First time Toronto visit
October 30, 2022 3:15 PM Subscribe
What should I see in Toronto Nov. 17-23?
I'll be in Toronto for work in the 3rd week of November, and after staying a few days in "Old Toronto", I have the option to extend a few more days in that area or a different part of town. My free time during the work days (17th-20th) will be in the evenings. I'd like to see city stuff, for sure, but I'll have a car the 20th-22nd and would like to see the surrounding area (≤ 2 hours?) -- anything great, because I've never been to Toronto or that far east in Canada. Food, music, sights, hikes, or anything amazing that might be happening.
Do you suggest other parts of town I should look into staying, or are there any events you'd recommend checking out Nov. 20-23?
I'll be in Toronto for work in the 3rd week of November, and after staying a few days in "Old Toronto", I have the option to extend a few more days in that area or a different part of town. My free time during the work days (17th-20th) will be in the evenings. I'd like to see city stuff, for sure, but I'll have a car the 20th-22nd and would like to see the surrounding area (≤ 2 hours?) -- anything great, because I've never been to Toronto or that far east in Canada. Food, music, sights, hikes, or anything amazing that might be happening.
Do you suggest other parts of town I should look into staying, or are there any events you'd recommend checking out Nov. 20-23?
There is a big Kent Monkman exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum that will be on while you're here.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:38 PM on October 30, 2022 [8 favorites]
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:38 PM on October 30, 2022 [8 favorites]
My favorite area to visit in Toronto is Kensington Village. The Moon Bean Coffee Company has delicious coffee and excellent food. If you like looking at oddities and treasures the vintage shops in the village are all worth visiting but my very favorite is Courage My Love.
posted by RobinofFrocksley at 4:24 PM on October 30, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by RobinofFrocksley at 4:24 PM on October 30, 2022 [4 favorites]
Toronto has a lot of different neighbourhoods and a lot of different types of foods. My favourite place to go for a walk and window shop is Queen West from Bathurst to about Trinity Bellwoods park. But I would say Kensington Market is a close second. Ossington just north of Queen is also pretty interesting and has a lot of nice places to eat.
There is a city wide bike rental program. On a nice day, biking on the water front or in the trails in the don valley can be a nice way to see a different part of the city.
posted by ice-cream forever at 4:32 PM on October 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
There is a city wide bike rental program. On a nice day, biking on the water front or in the trails in the don valley can be a nice way to see a different part of the city.
posted by ice-cream forever at 4:32 PM on October 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
If you haven't been, the falls really are impressive but by then they'll almost certainly be turned down to about half power to generate more electricity.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 4:50 PM on October 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 4:50 PM on October 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
You’re pretty close to the Distillery District which will be getting Christmassy if you’re into that.
Chinatown and Kensington Market are good for walking around and and are close together so you could do both on one afternoon. Kensington is car-free some Sunday afternoons.
Niagara Falls is pretty amazing. The touristy part of town is silly but if you stay over, I think it’s worth getting a hotel room that has a Falls view (not a town view) and a jacuzzi in the room. It’s cool to see the falls just whooshing away all day and night.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 4:59 PM on October 30, 2022 [4 favorites]
Chinatown and Kensington Market are good for walking around and and are close together so you could do both on one afternoon. Kensington is car-free some Sunday afternoons.
Niagara Falls is pretty amazing. The touristy part of town is silly but if you stay over, I think it’s worth getting a hotel room that has a Falls view (not a town view) and a jacuzzi in the room. It’s cool to see the falls just whooshing away all day and night.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 4:59 PM on October 30, 2022 [4 favorites]
If you like historic houses, Casa Loma and Spadina are two very different experiences within a few blocks of each other. I was very dubious when they were put on the family itinerary some years back, but I enjoyed both immensely.
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:11 PM on October 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:11 PM on October 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
Can you be more specific about where you are staying? No one uses the term Old Toronto here. I live in the west end and as far as Google is concerned I'm in Old Toronto but someone above says it's distillery which is the opposite end of the city from me.
For food I like Enoteca Sociale. For cocktails I like the Black Hoof Cocktail Bar.
posted by dobbs at 5:24 PM on October 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
For food I like Enoteca Sociale. For cocktails I like the Black Hoof Cocktail Bar.
posted by dobbs at 5:24 PM on October 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
Atlas Obscura: Toronto has suggestions.
