Toronto travel guide

Welcome to big-city living on the lake. Super-friendly, multicultural and bowl-you-over beautiful, Toronto provides a great snapshot of Canada.
There’s never a wrong time to visit the country’s most populous city. And despite the fast pace and fast food, it often has the air of a forgotten time capsule: there is Casa Loma, a gothic revival castle hunkered in midtown, a Victorian-era conservatory next to bustling Yonge Street, and a stone lighthouse in the shadows of the city’s world-famous skyline.
All the same, Toronto has a reputation for being the most fashion-forward city in Canada. Expect street-smart boutiques, galleries and the country’s most memorable dining scene. And don’t forget your ticket to the glitz and glamour of Hollywood North during the Toronto International Film Festival held every September.
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It’s everyone’s first taste of Toronto: the CN Tower overlooking Lake Ontario and the Toronto Islands. You’ll come for the citywide views but stay for the kind of stomach-churning attraction that only North America knows how to do. And here, that’s the EdgeWalk: the world’s highest hands-free walk, on a 1.5m ledge 356m above the streets.
The famous sights to stroll in Toronto to come thick and fast back on the ground: the Art Gallery of Ontario* (90,000 works!); the Royal Ontario Museum* (six million exhibits!); the Hockey Hall of Fame* (countless mullets!). Toronto is Canada’s poster child for groovy, here-and-now neighbourhoods — Kensington Market and the Distillery District should top your list. In both you’re set for industrial-themed restaurants and cocktail bars, indie record shops and design-smart hotels.
You’ll truly believe that Toronto’s the biggest city in Canada with a ferry ride along Lake Ontario’s shores, or out to the sun-kissed beaches and yacht clubs of the Toronto Islands. It has been said that Toronto is like New York, only run by the Swiss, and it starts to make sense when looking back. Across the mirror-calm water all you see is the mini-Manhattan skyline.
Whether you choose to bed down in upmarket waterfront bolt holes with sky-high suites or arty boutiques, you’ll soon discover that hospitality is Toronto’s trump card. For signature CN Tower views, but at a price, consider a stay at a Shangri-La*, Ritz-Carlton*, Fairmont*, or Four Seasons*.
Toronto is often billed as the most diverse city in North America, and there is a Chinatown, Greektown, Little India, Koreatown, Portugal Village and two Little Italys to choose between. If you plump for super-cool Queens Street West, consider the Drake Hotel*. A cultural destination in its own right, this is a place to eat, drink, party, paint, gig, study and — if you get round to it — sleep.
Going strong since 1803, red-bricked St Lawrence Market* is where you’ll truly sample the city. Chockablock with seasonal produce, the two-storey downtown bazaar is the spiritual home of bakers, butchers and biscuit-makers. Grab an alfresco table with a trademark peameal bacon sandwich; it’s a cornmeal-rolled slice of thick-cut bacon in a German-style bun.
Visit Toronto with a bit of cash to splash and you’ll want to take advantage of the city’s tower-topping restaurants. Try Canoe, located on the 54th floor of the Toronto Dominion Centre, where there’s more to shout about than just the widescreen views — the haute Canadian cuisine is exquisite.
Follow your nose along the Esplanade waterfront for patio dining and low-key brewpubs. The Distillery District, once home to the world’s largest distillery, is where industrial chic meets whisky-making heritage and greets you like an arm over the shoulder. Pull up a stool at the Mill Street Brewery Beer Hall or Pure Spirits Oyster House.
The superstar architect Frank Gehry is a local boy, and besides his stunning Art Gallery of Ontario, you should seek out his latest project: Mirvish+Gehry, a pair of Tetris-like skyscrapers. Similarly screwball is the Bata Shoe Museum*. This museum of footwear and calceology hotfoots it though 4,500 years of shoe-wearing history, and with no ordinary sneakers either. Cue Queen Victoria’s ballroom slippers, Elvis’s blue patent loafers and Elton John’s silver platforms.
This is also a city in the grip of sports-mad fandom, and many teams play at the top of the US leagues. For the giant foam hand and hot dog photo op, try the Maple Leafs (ice hockey), Raptors (basketball) or Blue Jays (baseball). Standing for O Canada, the Canadian national anthem, is all part of the fun.
And, of course, no visit to Toronto is complete without a scoot south to Niagara Falls*. Go nice and slowly, tackling the Ontario Wine Trail, a 150km touring route connecting superlative wineries, or rush straight to North America’s largest waterfall. Even if you’re using public transport, it’s a manageable three hours to Lady Niagara and you can easily do it as a day trip.
The Canadian dollar (CAD) is no longer the wallet-friendly currency it once was: from room rates to dinners for two, the world’s second-biggest country is increasingly expensive. To bag cut-price flights and avoid the worst of the crowds, the cheapest time to visit Toronto is in spring or after the summer crush around October or November.
Remember that Toronto is also the largest city in Canada, with the scale and spectacle to match; make it a three or four-day pleasure, not a 48-hour tick-list.
Finally, don’t rent a car: with as much congestion as New York, public transport is the smart insider’s move.
Inspired to visit Toronto but yet to book your trip? Here are the best packages from Tui* and Virgin Holidays*.
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