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Vancouverite visiting Toronto for the first time!!

V

vanman

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So basically I'll be in Toronto for 3-4 nights in January, and have absolutely no idea what to do. I really want to see as much of the city as possible, especially places that are off the beaten path. So far my itinerary that I've come up with is pathetic. I want to see those twisting towers in Mississauga, go up the CN tower, visit the Distillery district, and maybe check out some singles bars. I'll be staying downtown although I'm not exactly sure where yet. If anybody here could help me with ideas it would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
 
Also I forgot to add I'm willing to take updates of the ridiculous amount of construction going on in Toronto right now so if anyone has any specific requests feel free to ask.
 
The city is pretty dull this time of year with no leaves on the trees and few coniferous trees around, please excuse our appearance! Prepare to dress warm, January & February can get really, really cold - especially if you want to get out and do some walking (recommended!).
There's the Royal Ontario Museum (The "ROM") at Avenue Road & Bloor W., the Art Gallery of Ontario ("AGO"), at Dundas W. & McCaul, Bata Shoe Museum (more exciting than it sounds) at Bloor W. & St. George Sts.). The major theatre scene is a little sketchy right now save for "Priscella Queen of the Desert" but it's scheduled to close on Jan. 2nd. Check out any number of ethnic neighbourhoods, here's a link: http://www.seetorontonow.com/Visitor/Explore/City-Neighbourhoods.aspx. Probably stay away from the lake unless your really bundled up, it's pretty cold & windy down there to walk around in Jan/Feb.
There's a few ideas perhaps.
 
dt_toronto_geek said:
The city is pretty dull this time of year with no leaves on the trees and few coniferous trees around, please excuse our appearance! Prepare to dress warm, January & February can get really, really cold - especially if you want to get out and do some walking (recommended!).
There's the Royal Ontario Museum (The "ROM") at Avenue Road & Bloor W., the Art Gallery of Ontario ("AGO"), at Dundas W. & McCaul, Bata Shoe Museum (more exciting than it sounds) at Bloor W. & St. George Sts.). The major theatre scene is a little sketchy right now save for "Priscella Queen of the Desert" but it's scheduled to close on Jan. 2nd. Check out any number of ethnic neighbourhoods, here's a link: http://www.seetorontonow.com/Visitor/Explore/City-Neighbourhoods.aspx. Probably stay away from the lake unless your really bundled up, it's pretty cold & windy down there to walk around in Jan/Feb.
There's a few ideas perhaps.
Click to expand...


Hey don't forget he's coming from Vancouver where it rains for 2 months straight during the winter. lol! Might also be interesting to walk along Queen West from University until you hit the Drake and then go in a have dinner and a few drinks. Time it right so you end up there in the evening on a Thurs to Sat night. Don't leave it too late though.
 
Also, check out a bit of the PATH if your staying downtown on a really cold day, preferably before 6pm as that's when most of the shops close. It's the largest underground shopping centre in the world with 30km of subterranean joy including access to the Metro Convention Centre, The CN Tower, Eaton Centre, The Air Canada Centre/Maple Leaf Square, City Hall/Metro Hall, The Hockey Hall of Fame, CBC Broadcast Centre, Roy Thompson Hall, Union Station, Four Seasons for the Performing Arts and a plethora of other hotels & office towers. The north end begins on the north side at Dundas Street around Yonge-Bay Streets and snakes it's way all through the downtown area. Here's a link for the map/guide (you need Adobe Reader installed on your PC/Mac to view this map) - http://www.toronto.ca/path/pdf/path_brochure.pdf
 
dt_toronto_geek said:
The city is pretty dull this time of year with no leaves on the trees and few coniferous trees around, please excuse our appearance! Prepare to dress warm, January & February can get really, really cold - especially if you want to get out and do some walking (recommended!).
There's the Royal Ontario Museum (The "ROM") at Avenue Road & Bloor W., the Art Gallery of Ontario ("AGO"), at Dundas W. & McCaul, Bata Shoe Museum (more exciting than it sounds) at Bloor W. & St. George Sts.). The major theatre scene is a little sketchy right now save for "Priscella Queen of the Desert" but it's scheduled to close on Jan. 2nd. Check out any number of ethnic neighbourhoods, here's a link: http://www.seetorontonow.com/Visitor/Explore/City-Neighbourhoods.aspx. Probably stay away from the lake unless your really bundled up, it's pretty cold & windy down there to walk around in Jan/Feb.
There's a few ideas perhaps.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the ideas. I will check out ROM and AGO but I don't really know about the shoe museum haha.
 
