Going to Toronto at the end of the month, what should I do?

[DizzyArnaz]

Well, the thread title says it all. I called my mom to check in over the weekend, and she told me that she and her two sisters are planning on driving up to Toronto for some vacation. I've been wanting to go back to Toronto for years, so I jumped on it and scheduled my vacation to be during that time.

Besides going to the Hockey Hall of Fame and eat poutine, what should I not miss?

Maybe some Toronto B&B'ers want to meet up and have a meal and some beers or something?

 

[Tacheless]

remember your innoculations !!!

 

[ouch]

The CN Tower is cool. You can see Chris's house!

They have a terrific Chinatown.

 

[buyandhold2018]

Grab a Pizza from Libretto

 

[toucanlamp]

The CN tower is cool to go up to the top in, but unfortunately like everything in the big city it's also a ripoff, I went up in 2000 and it was I think almost $50 back them, just to go up to top. In my opinion it isn't really worth it, unless it's an absolute crystal clear sky, then that would be a good time to go up.

What else are the big attractions, Paramount Canada's Wonderland is a huge amusement park with rides and everything, it's up in Vaughn on the North side.

You can see what it's like to be all alone in a baseball stadium! The Blue Jays get something rediculously low, like 9000 fans a game lately in a place that seats 50K.

I lived in the Toronto area until last year, there's plenty of stuff to do.

Just wandering around downtown, there's lots of cool places and things, just buy one of those "what to do in Toronto" kind of books and you'll certainly run out of time before running out of things to do.

There is a big zoo, one thing that's kind of neat is a place called Casa Loma, it's this old massive mansion that some really wealthy Canadian built way back in the day and it's kind of preserved in time inside and you can wander around and it's quite cool actually, the place has a long underground tunnel leading to the stables.

Bloor street in the west end is a really neat place go and eat or just wander around.

Canada's biggest horse racing track Woodbine is in Toronto on the west side.

No casinos in Toronto, which I always found weird for such a big city, regulations I guess, the closest ones are in Niagara or Casino-Rama which is a couple hours North near Orillia.

Niagara falls is always a popular attraction, if you're interested in wine they have lots of wineries down there, it's pretty country and Niagara-on-the-Lake is one of those cool small towns where you can just wander around and they have all kinds of little stores, restaurants, etc. It's a couple hours drive though. But if you're coming from Ohio and crossing in Buffalo it would be on the way in.

Canadian border guards are real ________'s. Everyone always thinks the Americans are the ultra paranoid and strict ones but everytime I've gone across they are totally chilled out and then coming back the Canadian ones want to ask you a trillion questions and hassle you about everything you can think of.

 

[Dude123]

+1 on CN Tower and Niagara falls, especially the falls. And the zoo, toronto zoo is pretty awesome. Wonderland is good, but keep in mind it's not Paramount owned anymore, so if you search it up just look for canada's wonderland.

I haven't had problems with the border going either way but YMMV, especially with those dudes.

Also gonna recommend the shopping if thats your thing. Down store along yonge and queen and bloor has interesting stuff. If malls are your thing then you've got eaton center downtown, sherway gardens not too far away and Square one in Mississauga, again maybe 20-25 minutes from downtown core. Sherway is more high end, but square one is big. If you come out to Square one your near the living arts center and not far from stage west if you wanna catch a show, as well as a bunch of places downtown.

Check out the skydome... I mean rogers center as well if your into baseball. If you wanna do some outdoorsy things then you could head out to toronto islands, or leslie st. spit, or if you want something more serious, there is a killer abundance of lakes with awesome fishing and camping etc within an hour of here as well.

Entertainment district is popular if you do clubs, and there are some decent breweries and brew pubs downtown, as well as some good restaurants as well.

have fun up here

 

[PiXmo]

Sure, don't miss the Hockey Hall of Fame. A must see!!! If you are a hockey fan you can also go to eat at Wayne Gretsy's, his restaurant on (guess the number) 99 Blue Jays Way.
http://www.gretzky.com/restaurant/

View attachment 112359

 

[Dude123]

Oh, I forgot. If your going to be going into downtown from the suburbs of vice versa Do not do it during rush hour. We have on if the worst rush hour commutes in north America. Apparently it is even worse here then in LA. They have been talking about fixing it for years, but I'm still glad I don't work downtown.

 

[flatstick96]

The first two places I always think of when I think of my last visit to Toronto (circa 1993):

1. The Ontario Science Centre
2. The Brunny

 

[EvilGobi]

Definately the Hockey Hall of Fame. There is also a Bennihanas in the Royal York, its a little expensive but wicked fun to eat at. You know what else is fun is Midieval Times.

 

[Desdinova]

if you are a Mason, the annual Grand Lodge assembly is last week of July

 

[Granaura]

The shriner parade was in Toronto Today.!

 

[DizzyArnaz]

I think I'll pass on Benihana and Medieval Times. We have those in the states as well. We're definitely eating at Gretzky's, I know that for sure. I'm going to push a Chinatown trip as well. Thanks for the suggestions everyone, and keep 'em coming!

 

[Granaura]

Oooh! Just thought of one! (or Two)

The Kensington Market! If you are in Chinatown you may as well go to this little piece of bohemian culture!

The St. Lawrence market area is also very nice down on Front Street. Nice shops, great food!

 

[EvilGobi]

I think I'll pass on Benihana and Medieval Times. We have those in the states as well. We're definitely eating at Gretzky's, I know that for sure. I'm going to push a Chinatown trip as well. Thanks for the suggestions everyone, and keep 'em coming!

Yeah, I didn't know if you were anywhere close to either of those. The Royal Ontario Museum is cool, it's just so big you need to see the things you really want to see first otherwise by the time you acttually get there you'll be too tired to enjoy them. Everybody praised Casa Loma but in my opinion it was a waste of time. They do also have some good theater, depending on when you are there (and if you're into that sort of thing). I saw Spam-a-lot a couple of years ago. The Zoo is fun but it is really outside of the city and if you are taking Public Transportation it may take a really long time to get there (it took us about 2 hours either way to get there from downtown). My wife says the Hippo Tours and it is a really fun way to see the city, it is an amphibious vehicle that drives right into the bay after taking you on a driving tour of the city.

 

[Kouros]

Eat poutine:

 

[rm71]

Don't forget to pick up some Boosters and JM Frasers. Details below

http://www.thebeautyfactory.com/

Luxo Laboratories Ltd.
100 Dundas St West
Toronto, Ontario
M5G 1C3

 

[Desdinova]

Don't forget to pick up some Boosters and JM Frasers. Details below

http://www.thebeautyfactory.com/

Luxo Laboratories Ltd.
100 Dundas St West
Toronto, Ontario
M5G 1C3

Storefront is actually named Toronto Barber and Beauty Supply (same company)

 

[Geeno]

+1 on Toronto customs folks. At the airport they are a tough, surly crowd.

If you are going to be downtown you might look up the Truefitt & Hill shop. Smaller shop in one of the building, but they have a barber's shop in back, and they do have some stock of products.

 

[Mr. Imperial]

If you fancy yourself a beer guy, this place is amazing: The Bier Markt. Be prepared to spend, though. And don't waste money on the sausage plate. They have fantastic poutine, amongst other things.

Their beers, in a word, are superb.