As mentioned, Kensington/Chinatown is the funky old neighbourhood to hang out.
I like museums, in downtown the Art Gallery of Ontario and Royal Ontario Museum are the two obvious big things. MOCA is the more hip modern art thing.
Aga Khan Museum in Don Mills is my personal recommendation for a unique fancy art gallery/museum (easier to get to by car than by transit from downtown).
If you like weird old architecture, R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant is cool (there's also the High Level Pumping Station North of Casa Loma that's worth a glance from the outside).
There's lots of nature walks in various ravines all around the city, later Nov will be more sombre.
Personally I wouldn't go to Niagara Falls unless you felt motivated to do it.
posted by ovvl at 5:40 PM on October 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
As mentioned, Kensington/Chinatown is the funky old neighbourhood to hang out.
I like museums, in downtown the Art Gallery of Ontario and Royal Ontario Museum are the two obvious big things. MOCA is the more hip modern art thing.
Aga Khan Museum in Don Mills is my personal recommendation for a unique fancy art gallery/museum (easier to get to by car than by transit from downtown).
If you like weird old architecture, R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant is cool (there's also the High Level Pumping Station North of Casa Loma that's worth a glance from the outside).
There's lots of nature walks in various ravines all around the city, later Nov will be more sombre.
Personally I wouldn't go to Niagara Falls unless you felt motivated to do it.
posted by ovvl at 5:40 PM on October 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Dobbs -- Sorry, that's just what Google maps said in that area. Looks like I'll be a short walk from the St. Lawrence Market.
posted by klausman at 5:40 PM on October 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by klausman at 5:40 PM on October 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
If you are looking for a hike, parts of the Bruce Trail are accessible within two hours of Toronto. The Bruce Trail follows the Niagara Escarpment, so the hiking is a bit of up and down over chunks of rock, with some farmland mixed in. That late in November, the leaves will be down and the snow likely won't have come yet, so it can feel a bit desolate.
https://brucetrail.org/
You'll need a car and the easiest way to access it is to plan a loop using the trail and the side trails. The app is pretty good. It's a subscription, so you can subscribe and cancel when you are done. The app also gives updates as to which sections are closed for hunting. The app doesn't give you the hike descriptions that the trail guide gives, though.
posted by TORunner at 6:17 AM on October 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
https://brucetrail.org/
You'll need a car and the easiest way to access it is to plan a loop using the trail and the side trails. The app is pretty good. It's a subscription, so you can subscribe and cancel when you are done. The app also gives updates as to which sections are closed for hunting. The app doesn't give you the hike descriptions that the trail guide gives, though.
posted by TORunner at 6:17 AM on October 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
My friends and I put together a set of Toronto hikes that can all be reached by transit. I would suggest the Humber ravine, Toronto islands, or Tommy Thompson Park (check the hours, no dogs).
posted by sindark at 10:52 AM on October 31, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by sindark at 10:52 AM on October 31, 2022 [3 favorites]
Definitely check out the Thomas Fisher Rare Books Library if you have time (it's in the Atlas Obscura list above) -- it's part of the larger, brutalist Robarts Library building on the University of Toronto campus. Even just standing in the central atrium of the Fisher is really, really nifty, but they also have public exhibits from their collection that are on display in that atrium and on lower levels (they're only open during the day on weekdays, though).
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 1:11 PM on October 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 1:11 PM on October 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
More places around the University of Toronto to check for events that intrigue you:
Massey College
The Royal Conservatory of Music
The Munk School of Global Affairs
Hart House
posted by sindark at 4:40 PM on October 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
Massey College
The Royal Conservatory of Music
The Munk School of Global Affairs
Hart House
posted by sindark at 4:40 PM on October 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
Looks like I'll be a short walk from the St. Lawrence Market.
