Toronto, Canada

Toronto is the biggest city of the second biggest country in the world. What does that mean? Everybody thinks – since it's the biggest city in the second biggest country it has to be super crowded and huge – not really! Yes, Canada is the second largest country, just after Russia, and Toronto is the biggest city there. It doesn't mean that it's crowded. More people live in California than in the whole entire country of Canada, and California is 23 times smaller. So, Toronto is not as crowded as you would think. There are just 2.6 mln people which is much less than New York City (8.5 mln). Anyway, it's there, it's just a two-hour flight and it's a different country. That makes a perfect weekend getaway.

​We weren't sure what to expect. Since it's the largest city, we thought there would be a lot of office buildings etc. Some people told us that this city is full of parks, biking paths, running trails etc. Others were saying that it's a little bit boring. There are as many opinions as people. The only way to have your own opinion is to go there and experience it for yourself.

There are two airports in Toronto. You can fly to Bishop airport which is located on the island very close to downtown, or to Pearson, where there is a train that connects you to the city center. It takes only 25 minutes to get to Union Station (city center) and it costs C$12 one way. It's a pretty good deal. For an Uber it would have been C$70. The train is definitely faster! It's also clean, comfortable, and has WiFi on board. Perfect!

It was 10:30 am when we got to Downtown Toronto – not so bad for a trip from NYC. We were able to maximize our time because transportation was very effective. We spent one night there, but we had all of Saturday, and almost all of Sunday. Plenty of time to check the major city attractions, meet some friends, and visit a few of the many breweries.

​ATTRACTIONS – SIGHTSEEING
In Toronto, the main points of interest are very close to each other. Starting from The Entertainment District, which lies by the lake, and you can walk through Old Toronto straight to The Distillery Historic District. The Entertainment District is a great way to start a day. It has a lot of cafes, breweries, and restaurants with an outside patio. On the other hand, The Distillery Historic District is a great way to end the night. It's crowded all day long, but it has it's charm at night.

CN TOWER – it's definitely, a must see. CN Tower is the symbol of Toronto. You can see it from almost everywhere in the city, and you can see every corner of the city from the top. CN Tower was built in 1976 and for 34 years was the highest tower and self standing building. Now, it's the 3rd highest tower next to Tokyo Skytree, and Canton Tower, China.

​There are few options for how to explore CN Tower. The basic ticket costs C$35. It's worth adding an additional C$12 to get to SkyPod. This is the highest point that you can reach. You can feel how the tower rocks back and forth in the wind by about 0.5 m when you are there. Because the windows are relatively small I recommend to go one level down to take better pictures. From the higher elevation the view is better and you can admire Lake Ontario. This is the smallest lake out of all the Great Lakes, but even from 447 m (1465 ft.) you can't see the other side of the lake.

​There are more attractions on the lower deck (346 m / 1136 ft.). There is a restaurant where you can enjoy lunch / dinner. Edge Walk is another attraction for adrenaline seekers. I think it was the first time something like that was offered at such a high elevation on an observation deck. The idea is to go out and walk on the edge – sounds like a fun, right?! Daredevils get  harnessed in and take a 30-minute "hands-free" walk around a 5-foot-wide ledge. You need to have cold blood to get out and walk around there. Unfortunately, Toronto is very windy so the Edge Walk is not always offered. For those less adventurous there is the glass walk. You can see everything below you because part of the floor is made of glass.

​ROGERS CENTER & AQUARIUM – next to CN Tower is the Aquarium and Rogers Center. If you are a sports fan you can enjoy a game in the open stadium, called Rogers Center. For those who travel with kids I recommend the Aquarium where you can see all different species of fish and other sea creatures.

SIGHTSEEING BUS – it was the first time when we decided to take a Sightseeing Bus. If you like that, then I would definitely recommend to check Hop-in-hop-out buses. For us, it was waste of time. Traffic is pretty heavy in Toronto, and it took us forever to move from one stop to another. The possibility to get off and on at any stop is great, but we waited 20 minutes after schedule for next bus, and decided to walk away. You might see much more by walking around. You are more flexible, it's faster, and you can take much better pictures.

​HOCKEY HALL OF FAME – those who love hockey already know that Canada is crazy about it. No wonder, the winters there are pretty brutal and winter sports are very popular. Hockey Hall of Fame is a museum dedicated to this sport. You can learn more about the history, top players, top teams etc. I definitely recommend this to hockey fans.

