My next stop was Toronto, the largest city in Canada (and 4th largest in North America after Mexico City, NYC, and LA). Huge shoutoot to my friend Alex who was kind enough to host me and show me around. Thanks Alex!!
Some highlights:
- Extremely safe, clean city and not too crowded
- Super friendly and helpful people
- Open and accepting culture
Unlike Quebec City and Montreal, which are both French Canadian, Toronto is historically British. Although English is the official language, over 50% of the city’s residents belong to a minority ethnic group. What an international metropolis, eh!
Axe Throwing
I spent Saturday hanging out with Alex, his brother, and his brother’s girlfriend, who all graciously showed me around Toronto. I had a great time exploring the city with them and appreciated getting a local perspective!
After lunch and some walking around we took on the great Canadian pastime of axe throwing. It is much like going to a shooting range but instead of guns you throw axes at wooden boards. As expected it was an awesome time, and on some level seemed to satisfy a primal urge to fling sharp objects around. Would highly recommend!
Distillery District
After getting in touch with our medieval sides we walked around the Distillery District, an upscale area with some nice restaurants and shops. As its name suggests this district is located on the site of a former distillery.
We finished our Saturday off with some sushi. A great first day in Toronto!
Royal Ontario Museum
On Sunday Alex and I decided to educate ourselves so we headed to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), the largest museum in Canada. We saw some cool historical paintings, mummies, and even an impressive collection of dinosaurs! Definitely worth a visit.
University of Toronto
Having embraced the spirit of learning we next headed to the University of Toronto, which had a really nice campus.
More Downtown Toronto
We kept walking around the city and came across Canada’s Walk of Fame. Very similar to the one in Hollywood, except the stars are different.
On our walk we of course could not miss the awe-inspiring symbol of Toronto, the CN Tower.
After dinner and a dessert detour the sun had set, giving us the opportunity to see the CN Tower’s true colors.
Our lovely walk came to an end and we met up with the rest of our crew at an arcade (a place similar to Dave and Buster’s). A great way to let off some steam!
Casa Loma
Monday happened to be Canadian Thanksgiving. While initially I couldn’t believe my luck, the general lack of Thanksgiving-related ads and other means of commercialization threw me off. Is it truly Thanksgiving without turkeys everywhere and aggressive Black Friday shopping the next day? Monday just seemed like a regular day off, and I wasn’t mistaken in my perception: turns oot Thanksgiving is really not as big of a deal in Canada as in the US. Interesting!
To give thanks I decided to go to Casa Loma, a mansion turned into a tourist attraction. It was originally a fancy residence built in the early 20th century for a wealthy financier. The mansion was v tasteful and the roof had a spectacular view of the city skyline.
Toronto Islands
After a visit to the classy mansion I headed to the Islands to get a sunset view of Toronto. Getting to the Islands is a bit tricky – one does not simply drive there. I took a water taxi from the harbourfront to Hanlan’s Point (the best view, according to my taxi captain).
Turns out that Hanlan’s Point is right next to a small city airport! I spent most of the evening watching planes take off into the sunset.
Yonge-Dundas Square
After getting back to land I walked to Yonge-Dundas Square, which is Toronto’s equivalent of New York’s Times Square, though much cleaner and less crazy/crowded. There was of course a guy yelling aboot some sort of religious salvation, but it wouldn’t really be a city square otherwise, eh?
Not a bad way to spend Canadian Thanksgiving!
Walking Tour
Tuesday, my last day in Toronto, seemed as good a time as any to go on a free walking tour. I learned a lot and would recommend this to anyone visiting the city. The tour guides really know their stuff!
After the tour ended I proceeded with my own self-guided walking tour and walked to Nathan Phillips Square. It was a fun tour but the new tour guide was much less capable..
CN Tower
No visit to Toronto would be complete without going up the CN Tower, which is how I capped off my trip. Breathtaking views!
Fun fact: a few years ago rapper Drake referred to Toronto as “the 6”, and this nickname has since stuck. “The 6” may refer to area codes (416 and 647), or the fact that Toronto originated from 6 different boroughs. The album cover for Drake’s “Views” features him sitting atop the CN Tower, so as a Drake fan I felt obligated to check oot the “view.”
This wraps up my time in Toronto! Thanks again to my awesome host Alex as well as Mike and Natalie for showing me around. The city really reminded me of NYC (minus the crowds), and I loved the friendly vibe and cultural diversity. Hope to be back soon 🙂
Next stop, Niagara Falls!
Mikhail's Travel Adventures 