St. Lawrence Market itself is definitely worth an hour of your time if you are nearby. It’s partly yer standard farmer’s market (meat, cheese, fruit, vegetables, etc.) and partly prepared foods. I would recommend a meal there; I find that St. Urbain bagels has pretty decent Montreal-style fare, and Moustachio downstairs has impressive sandwiches. I’m told Carousel does some tasty peameal bacon sandwiches as well (I am not a red meat guy myself though, so this is hearsay). Couple of good bakeries in the place as well, and it’s a pretty pleasant neighbourhood to stroll around.
The market is closed on Mondays, though, so keep that in mind.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 3:30 AM on November 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
St. Lawrence Market itself is definitely worth an hour of your time if you are nearby. It’s partly yer standard farmer’s market (meat, cheese, fruit, vegetables, etc.) and partly prepared foods. I would recommend a meal there; I find that St. Urbain bagels has pretty decent Montreal-style fare, and Moustachio downstairs has impressive sandwiches. I’m told Carousel does some tasty peameal bacon sandwiches as well (I am not a red meat guy myself though, so this is hearsay). Couple of good bakeries in the place as well, and it’s a pretty pleasant neighbourhood to stroll around.
The market is closed on Mondays, though, so keep that in mind.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 3:30 AM on November 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
A couple of obvious tourist traps that no-one has mentioned yet in the "sights" department: CN Tower and Ripley's Aquarium, sited right next to each other downtown.
Suresh Doss is the local CBC Radio food columnist. He specializes in finding great food from many different cultures at hole-in-the-wall restaurants. Somebody has put all his recommendations on a map. Some of them are within walking distance of where you'll be, and some of them are a couple of hours' drive out of the city.
On the other end of the food experience, if you want to pay lots of money to eat with rich people on the 54th floor, there's always Canoe.
There's lots of live theatre in the neighbourhood, if you're interested in that. Within walking distance you'll have Berkeley Street Theatre, Alumnae Theatre, Meridian Hall, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, and Young Centre for the Performing Arts. Young People's Theatre is in the neighbourhood, too, though they're aimed at a younger crowd. If instead you want to hop on the streetcar and see some big-budget musicals, the various Mirvish theatres have you covered.
There's also some very local outdoor nighttime theatre in a little park that'll be happening on a couple of the days you're here.
So... yeah. If you're interested in theatre, this is the neighbourhood for it.
posted by clawsoon at 9:32 PM on November 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
Suresh Doss is the local CBC Radio food columnist. He specializes in finding great food from many different cultures at hole-in-the-wall restaurants. Somebody has put all his recommendations on a map. Some of them are within walking distance of where you'll be, and some of them are a couple of hours' drive out of the city.
On the other end of the food experience, if you want to pay lots of money to eat with rich people on the 54th floor, there's always Canoe.
There's lots of live theatre in the neighbourhood, if you're interested in that. Within walking distance you'll have Berkeley Street Theatre, Alumnae Theatre, Meridian Hall, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, and Young Centre for the Performing Arts. Young People's Theatre is in the neighbourhood, too, though they're aimed at a younger crowd. If instead you want to hop on the streetcar and see some big-budget musicals, the various Mirvish theatres have you covered.
There's also some very local outdoor nighttime theatre in a little park that'll be happening on a couple of the days you're here.
So... yeah. If you're interested in theatre, this is the neighbourhood for it.
posted by clawsoon at 9:32 PM on November 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
A winter trip to Niagara Falls might have just gotten more interesting, despite the seasonal reduction in flow that GCU Sweet and Full of Grace mentioned, since they've opened a "huge" tunnel as part of the power plant tour.
posted by clawsoon at 4:20 AM on November 3, 2022
posted by clawsoon at 4:20 AM on November 3, 2022
...though on second look I'm not sure if the tour is available from the Canadian side. Apologies if it's not.
posted by clawsoon at 4:29 AM on November 3, 2022
posted by clawsoon at 4:29 AM on November 3, 2022
The only thing not in Toronto but within 2 hours of Toronto worth seeing is Niagara Falls.
I'll put forward the McMichael Collection as a counterexample to this statement.
posted by Johnny Assay at 5:49 AM on November 5, 2022
I'll put forward the McMichael Collection as a counterexample to this statement.
posted by Johnny Assay at 5:49 AM on November 5, 2022
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posted by If only I had a penguin... at 3:38 PM on October 30, 2022 [3 favorites]