25 Things You Must Do While In Toronto

25 Things You Must Do While In Toronto

Story and photography by Stacey McLeod

Jun 5, 2009

You can’t walk two blocks in the city without seeing a double-decker tour bus or a billboard advertising a King Street musical. Hotel lobbies are filled with pamphlets for obvious attractions like Toronto Maple Leafs games or the Royal Ontario Museum -- and the CN Tower is pretty hard to miss -- but what if you want to see more than just the postcard-worthy parts of the city?

For the real Toronto experience, take some pointers from someone who knows it inside and out. Toronto-loving editor Stacey McLeod picks the 25 things you’ve got to do before you head back home.


1. Lie face down on the glass floor at the CN Tower
It looks scary but this two-and-a-half inch thick glass floor can withstand the weight of 14 large hippos. However, looking face down at a 1,122 ft. drop is bound to give you a few butterflies.

2. Sit upstairs at Union Station during rush hour
Rush hour at Union Station is a chaotic affair, with commuters scrambling to catch trains and cramming subway platforms. But while downstairs can feel claustrophobic, the Great Hall’s coffered vault ceilings upstairs offers a reprieve. You can look up and admire the stunning architecture while the chaos goes by around you.

3. Skate at Nathan Phillips Square
A winter visit to Toronto wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the skating rink at Nathan Phillips Square at Toronto’s city hall. Skate rentals, indoor change rooms and snack bars are on-site.

4. Tour the Steam Whistle Brewery
Tour one of Toronto’s most interesting historic buildings, The Roundhouse, while sampling one of the city’s signature beers. Steam Whistle Brewery tours are $8 to $24 (depending on whether you want to leave with a bottle opener or a 12 pack of beer) and go daily from noon to 6 p.m.

5. Have a hot chocolate at Soma in The Distillery District
Once you try a steaming cup of this rich and creamy  hot chocolate, made on the premises from pure, exotic ingredients, you’ll never be able to spoon out the powdery instant stuff again.

6. Do a bike tour of Toronto Island
Tour Toronto’s island oasis on a bicycle. There are several ways to see the car-free island on wheels, like Sights on Bikes where for $40 you get a ferry ride, a two-hour island tour and a chance to explore special spots like the haunted lighthouse at Gibraltar Point.

7. Go shopping at Honest Ed’s
With a sign lit up by 23,000 bulbs, this Toronto landmark is hard to miss. Honest Ed’s has been dishing out deals since 1948 and even claim to be the world’s first true bargain store. Household items are often cheaper than a dollar store and there’s stuff everywhere, so get ready to do some digging.   

8. Walk the boardwalk at The Beach
During warm months, the boardwalk (stretching 3 km along Toronto’s lakeshore) is full of skateboarders, volleyballers, bike rider, Rollerbladers, dog walkers, baby pushers, seagulls and joggers. There are swimming pools, a canoe club, lawn bowling, tennis courts and endless benches where you can chill out with an ice cream cone and watch Lake Ontario’s waves come in.

9. Go to Dundas Square
Like it or hate it, it’s worth a visit to this concrete public space. With billboards, big lights, concerts and public events, Dundas Square is hailed as Toronto’s Times Square and gives visitors a taste of the bustling downtown Yonge Street.

10. Dine at a famous chef’s place
Toronto has a rep as home to some of the best chefs and restaurants in the world so splurge and enjoy a meal by a famous local chef like Jamie Kennedy or Susur Lee (as seen on Iron Chef America).

11. Take a city walking tour
Instead of walking around the streets aimlessly, seek out a little guidance. You’ll go home with a history of the city that most Torontonians don’t even know. There are tons of walking tours across the city, like downtown excursions, small neighbourhood tours, walks through the Don Valley and even historic tours of haunted parts of the city. Try multicultural walking tours from A Taste of the World.
 
12. Get out of the downtown core
Many of Toronto’s neighbourhoods aren’t far from the core and offer a true Toronto experience, not just the polished perspective of tourist-heavy downtown. Each neighbourhood in Toronto is unique. You can go antique shopping in Leslieville, do an art gallery crawl in Parkdale, grab some fresh produce from Kensington Market and pay a visit to a Polish bakery in Roncesvalles.

13. Ride the Queen streetcar
Almost every tourist snaps a photo of a red Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) streetcar. One-up them by taking a ride on one. There are always interesting characters on board and since it’s above ground, you can take the scenic route and check out the sights as you travel to your destination. Cash fare is $2.75 a trip or you can buy daily, weekly and family passes.

14. Go shopping in Chinatown
A walk through Toronto’s Chinatown is an incredible experience, with intense crowds at all times of day, cheap goods and markets as far as the eye can see. Countless restaurants serve up dumplings, Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean cuisine, and stores have cheap clothes, housewares and electronics.

15. Have a coffee in Kensington Market
This eclectic, artistic 'hood is Toronto’s people-watching central, and a great place to grab a cup of coffee. Check out Moonbean or I Deal Coffee.

17. Eat corn on the sidewalk in Little India in the summer
Summertime in the Gerrard Street India Bazaar is a whirlwind of smells and colours, and many restaurants take their kitchens to the sidewalk, serving up roasted corn on the cob that you can garnish with a variety of spices.

16. Window shop in Yorkville
Sometimes it’s best not to check price tags in Yorkville, but it’s still fun to take a peek inside and dream.

18. Take a train ride through High Park
Summertime in the city’s magical High Park wouldn’t be complete without a ride on the trackless train. The train runs every 25 minutes and weaves through much of the park’s 399 acres of scenery.

19. Walk the entire PATH
The PATH is the world’s largest underground shopping complex, connecting Toronto’s downtown core and business district. There are 27 kilometres of stores, food courts and places to hang out, and if you get lost in the tunnels (and you will get lost), there are maps and arrows everywhere to help you find your way. It’s worth the walk.

20. Check out a local band
As Canada’s biggest city, musicians from all over the country move here in search of a big break. Bars like The Cameron House and Dakota Tavern feature great acts nightly, and you can check our live music chart to see what’s happening throughout the city this week.

21. Sample honey at St. Lawrence Market
With rows of vendors and one-of-a-kind finds, St. Lawrence Market is a rush in itself. If you’re looking for a sugar rush though, check out Honey World on the lower level. You can sample dozens of delicious specialty honeys like lavender honey, New Zealand honey and Manuka honey, and will definitely leave with a buzz.
 
22. Tour the CBC building
The Canadian Broadcast Centre, CBC’s flagship building in Toronto, houses some of Canada’s most beloved national shows and journalists. Visitors can tour both the building and the CBC Museum for a look at some of Canada’s television history, and even catch a free taping of The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos during the week.

23. Eat Souvlaki on The Danforth
A trip to Toronto’s Greektown wouldn’t be complete without sampling its famous souvlaki. You can’t step two feet on the strip without finding a souvlaki house, but a well-loved starting point is Messini’s Authentic Gyros, where they stick the fries right in the pita.  

24. Have dinner in Little Italy
Toronto’s Little Italy neighbourhood is renowned for its selection of restaurants, Italian or not. Check out our restaurants page for some places to go.

25. Read in the garden at Casa Loma
Casa Loma is Toronto’s castle on top of the hill and a romantic spot to spend an afternoon. Although a tour through the historic building is definitely worthwhile, so is a visit to Casa Loma’s beautiful garden in the summertime. The garden is open from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and there are tons of benches and little corners where you can curl up with a book and relax under the shade of a tree.