Exploring Toronto

Getting There – Traffic in Toronto is pretty bad. The easiest way into the city is using the GO train. You can park overnight up to 3 nights at the Burlington GO station, and it’s about an hour train ride in from there. If you prefer to drive, Spothero offers cheaper downtown parking for about $20/day. The worst place you can park is probably your hotel…since they typically overcharge.

Common Attractions – Toronto is home to the Canada’s only professional baseball team, the Blue Jays. Tickets are typically cheaper than most stadiums, especially early and late season when school is in session. Of course, you don’t have to be a Blue Jays fan to go. Pro-tip, be sure to read the rules, but they are pretty laxed on what you can bring in (water bottles and some food allowed). Rogers stadium is nearby the iconic CN tower, and the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame.

Food – Toronto has pretty much anything, with a large Chinatown, Italian, Greek, you name it. There’s no shortage of fancy restaurants, but the places I really love are local restaurants with great food and great prices. Some of my favorites include Fresca Pizza and Pasta (shown left), Cherry Street BBQ (shown right), Fuscaro’s Italian Kitchen, and Rasta Pasta. Meals average $10 – $20 Canadian at these places, and are spectacular (I forgot to take a picture of the pizza before taking a bite).

Nightlife – Toronto has tons of concert venues, bars, and clubs. It also has its fair share of Broadway style shows. Most venues are easily accessible by subway, bus, or rail car. The system is pretty easy to use and Google maps does the hard work for you. It’s also home to one of the largest gay villages in North America on Church Street.

Concerts – It’s also a great spot to see a concert, since nearly every major artist will visit Toronto while on tour. Tickets tend to be cheaper because of the exchange rate and lower fees. I recommend either buying directly from the venue, or you can catch a good deal by buying last second on Stubhub or other reputable secondary ticket market vendors.

Canada’s Wonderland – I’m a fan of amusement parks, and one of the busiest (summertime) amusement parks is located in the Toronto suburbs (Vaughn). Who is that guy? That’s actually the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who happened to show up the same day I did. I think the guy sitting in front of him is whatever Canadian secret service is…hope he likes roller coasters. It’s only open during the warm season.

Breweries and Pubs – My favorite breweries are Eastbound Brewing Company (great $6CAD happy hours) and 3 Brewers which has daily food and drink deals. It’s also a great location near Dundas Square – which is pretty much Toronto’s version of Times Square. The Prenup Pub has a great (100+) beer selection, and for a fairly authentic Irish Pub I like Noonan’s for the drinks and music. Finally Freeplay Toronto is a bar/retro arcade which can be a fun combination of drinking and playing old school games like Pac Man and Punch Out.

Tips and tricks – It’s easy to get into Canada with a Passport or Enhanced ID, although they can deny entry for serious past convictions (they consider drunk driving serious). Canadian ATMS have Canadian cash, and most are more than willing to dispense it for a fee. I use a fee free Capital One savings account or Credit Card to get around this – there are other options or you can pay the nominal fee (typically 3%) or a bad exchange rate. Toronto is primarily English speaking, but there are many other cultures and languages in the city. As is commonly discussed, Canadians generally pride themselves in being friendly (although in my experience that does not apply when driving…sorry about that to my Canadian friends).

I hope that gives you some ideas for visiting Toronto. It’s probably the easiest international city for Americans to visit. You’ll feel right at home in no time.