dt_toronto_geek said:
Also, check out a bit of the PATH if your staying downtown on a really cold day, preferably before 6pm as that's when most of the shops close. It's the largest underground shopping centre in the world with 30km of subterranean joy including access to the Metro Convention Centre, The CN Tower, Eaton Centre, The Air Canada Centre/Maple Leaf Square, City Hall/Metro Hall, The Hockey Hall of Fame, CBC Broadcast Centre, Roy Thompson Hall, Union Station, Four Seasons for the Performing Arts and a plethora of other hotels & office towers. The north end begins on the north side at Dundas Street around Yonge-Bay Streets and snakes it's way all through the downtown area. Here's a link for the map/guide (you need Adobe Reader installed on your PC/Mac to view this map) - http://www.toronto.ca/path/pdf/path_brochure.pdf
Click to expand...

PATH sounds interesting and considering I'll probably be spending most of my time on the subway I'll have plenty of oppurtunities to check it out.
 
Don't rent a car. Most of the stuff you're going to want to see is downtown or on subway lines. Going to Mississauga is pretty straightforward: just go to Islington subway Station and take a MiWay (formerly Mississauga Transit) bus.

For Vancouverites, the most out-of-the-ordinary Toronto experience would be the old red brick historic areas. For out of towners, I think that the strip of Queen street west from Ossington to Dufferin is the most interesting; it has a lot of cool art galleries that are constantly having openings and interesting stores. There's also a nice, historic residential neighbourhood directly to the north.
 
vanman said:
I'm considering renting a car for a day or two depending on how cold it is.
Click to expand...

This would be a good idea for visiting Mississauga to view the "twisting towers" that you are interested in seeing since public transit to and from Mississauga would take too much time. A rental car will also allow you to explore around the edges of Toronto. For the most part however I would recommend that you buy a TTC day pass for $9.50 / day which will give you unlimited travel on the TTC (on the weekends 2 adults can travel on one day pass).
 
Thanks for all the help everybody! Yeah I think I'm gonna scrap the rental car and just take transit. If the weather is shite I don't want to have to drive in it and I hear traffic in Toronto can get pretty brutal at times. The only thing I'd really be missing out on is cruising the Gardinier. Does anyone know if there is a bus that goes along the Gardinier? Also I'm not that big into the clubbing scene but I wouldn't mind seeing the best That TO has to offer if anyone knows of some hotspots.
 
Traffic in Toronto can be bad, especially on the highways, but you'll see it's probably not as bad as you've heard.
The only buses that I can think of that go along the Gardiner are buses that are coming in from out of town, Go Transit, Greyhound & such.
As for clubs, presuming your straight, there are plenty in the entertainment district that are big & flashy and more for a little more intimate fun with "real" people try Queen West West or College West but fun can be found most anywhere.
A few links -
http://www.clubcrawlers.com/toronto/nightclubs/ (scroll down)
http://www.toronto.com/bars_clubs/clubguide

For almost everything happening in TO, check out www.toronto.com, it's one of the best sites that's kept up to date for most everything going on in the city
 
vanman said:
The only thing I'd really be missing out on is cruising the Gardinier. Does anyone know if there is a bus that goes along the Gardinier?
Click to expand...

If you want to ride on the Gardner your best bet is to take the GO Transit bus route 16 express to Hamilton. It's pretty frequent and leaves from the Union Station Bus Terminal for the Hamilton GO Centre, a short walk from Hamilton's downtown. It costs $9.50 for a one way tcket. The route travels on the western part of the Gardner and then onto the QEW.

Here's the weekday schedule departing Toronto: Hamilton QEW GO Bus.
 
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