TORONTO ISLAND – As I mentioned before, Toronto is full of parks, running paths, bike lanes etc. Toronto Island is a hub for all of it. Most people go there for the whole day to spend time on the beach, play volleyball, ride a bike, run and just enjoy being outside. You need to take a ferry to get there. You can save some money and time if you buy a ticket earlier. ​The ferry is every 15-30 minutes to the 3 different stops on the island. For tourists like us, I recommend to get to the Central Part and get back from Hanlan's Point. This is the same island where the airport is. Half of the island is an airport, but the other half is a beautiful park. There are no cars (only service cars) so you can walk wherever you want. We walked on the west side of the island. Passing by fountains, a boardwalk, a lighthouse Gibraltar Point (a building that is more than 200 years old), beaches and so on. It's definitely worth going there on the sunny day.

DISTILLERY HISTORIC DISTRICT – last but not least. It's used to be Gooderham and Worts Distillery. Now, all those buildings were renovated and a lot of restaurants, bars, small galleries etc. were opened there. Gooderham & Worts used to be the biggest distillery in Canada. Originally, found in England, in 1831, it was moved to Canada. In 1859 Gooderham & Worts built the new buildings in the area that currently are known as the Distillery District. At the end of the XIX century the distillery noticed some drop in sales, but it picked back up again around 1923 when the USA had prohibition. Most of the smugglers were buying alcohol there, to sell later in the US. This was the best prosperity time for the distillery, which was sold around this time. In 1990 the distillery was closed and the whole area was called the Distillery Historic District. ​

AFTER HOURS – BREWERIES, RESTAURANTS
Breweries are a big thing in Toronto. Recently a lot of people prefer to drink craft fresh beer. It's high in demand, so people demand that bars have more craft beers from micro breweries than a mass production like Heineken. Toronto is on top of it. I am not sure if I have ever been to a city with so many cool breweries. There are around 20 of them.

Liqueur stores are controlled by the government in Toronto and Ontario. It can only be sold in specific chain stores, which of course are getting better deals from huge beer producers than from local micro-breweries. That's why more and more people open a brewery, next to it a bar, restaurant and a small store where you can grab some bottles to take home. The restaurants are relatively big. In New York where every square feet costs an arm and leg, the bars and restaurants are small and you feel like a sardine in the can. In Toronto, at the restaurants, there is a lot of space, a lot of tables, but still it is hard to get a table. So where is it worth going?

Fran's restaurant – it's a great place to have a home made breakfast. It's nothing fancy, you have different styles of eggs, some pancakes, and other breakfast specialties. What's the most important, is that the food is fresh, delicious, and the service is stellar. It's a much better option than having breakfast at the hotel.

Amsterdam Brewery – great location. It's very close to the lake. It's perfect for hot summer days. There are some tables outside, but they fill up pretty quickly. No wonders, everybody likes to have a cold beer with a fresh breeze off of the lake. What else could you possibly want? The beer is good but the food not so much.

Steam Whistle Brewing – just next to CN Tower. This makes it full of tourists all the time. It's still worth going there because of the venue. It used to be an old railway building. They, of course, offer great beer, but also a Tour of the Brewery.

Mill Brewery – it's located in the Distillery Historic District, and in our opinion, has the best beer. Historic District is full of great places to eat, and drink, but if you love beer, that's the place that should be on top of your list.

El Catrin – also located in the Historic Distrct, just opposite of Mill Brewery. It's a Mexican restaurant perfect for lunch or dinner. It has a lot of outdoor space as well as inside tables for colder nights. The food is delicious, the meal is huge and the price is low. Sounds like a perfect place, right? Yes, it is!

Slip – it's more like a beach bar. It's next to the lake, and has a nice patio. However, the music is so loud that it's hard to talk. If you just want to drink and have fun, it's a great place, but if you want to have lunch/dinner and catch up with friends it might be too loud.

Moxie's – restaurant with a great selection of sea food. We went there to try tuna tatar – delicious! A friend recommended it to us. It's really good place and we ended up ordering wild catch salmon from Lake Lois. If you like a fresh, wild caught fish, that's definitely the place to go!

MOVING AROUND
Center of Toronto is relatively small so you can walk around and there is no need to take any public transportation. The train from the airport is relatively cheap and very convenient. Toronto has 4 subway lines that easily cover most parts of the city. There are also trams, buses etc. The subway operates from 6:30 am to 1:30 am. Sounds like not enough but that's not true. At night most people take a taxi anyway to get back home, and closing the subway for the night, helps to keep it clean. It's easier to maintain it. Anyway most people prefer to bike ride or just walk around.

The subway ride costs C$3.25, but the most funniest part is how to pay for it. You can buy a token in the vending machine, but you need to have the exact amount. If you need some change you have to go to the booth with an employee. It's just next to the gate. You pay by giving him a note. What you got back is the rest of the money (understandable) and a bunch of small coins (in the price of the ticket). Then you have to put them in the basket, which is next to the employee and he opens the gate for you. I found it funny that we had to move money from one basket to another, and then the employee does the same. Well...just check this out and tell me if you find it funny too!