While Canada often gets a reputation of being a boring place for urbanites, Toronto offers a sharp rebuke to this stereotype. A flashy, modern city whose time in the spotlight has arrived, the T Dot offers plenty to keep today’s modern traveller interested and engaged.
Below, we’ll talk about the best places to stay, eat, and play while visiting Canada’s foremost city on the world stage.
HOTELS:
The last decade has seen scores of towers rise in the downtown core of Toronto. Numerous amazing hotels have opened during this time, giving you plenty of luxurious options on your trip to Canada’s flashiest city.
For those willing to spare no expense, the Hazelton is an obvious choice. Its spacious rooms with heated flooring, fantastic restaurant, and luxurious spa are all excellent reasons for booking here, but add in their private screening room, and those looking for a top-notch hotel experience will find it here.
The Four Seasons is another excellent option, as this commanding 55-storey hotel feels very much like the new Toronto that has risen up over the past ten years. Within its blue glass exterior, you’ll find an amazing cafe, bar, aromatherapy spa, and guest rooms which have touches such as a TV embedded within the bathroom mirror.
Both hotels will serve you well during your stay, but you may have a quiet night or two during your time there. Take advantage of the excellent wi-fi to fire up some online gaming entertainment. From craps to baccarat, just about every casino game has been adapted for play on the web. Check this site for more details how you can get a little gaming in on vacation.
RESTAURANTS:
The vast majority of the world’s cultures have an active community in the Greater Toronto Area. Accordingly, the diversity of restaurants in this city is kaleidoscopic in nature.
From Miku, a fine sushi joint known for delicately searing their otherwise raw offerings (try the sablefish and soft shell crab roll) to give it a unique and unforgettable taste, to Los Colibris, a Mexican restaurant famed for its upscale interpretation of a down-to-earth cuisine, you’ll be spoiled for choice.
AMUSEMENTS:
As the biggest city in Canada, Toronto is often at the forefront of the latest and hippest trends in entertainment. From a vintage book vending machine at the The Monkey’s Paw bookstore (1267 Bloor St West) to axe throwing ranges, there’s plenty of cool and unusual things to do.
If your tastes are more conventional, go out of your way to pick up tickets to the game – in any season, a team will be playing, be it baseball (Blue Jays), basketball (Raptors), soccer (Toronto FC), football (Argonauts), and of course, hockey (Maple Leafs).
In town between mid-August and the start of September? Spend a day at the Canadian National Exhibition. From midway rides to ridiculously unhealthy (but bloody tasty) food, you’ll feel like a kid again by the time the nightly fireworks start.
Apart from this, Toronto’s nightlife scene is vibrant, and offers a great party virtually any night of the week. In doubt of where to pick? Walk the streets between Spadina and University Ave (the historical bounds of Toronto’s Entertainment District), and you’ll find a place that speaks to you and your travel companions.
