Toronto?

[CochonDinde]

Thinking of once again forfeiting a beach holiday for a long haul city break and was thinking Toronto - anyone been? My finger keeps hovering over the "book and pay" button but I keep talking myself in and out of actually doing it

Vancouver for a city break 😂 not doable from the UK, long flight.

It’s a long way to see a touristy waterfall! For a city break plus a chance to see a waterfall, go to Iceland! I’ve never met anyone who raves about Toronto! Canada is more about mountains and scenery. Not cities. Vancouver is best. I would suggest Boston if you can live without Niagara Falls.

Iguazzu and Victoria Falls are better! Save up for them!

Quite a few of us on here have raved about Toronto though Bubbles?! Having lived there and experienced a number of Canadian cities, I’d disagree it was all about mountains and scenery, that’s a bit to the detriment of some rather nice places!

Not sure Reykjavik (with respect) would be a much better city break - I’d agree on the less touristy waterfalls bit but there isn’t really a great deal to see in Reykjavik itself & the food is horribly expensive.

Many people love going to Iceland for holidays to see natural wonders. Yes it’s expensive but people still go.

I think the question is whether many tourists just go to Toronto or whether they go on linger holidays to see the best of Canada. Most people would not go to Toronto for a city break. It has good things of course but most people could not name much of importance there. Nearly every holiday company that features Canada goes to the Rockies or Eastern Canada with a few wildlife holidays thrown in. Toronto doesn’t feature as a stand alone destination. We have met Canadians who don’t rate it for holidays.

People who live in cities for a while tend to like them. They are not tourists who fly in and out again. They get to know somewhere. It’s just not the same thing. There are better North American cities to visit that deliver more bang for the buck but no waterfalls!

I've actually been thinking about Iceland as a stopover I'm completely torn at the moment so think I'm going to take some time to research all options. Some excellent points and ideas made on this thread so I've got some real food for thought. Ideally I'll just win the lottery and not have to work anymore so I'll have time/money to do it all

:-) Tour operators do tend to focus on the big and the obvious in any destination, so yes for Canada it’s all the images we will have in our heads of Canada, the Rockies, wide expanses, wildlife etc. And yes if you have lived somewhere and had a good stay then you’ll have slightly rose tinted glasses (although not always, I’ve lived in Dubai and wouldn’t dream of recommending it to anyone!). But when it comes to Toronto, there are genuinely interesting and nice parts of the city which if people know where to find them, do make it worth including on any N American itinerary. I stand by my guns on this!

Would agree Iceland’s worth going to for it’s landscapes and other activities (eldest DD & I had a great time horse riding in the countryside) but as a city break +, just the + bit would get me going back!

I feel like I’ve been mean to Toronto. As cities go, it’s great, but as I work in one I don’t really want to holiday in one!

We loved the zoo, seeing the skydome (I believe we looked into it from a Hard Rock Cafe?), CN Tower, Wonderland (we saw Erasure in concert there!), museums, and what I think must have been Queen Street West with lots of little bohemian/arty cafes and shops. We also went over to the islands and hired bikes, and watched an amazing international firework competition.

It must have changed in the 30 years since I went, but if I wanted a city break Toronto would be on the list.

It’s also relatively short long haul, so you don’t need a stopover unless you want one. Which is where the holiday mission creep comes in and before you know it you’re going to New Zealand “on the way back”

We enjoyed our visit but combined it with Ottawa, Niagara and a week in a cottage on a lake. Highlights were dinner at sunset in the CN Tower, the Islands, the PATH underground network and taking in sports - baseball and soccer. Agree with others, it’s a city without an obvious focus and hard to scratch the surface.

Roselilly the OP merely said she’d forfeit a beach holiday for a city break. She didn’t specify a duration. She said she’d like to see a city and have some down time too. A city break doesn’t necessarily mean a 3 day thing.

We went last year for a few days at the end of our holiday, and there are still things we’d like to have seen.

We flew into New York for 6 days, then got the train to Niagara. We spent 1 night there, then got the train on to Toronto.

It was nice not to feel the pressure to see so much, and take things at a slower pace than New York.

We all liked Black Creek Pioneer Village and spent a whole day there. CN tower was interesting, and we spent time wandering the distillery district.

Our initial plan had been to rent somewhere in the lakes for a week and then go to the falls and spend time in Toronto, or spend the whole time around Vancouver, but I really liked combining Toronto with the train from New York.

I visited Toronto a few years ago and really enjoyed it. Would like to go back. A few people are recommending Boston, but I really didn't enjoy a holiday there the following year as found it a bit boring. Different things appeal to different folk obviously!

I do think Toronto fits better with an extended itinerary. It’s just not my idea of a single destination. Boston has a more interesting historical perspective and whale watching! In fact Iceland has whales too!

indeed you can - in Iceland if the weather is ok (and if boats in rough seas don’t make you ill).Apologies Bubbles, I am being pedantic!

I only spent a day in Boston so all you can do is skim the surface but personally being very into Henry James and that period of American history I was a bit disappointed on the historical bit ( although really god knows what I was expecting to find!). I did a brief tour before wandering and the tour guide’s take on the brave Colonials versus the dastardly Brits was geared more towards entertaining than actual historical accuracy.The history they were celebrating when I was there that day was Irish American (& fair enough to that) & the Irish Americans (of the type & claims to Irishness my genuinely Irish friends find a bit amusing) I met in a bar were less than welcoming, making big (& completely inaccurate ) assumptions about my views on N Ireland. But there really as above is so much you can get from 24 hours, arriving with ready made conceptions about what you’ll find and leaving with quickly formed negative ones about the friendliness of the people!

Like much of N America, Toronto’s history from a European point of view sums up to a few Victorian buildings downtown. However older neighbourhoods like Cabbagetown (the largest area of preserved Victorian buildings in all of North America) give you far more of a feel of Toronto’s history. But if you want a city in N America that does give you a very genuine sense of history as European, you’d be going to Quebec anyway, not Toronto.

I have been to Toronto many times [ family there ] and love it! I can't believe how many people say it's boring.
I usually go for 10 - 14 days at a time, never yet been bored

Toomboom Ah, but is it seeing the family that makes it interesting? I too have family in Toronto (all my inlaws) and I love going and don't get bored because of the socialising side, but I really don't see the appeal of Toronto as a tourist destination if you don't have any ties there. It is a pretty dull city. Pleasant enough, but has nothing that other cities don't do better.

I had a good time in Toronto but I wouldn’t choose to go there on a holiday. Tbh with very few exceptions all North American cities are pretty much the same, nothing special.

I also don’t think Quebec is worth a special trip. The historic part amounts to a few little cobbled streets. The rest is the same as everywhere else. The national parks are beautiful though.

I much preferred Toronto to Boston but personal taste l guess

I’m looking at root into for this year. Been to Boston twice and was underwhelmed.

Boston has some first class museums and we enjoyed the historic walking trail.

Thinking of history, I’ve forgotten to mention Philadelphia. We thought it was an excellent city break. It can easily be combined with Washington. Philadelphia has a large preserved historic area with lots of buildings you can visit. It has the Liberty Bell and associated Revolution museums. You will get the impression that the English are the enemy but it’s a city less visited by Brits but it deserves to be higher up wish lists.

As for North American cities being nothing special, I could not disagree more! Any major USA and Canadian City has something to offer visitors. It’s more about what and quantity. We visited Richmond in Virginia recently. It has the biggest collection of Faberge outside Russia. It’s in a stunning new museum and it was amazing. You need to do a bit of investigation to find these “gems”. It also had wonderful Tiffany lamps - all lit up. Getting a decent guide book always helps and not going with a closed mind!