First time in Toronto

[chelsea girl]

My friend and I are due to arrive on Sunday (Sept 23rd) for a 4 night stay in Toronto from the U.K. We will then be travelling onto Florida for 10 nights in Clearwater on the 27th.

Obviously, due to the recent tragic events in the U.S.A., we are a little bit apprehensive, and a lot of the excitement has been taken out of our holiday. However, this will be our first visit to Canada and we intend to try and make the most of it.

Cindy-Ann very kindly gave me some good Toronto tips on my original post a couple of months ago, when I was enquiring about Canada 3000 airline, but any further recommendations to get the best out of our short time there would be greatly appreciated.

Our ideas so far are – A City tour – A trip to Niagra (of course) – and a day shopping.

We are staying at the Courtyard by Marriott on Yonge Street but do not as yet have transfers arranged to and from Pearson Airport. Is it easy to get a Taxi or should we book something in advance?

How is the weather – Will we need to bring coats or will a sweatshirt be enough?

Do you have Wal – Mart or something similar? Cindy-Ann also suggested a few places for plus size shopping but any other shopping or dining favourites would be welcomed.

Thanks in advance for any help you may be able to offer.

Debbie

 

[Jo-Anne]

Welcome and hope you have a great time visiting our city. You should find it friendly and clean! Expect daytime temperatures to range from 13-23 degrees celcius with possibly some rain showers (nothing big tho). Evenings will get chilly - around 5-10 degrees. It is usually easy to get a taxi/limo right after you exit the airport building to any destination...count on $25-40 for the ride though! They also have busses that go downtown to most major hotels. Just look for some signs after you exit with your luggage.
Definately take a side trip to Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake (big wine growing region with lots of wineries...read sampling!). We do have lots of Walmarts, but none in the downtown area. If you have a car, ask front desk for nearest location. Also, I'd suggest taking in one of the big shows in town such as Mama Mia or Lion King..I hear rave reviews of both. There are also lots of interesting pockets of neighborhoods to visit like The Beaches, China Town, The Danforth (Greek). Subways are easy to navigate and can take you easily to most attractions. Hopefully others will chime in with suggestions...even though I live in Toronto, I find it hard to come up with all the Tourist Attractions! Take Care, Jo

 

[mickey65]

Hello!
I don't live in Toronto, but I have been there quite a few times. The area along the water (Harbour Front) is quite nice for a stroll if it is a nice day.

There is a really neat place to eat downtown called the 'Hot House' It is a buffet, and it has everything you can imagine on it!! I will look up the address and come back with it on this thread.

http://www.tordine.com/reviews/hothouse.html

 

[my3princesses]

Toronto.com is a great website to check out. For malls, the Eaton Centre downtown is your best bet. Or else a little way out of town is Yorkdale (one of the best malls around). Definitely do the CN tower, maybe catch a play (lion king), there are alot of great restaurants in the area. Have fun!

 

[CanadaKid]

I would like to agree with mickey65 on the Hot House. Good food, nice staff and I would recommend it to anyone.

There is also the Peel Pub on King Street West downtown, a 15 minute walk from your hotel. This is NOT A CLASSY PLACE. It's a big stone-floor pub 1/2 level below the street and it is very popular with tourists and locals alike. Decent pub food at great prices and good service. Everywhere you look there is another TV with some kind of sports on and you sometimes see Tribe, Yankees and Tigers hats and shirts in there, probably folks on holiday.

The place is within Toronto's theatre district and is a 5 minute walk to Skydome and CN Tower so it gets busier before and after Jays games. Also, it is VERY crowded 12:00 to 1:00 M-F when it fills up with the business types from the downtown office towers. Just be careful when you order anything that says "large" especially the beer pitchers.

Here's their site:
http://www.toronto.com/E/V/TORON/0020/58/87/

If you want fancier dining, cross the street and go 1 or 2 blocks west to more chic and eclectic restaurants. This neighbourhood is full of restaurants which feed on the Skydome people and theatre-goers.

There are also two decent places to eat that are a ten-minute walk south of your hotel. At Yonge and Wellington Street, inside BCE Place, there is an excellent restaurant called Movenpik Marche. Upscale cafeteria-style and most of what you order is prepared while you watch. Big selection, excellent quality, emphasis on freshness. Dinner for two $30-40. A block south of there at Front Street is the Shopsy's Deli. A Toronto institution, this place serves hot stacked sandwiches etc. and is good for a quick bite. 20+ page menu has something for everyone - Dinner for two $20-30.

Have Fun!

CanadaKid

 

[chelsea girl]

Thanks a lot Guy's - you've all been a great help.