Urban Tips for Visiting Toronto

This will likely be Toronto Week here on Urban Review. But, much of what I will be sharing about my Toronto visit has correlation’s to St. Louis.

Stay downtown where all the action is happening. Downtown Toronto is roughly bounded by Bloor on the north, Parliament on the east, Lake Ontario on the south and Bathhurst on the west. Toronto’s downtown is huge relative to our downtown area. It is not all financial or CBD but size-wise it would be if we considered downtown to extend all the way to Kingshighway on the west, St. Louis Ave. on the north and say Russell on the south. So their downtown is a big physical area but we were able to navigate through the street grid very well by walking or using transit (subway and/or streetcar).

Staying in suburbia might not be so bad as long as you picked a hotel on the subway line. But, from what I saw most of the suburban stops are much like ours, a substantial and unfriendly hike from hotel to stop. A possible exception is some of the stops along the Yonge line in areas such as North York. Still, these active business areas may be as costly as a downtown hotel and you’ll have all that time on the subway. We stayed in a very modest hotel which had its drawbacks but it was very cheap and just a few doors from the streetcar and three blocks from the subway.

So where would I advise someone to stay in downtown St. Louis right on a transit line for $70 a night? I can’t think of anyplace off hand.

View from our hotel on Church St. at Dundas St. (map).

If you are staying a while get a weekly transit pass which are good Monday through Sunday. These are only available through Tuesday of that week so plan accordingly. Day passes are also available. The pass is good for access to the subway, the streetcars and the local bus service. A rental car is not necessary in Toronto. For more info visit the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC).

Most streetcars are the single such as this one on the #506 line. Others are a double length to carry more passengers. If you miss a streetcar, as we often did, another will be along in short order.

Don’t bring too much U.S. currency as the currency exchange places charge a high fee. Instead charge your purchases/meals and use the ATM to get Canadian currency. The smallest bill they have is a $5 so you will likely be carrying around lots of $2 and $1 coins.

Visit the CN Tower — the views are incredible. I highly recommend opting for lunch/dinner at the 360º Restaurant. You get a “free” ride to the observation level with purchase of a lunch entree. My entree ended up being roughly $12 more than the cost of going up to the tower yet the same meal in St. Louis would have likely been around $20 or so. Plus, we didn’t have to wait and we were able to sit at a table right next to the window as the restaurant slowly rotated (72 minutes for complete loop). After we ate we walked down to the standard observation level and it was a mad house of people . On the regular level you have to fight for views. We went on a Friday so I can imagine the weekends being even more crowded.

View from CN Tower looking at the Financial District in the foreground.

Take in the Toronto Islands. A short $6 ferry ride will get you to the islands (return is free). Access to the docks is via subway/streetcar. You have three choices and took the one to the east: Ward’s Island. This is an area of the island with housing that started out as squatters residences but of late has been legalized with the residents having long-term leases on the land. In hindsight we would have taken the Centre Island ferry so we could have rented bicycles or the nifty pedal powered vehicles for two or four. The beach was great and the water cold! If you are so inclined, the western most ferry to Hanlan’s Point will take you to the nude beach. With the exception of a few service vehicles, the islands are car-free.

One of the many beaches on the islands. For additional island photos click here.

Leave plenty of time to get to the airport. The Toronto airport is a good distance from downtown but a transit bus line connects you to the subway to get into the downtown area. When you arrive at the Toronto airport you’ll go through Canadian customs. When you leave the Toronto airport you’ll go through U.S. Customs. In the case of a friend, arriving at the airport two hours before her flight was barely enough time.

Unfortunately I had to cancel my flight to Toronto and instead was forced into one of several choices; not go, drive my car, take the train or take the bus. I decided on the bus because it was faster and cheaper than taking the train. The bus was an experience that I’m glad I’ve done —- once. Despite meeting some very nice people and getting to see glimpses of cities such as Columbus & Cleveland Ohio, Detroit MI, Buffalo NY and such the bus simply takes too long for me. I couldn’t sleep well on the bus so I arrived in Toronto tired. However, the bus and train both bring you into the downtown area, it was a short walk from the bus station to my hotel. Both stations connect with the subway and streetcar systems to get you to places beyond a walking distance.

Bring your appetite as restaurants are numerous and delicious. With so many ethnicities in one city the choices are limitless. On the go? No problem, you can get a slice of pizza at nearly every corner. Many corners have at least one hot dog vendor with some blocks having 3-4 hot dog carts in a single block. Vegetarian? Not to worry, all the hot dog carts had veggie dogs.

Hot dog carts such as this one on Yonge & Elm are numerous with hours long into the evening. If you look closely you can see two more on the same sidewalk.

I will have more of Toronto to share in the coming posts. In the meantime add any tips you might have for visiting urban areas or what tips you might offer those visiting St. Louis seeking an urban experience.

– Steve