Mrs. Dx threw around the idea of a mini vacation and I threw out Toronto. A friend of hers lives in Buffalo so plan would be to drive to Buffalo and visit and then head up to Toronto and stay a night. Anything worth seeing? I've already made a mental note for CN Tower and Hockey Hall of Fame..
It's like New York without all the politeness.
Trans_Maro wrote: It's like New York without all the politeness.
Oh that's terrible! Toronto is leagues more polite than New York...but yeah, it's a lot like New York, so...tall buildings, theatre, restaurants, and I hope you like huge crowds and nasty traffic. Stupidly expensive real estate too, but that's not relevant here.
Casa Loma was cool when we toured it twenty years ago.
The CN tower is also pretty neat. The ex refused to step on the "elephant" glass. I had my picture taken sitting on it.
I've jumped on the glass floor a few times. The trick to walking on it is to look straight ahead. Can't do it while looking down.
Toronto in the summer is a great place to sit outside on the sidewalk at a bar and drink beer and people watch.
Toronto is my favorite city. Quite clean, friendly people, and lots to do. The "Downtown" district is actually mostly Office buildings, so you're better off exploring some cool neighborhoods like the Distillery District, Kensington, Chinatown, etc.
Kensington Marketis my personal favorite place to shop and people-watch. Lots of open-air markets with cool shops. There's also Chinatown nearby - stop in a place for some amazing dumplings!
If you're a foodie there's a (metric) ton of restaurants. I like Japanese food so I stopped at an Izakaya with friends and had a blast. Next time I'll make sure to get reservations at Momofuku.
Skip the underground mall. It's just a mall, underground.
If you're there in the summer, the islands are fun to check out. If it's rainy and you like board games, there's a cool board game cafe called Snakes & Lattesthere is a neighborhood festival or three worth checking out.
TIFF is also lots of fun if you're going in early September.
Keep in mind that the current exchange rate is about 35%, so your wallet will be a happy camper. Keep in mind that we pay more for certain things and we have a 13% Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) that applies to almost everything.
I went to school in Toronto and would never want to live there but a visit once in a while is fun. It is Canada's largest city and has all of the things most large cities have, without the same crime levels.
If you are a gun owner and travel with them, believe me, leave them at home. We do not have the gun culture that is present in the US and our Customs and Immigration officers are not tolerant of them crossing the border.
GameboyRMH wrote:Trans_Maro wrote: It's like New York without all the politeness.Oh that's terrible! Toronto is leagues more polite than New York...but yeah, it's a lot like New York, so...tall buildings, theatre, restaurants, and I hope you like huge crowds and nasty traffic. Stupidly expensive real estate too, but that's not relevant here.
I think that was a joke. And I normally miss jokes. (ok, so I read it as a joke...)
It was a joke.
That's the one thing that keeps Canada together.
Everyone in Canada hates f-ing Toronto.
The drive up from Buffalo goes past Niagara, so stop there.
The Niagara wine area is nice, so worth a few stops for sipping.
Toronto has a pretty good theater district, so if that is your thing
Lots of "Specialty/ethnic" hoods to check out
The science center is cool
The ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) is world class
Great Subway/public transport system for getting around. Pretty sure there are day or week passes
If you do the CN tower you MUST do the skywalk/edgewalk. Or even if you don't, at least walk out on the elephant glass and when there are a few people on it with you, jump up and down a few times
Trans_Maro wrote: It was a joke. That's the one thing that keeps Canada together. Everyone in Canada hates f-ing Toronto.
I thought it was Quebec? Toronto is nice.
Toronto reminds me more of Chicago than NYC. Similar Great Lake waterfront and I find Toronto to be kind. I find similar kindness in Chicago.
Yes, stop at the Falls. Remember, The US owns a lot of what is pretty about the falls but you have to stand in Canada to see it.
In case you weren't aware, these days, you need a passport.
In reply to John Welsh :
Actually you can cross at land crossings with an "Enhanced Drivers License" if your state uses them. Ontario does. Ours have a picture plus, data stripe and features that make them difficult to fake.
Lots of good food in Buffalo while you're there. Also check out Consumer's Beverages while you're still in Western New York. There's the Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton that's worth a look. They have an Avro Lancaster. Niagara Falls is a given. There's a butterfly conservatory at the botanical garden North of Niagara Falls on the parkway. They actually raise butterflies there and you can walk through the conservatory and they fly all around you. There are a couple or three War of 1812 forts in the area. I also approve of Kensington Market and Spadina/China Town area. The science center etc.
I grew up in a suburb town about 200km away from "T.O." so I'm expected by social convention to hate Toronto. BullE36 M3. Toronto is awesome and the town I grew up in is a buttcrack. Everything mentioned so far is good advice so I'll just shotgun a few other random things. The Steam Whistle brewery is cool to look around and they have a great brew pub (I haven't been to the Mill St. brewery but I think their beer is a bit better than Steam Whistle. There are also about a billion other craft beers around as that scene kind of exploded in the last few years.) There's also a huge theatre & arts scene so if you're into live shows there's almost guaranteed to be something cool on when you're there. If you have kids, definitely, absolutely, take them to the Science Center. Or just go yourselves without kids. I would. :P
The CN Tower is a must, Casa Loma's pretty cool, you've gotta check out the ROM, and you should stop by the Steam Whistle brewery to check out their fleet (some really cool vintage cars and trucks that actually get used). Get a TTC pass and just enjoy the food and drinks for an evening. Chinatown is also awesome.
If you're willing to drive to Milton, check out Legendary Motorcar. Some really cool vintage metal there.
akamcfly wrote: Lots of good food in Buffalo while you're there. Also check out Consumer's Beverages while you're still in Western New York. There's the Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton that's worth a look. They have an Avro Lancaster. Niagara Falls is a given. There's a butterfly conservatory at the botanical garden North of Niagara Falls on the parkway. They actually raise butterflies there and you can walk through the conservatory and they fly all around you. There are a couple or three War of 1812 forts in the area. I also approve of Kensington Market and Spadina/China Town area. The science center etc.
Not just an Avro Lancaster but one of only 2 in the world that actually flies!!!
I was fortunate enough to have been able to spend about 45 minutes sitting in it talking to one of the pilots about 8-9 years ago. What a plane!!!
BTW to the OP - if you are at the CN Tower go next door to the Ripley's Aquarium. It's cool. Book tickets and entry time in advance - it gets stupid busy.
NGTD wrote: BTW to the OP - if you are at the CN Tower go next door to the Ripley's Aquarium. It's cool. Book tickets and entry time in advance - it gets stupid busy.
Not so much "next door" as "downstairs"
I used to take the train down to Toronto when I was a kid just to go to the Science Center,Plus it was so much warmer than Sudbury in the winter, It was like going to the tropics!
In reply to GameboyRMH:
It's only downstairs if you go up the tower, which for this 50-year-old is full of NOPE!
On the ground it's next door.
It's in Canada. aka America's Hat
Bobzilla wrote: It's in Canada. aka America's Hat
A day seems too short to get a taste for TO or the GTA.
I love Toronto, spent summers there when I was younger, I still return at least once every two years, lots of good food, great variation of cultures all around the metro area. You will run into folks that don't speak english so be prepared to use your google translate or translating app
too much to do....
Italians used to own Brampton not sure now.
Malton too, where I lived as a kid. Predominantly Sikh now I believe.
The Italians moved to Caledon and Woodbridge
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