worst entertainment, and some commemorative t-shirts where one sleeve is inexplicably bigger than the other and falls apart on the way home, just to see a big waterfall? Well, then you can’t be saved. But if those things aren’t in your bucket list then there isn’t a day you could spend in Toronto that would be worse than Niagara Falls. Whenever people say they want to go to Pier 39 in SF I cringe, but inevitably concede it’s something to see. Niagara Falls is not. It’s irredeemable. I don’t know you but I know you to be a better person than a Niagara Falls person. It’s not “kitschy,” it’s trashy.

Toronto isn’t high on my list of major North American cities to experience, but it would at least be on the list. MLB/MLS/Museums/Aquarium/Toronto Islands/whatever. Stuff to do! Niagara Falls is firmly on the list of places you should avoid your entire life.

[bizaro86]

I'd budget some time to just stand there and enjoy the feeling of the Universe rotating around you. It's quite the experience.

Once you're done with that, I agree the Science Centre is neat. Also, they participate in the Science Centre reciprocal passes agreement, so if you have passes for another included Science Centre admission is free. I always recommend Calgarians buy Telus Spark annual passes just before you go, and then you can use at home the rest of the year. You're in the east, so maybe the Halifax one would make sense? The list of participating choices is here:
https://www.canadiansciencecentres.c...ocal-Agreement

[Cheese]

Absolutely forgot, go to the Distillery District on the east side of downtown. Wonderful area and great for some eats.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by Cheese

Absolutely forgot, go to the Distillery District on the east side of downtown. Wonderful area and great for some eats.

Oh right, forgot about that. There's an important historic site in the Distillery District. topfiverecords got married there. There's a plaque.

[TherapyforGlencross]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

I feel like my opinion counts for more because I don’t live in Ontario, so I have a couple requests that echo or contrast some of the above.

Please don’t rent a car. It sucks. I have rented a car, ubered, walked, trained, and by far driving myself around in Toronto was the least convenient and most annoying experience. There is nothing redeeming about it. It’s expensive and provides literally no value. I have friends with young kids who live outside of Toronto. They do not drive into Toronto - ever. They take the train. I have driven extensively in bigger, busier cities, some where the traffic is infamous (LA), and Toronto is somehow worse. Often, you can walk faster than you can drive unless you have a physical disability, I’m not joking. Walking plus transit, you’re laughing.

If you’ve already decided not to have a car, this won’t matter. But please, do not drive to Niagara Falls. Forget what the people above me are saying, it’s a pile of ####. It’s not nice. The drive there sucks, the place is worse. Imagine the worst hillbilly tourist trap you can think of - it’s worse. If you feel the desperate need to blow a ton of money on the worst food, worst entertainment, and some commemorative t-shirts where one sleeve is inexplicably bigger than the other and falls apart on the way home, just to see a big waterfall? Well, then you can’t be saved. But if those things aren’t in your bucket list then there isn’t a day you could spend in Toronto that would be worse than Niagara Falls. Whenever people say they want to go to Pier 39 in SF I cringe, but inevitably concede it’s something to see. Niagara Falls is not. It’s irredeemable. I don’t know you but I know you to be a better person than a Niagara Falls person. It’s not “kitschy,” it’s trashy.

Toronto isn’t high on my list of major North American cities to experience, but it would at least be on the list. MLB/MLS/Museums/Aquarium/Toronto Islands/whatever. Stuff to do! Niagara Falls is firmly on the list of places you should avoid your entire life.

Ok, avoid the tourist traps but remember that Niagara Falls is the 8th wonder of the world… The Falls themselves are gorgeous.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by TherapyforGlencross

If you’d like a beach day, you’ll find the best beaches along Lake Erie, Crystal Beach likely the most notable.

Port Stanley is also nice.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by TherapyforGlencross

Ok, avoid the tourist traps but remember that Niagara Falls is the 8th wonder of the world… The Falls themselves are gorgeous.

According to Niagara’s tourism board, and as one of 60-100 different spectacles that claim the same thing.

It’s not even natural! They designed it to look the way it does. There’s videos online and - get this - you can watch them without subjecting yourself to the hell that is the entire area around it.

[MoneyGuy]

I’ve been to Toronto several times and don’t like big cities; New York is an exception. I find Toronto is a great place from which to launch road trips (Niagara Falls, Niagara on the Lake, Stratford, northern Ontario, Quebec City, Montreal). There are some nice places in Toronto (already mentioned) but the size and traffic make it a nightmare. Maybe it’s just me.