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First time visit to Toronto - what to do in one week?

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ralf_merkel

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Hi there,

in a few weeks my girlfriend and I will travel to Toronto for the first time. We've planned to stay there for a one week vacation.

Since we have a pretty long way to travel (from Germany), we would like to see as much of Toronto as we can in this fairly short amount of time. Of course, without getting too stressed by cramming our schedule too much.

So I would like to ask you as Toronto residents/insiders: What would you recommend us to do in this week? What to visit, where to go, to get an impression of Toronto's beauty and lifestyle. Maybe you can also advice on things or places to avoid (eg. typical tourist traps).

Your suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Ralf
 
For a first time Toronto visitor...

RM: For a first time visitor Toronto offers plenty to see and do. I have visited myself many times and I will suggest the top of the CN Tower-provided it is a clear day and you and your companion are not scared of heights-and purchase a weekly or daily TTC pass-you did not mention how you will be getting around. Get a good street map and study it-especially if you are driving. That's a start-other posters here will suggest things to do and see - I will start with two I liked-Casa Loma and the Ontario Science Centre. You will have no problem finding things to do like exploring interesting neighborhoods and just plain enjoying yourselves. September weather can be among Toronto's best also. LI MIKE
 
Thank you for your replies so far...

Mike: Ontario Science Center is a great suggestions. I put it immediately on my list of places to visit. Seems to be something I will definitely enjoy :)

Travel dates are not fixed yet, as they depend on my employer respectively work situation. I think it will be no earlier than the last week of September and no later than the first week of November (well, let's just say October :) )

We have planned to use public transportation throughout our stay. I think to drive myself without knowing the place would be quite stressing. I've been told that public transportation is pretty straightforward and affordable there.

Ralf
 
Can you give us some indication of your particular interests or priorities? Architecture? Art galleries? Natural environment?
Click to expand...

As the time we stay there is very limited I'd narrow our interests to the following (with no special priority):

- architecture and exceptional buildings / monuments
- historic sites
- scientific & historical museums / exhibitions
- lifestyle / public events / dining culture

Maybe you can add something you would say is unique to Toronto and an absolute must-see.

Ralf
 
For lifestyle, I would suggest putting on your walking shoes and strolling along Queen Street, from Yonge to Dufferin. At first you will pass some interesting buildings such as Old and New City Halls, as well as our opera house. Past University, you will find that the street morphs from mall-ish at first to a very cool collection of restaurants, bars and stores once past Spadina.
 
I'm not sure if you're interested, but I'll recommend the Toronto Zoo but with a warning: it's rather remote if you're travelling by TTC (it's a 3 hour round trip from downtown) and if you visit in, say, late October, the weather may not be the best for being outside all day (and it takes a full day to see the whole Zoo). There's great indoor pavillions, though.

If you visit the Ontario Science Centre on a weekday, there will be school groups there and lots of kids will be running around. The Science Centre is tons of fun if you're in a playful mood, so pretend you're a kid and you'll get more out of the experience.
 
Definitely take the ferry to the Toronto Islands. It's the best view of downtown... and a nice enough walk once you get there.

Also plan to have dinner in Little Italy (Using College St & Clinton St as your main intersection and work your way either east or west from there.) There are also some great martini bars along there and some decent night life.

Another great view of Toronto is from the Manulife building. On the top floor (52nd?) there is a pretty nice restaurant/bar called Panorama with the best view of the whole city. It's essentially at Yonge & Bloor which is a main subway intersection. Afterwards you can wander a block north through Yorkville or walk south down the Yonge Street strip.
 
It's interesting how neighbourhoods (Queen West, Yorkville, Yonge Strip, Little Italy, etc) have been recommended much more so than individual sites. Perhaps tourism Toronto should take note.

The Eaton Centre is in no way superior to any other large city's flagship mall. The CN Tower is cool, but has been around for such a long time that most people have been to it already. Our museums are nothing to rave about compared to nearby Chicago or New York City. Toronto - along with 50 other North American cities - has at least one major league sports team. Ontario Place is craptacular. The Science Centre is in all honestly run down. Casa Loma is anything but a castle.

Toronto is all about unique urban neighbourhoods that you are hard pressed to find anywhere else. My advice is to not bother visiting one of Toronto's tourist traps because you're sure to be underwhelmed. Instead, walk around and enjoy a thriving inner city that is a rarity on this continent. And by all means, head down to Niagara Falls for a day.
 
I would also suggest going to Visitors Centre at the University of Toronto. They offer free guided campus tours throughout the day -- it's a fun tour complete with ghost stories. But also architecturally, you won't find a greater concentration of heritage buildings (University College, Knox College, Hart House, and on and on) and ultra modern architecture (the CCBR and the new Pharmacy building). It's a beautiful green oasis in the heart of downtown, and there's also a lot of interesting outdoor art including a mangled bicycle from Tiananmen Square if you're into that kind of thing. And the ROM and the Gardiner Ceramic Museum (another new architectural gem) are right next door.
 
i suprised no one has mentioned buying a City Pass.
it provides great value while showing you all the tourist attractions. for $56.30 USD you get...
-CN tower
-Casa Loma
-Ontario Science centRE
-Royal Ontario Museum
-Toronto Zoo
-Hockey Hall of Fame.

It's valid for 9 days, starting on the day you first go to an attraction.
 
Go to Cityplace: the locals love to hate it--bring along a bag just incase you gotta puke;)

Walk around staring at old Victorian houses and their gardens--the annex, the junction pick anyone of them they're all the same lol.

Go to Mississauga--it's miserable.

Forest Hill Village is a good place to find out how the local daytraders live....

And finally, go to a dive of a tavern on Queen or Dundas East.
 
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