Toronto suggestions

[MiddlingMarch]

We are going to Toronto later on this year and looking for suggestions of things to do and places to go.

DD wants to go shopping and to art galleries and museums, DS wants to see Niagra Falls. We have a fortnight and happy to hire a car so may aim to spend a couple of days/up to a week visiting other places. Ottowa and Montreal have been put on the list for now.

We have some ideas but looking for suggestions too.

Bruce Peninsula is about a 3.5 hour drive north. Great hiking to Big Tub Lighthouse, Inglis Falls, and the Grotto, with opportunities for swimming and snorkelling. You could also visit the fishing village of Tobermory.
Algonquin is a bit further than Bruce but it’s a more remote experience. It’s good for wildlife spotting (we saw moose and wolves) and kayaking.

Algonquin was on the list I think, mostly for the wildlife spotting.

Will put Bruce peninsula on too.

Thank you!

Niagara Falls for sure.

Does everywhere else have to be "big"? There are lots of nice places to go near Toronto. Distances are far, even to Ottawa. If you want a break for a few days, Muskoka is a great place for playing around on the water and generally chilling.

I have been going to Toronto my whole married life (30 years), and just a few years ago discovered Toronto Beaches. It's an amazing place, and right along the Queen's Streetcar. I've never been to the Islands, but they look interesting. If you want to do some light hiking, the Credit River is a good place to go.

In the city, you have Kensington, which is really not to be missed. You can walk to it from Dundas/Yonge, which is the main shopping area. Greek town is really interesting too. I like the Distillery District.

Driving is pretty much a nightmare in Toronto, and unnecessary for the most part.

Thanks @CraftyGin

Definitely planning on avoiding driving in Toronto itself as much as possible, I'd heard it was a nightmare!

Will add your suggestions to the list, particularly those in the city as I wasn't sure where to start with the different districts.

We went to Vancouver a few years ago and drove to Kelowna to stay for a week or so, took all day but was fine. So we are realistic about the time/distance to Ottowa or on to Montreal. It's a case of all of us wanting to see and go to everywhere, I'd thought maybe going by train but costs looked high.

Bruce Peninsula is excellent. We took the Tobermory to Mantoulin ferry and then travelled down to near Huntsville. Algonquin was a day trip from there.

Niagara itself is a bit of a dump, but the falls and the gorge are truly spectacular.

Thanks @SnakesAndArrows I think Algonquin looks good. I like the idea of going to Tobermory too.

From what I'd read, Niagara Falls has a tacky kind of resort feel which my DC are keen to visit. Happy to indulge that as long as they indulge me in the various museums I've got in the list!

Niagara is tacky but I kind of liked that! There’s Niagara-on-the-Lake nearby which is very quaint and nice for a walk around.

Niagara-on-the-lake is very quaint and well worth a visit. Obviously the CN Tower (unless you don’t do heights!) and the Aquarium.
Take a ferry to the Islands, Ward’s or Centre Island, lovely to walk around and there are beaches on them. You can hire bikes too. Centre Island is busier and more touristy, Ward’s Island is more residential, I love the houses there.
St Lawrence market downtown is great for a variety of fresh food.

It’s worth splashing out on either a Raptors or Maple Leafs game if you’re there in season - the atmosphere is great even if you’re not a sports fan.

Fab, thanks all.

I'll check sport fixtures - DC are keen to see an ice hockey or baseball game if possible!

If you can, at Niagara Falls treat yourselves to a room at the Sheraton Fallsview hotel overlooking the falls, it’s absolutely brilliant. They also have a great buffet restaurant with amazing views.

I agree that Niagara on the Lake is lovely too.

Algonquin is fab and I would recommend staying in the park at Killarney Lodge. Each cabin comes with a kayak to go on the lake. Loads of wildlife to be seen. We even saw black bear in the distance. The food was great but this was some years ago.

Go to Little Canada - it’s in downtown Toronto and has a scale model of Canada in it. It was a highlight for us. I see you are planning on going to a game (ice hockey or baseball ball) the ice hockey hall of fame is good too. It’s also worth a looking at shows. We went to see Hamilton, we were able to pick up tickets when we were there.
There is a China town, but it’s not as good as London, there are lots of little very localised areas, little Portugal, which can be interesting.

BTW- Cannabis is legal in Canada - and there are cannabis shops everywhere - which one of my teen DC found unsettling.

We did the area last year, Toronto was okay but not a huge amount to do there. The islands were okay but had seen better days. The CN tower was amazing,and would recommend a blue jays match. The main mall, Eaton square I think,was pretty average. Everything was very expensive and barely any places to buy food. Niagara by the lake was LOVELY and Niagara was great despite the tackiness. The lakes north of Toronto were amazing, we were staying with friends but Huntsville was gorgeous and had a go ape type place. Kids love going to Walmart and seeing hello school buses! Any questions please do ask

We have had a couple of 2+ week holidays to Toronto and southern Ontario in the past few years. I have posted on other threads about our trips before…. Below is a copy and paste from a previous thread, sorry if some of it isn’t relevant to your family set up, etc. but it might give you some ideas!

We have had two holidays in Ontario over the past few years, we absolutely love it and would go back again and again. There is so much to explore once you get out of Toronto, and it’s so child friendly. You don’t have to drive too far to get to some really beautiful places!
Our first trip we spent a few nights in Toronto, then drove to a cabin up in the Muskoka lake region (a couple of hours drive), stayed there for a week exploring all the lovely little towns (Huntsville, Bracebridge, Gravenhurst, Rousseau…) spending lots of time out on the water, did some walking in Algonquin Provincial Park. Then we had a final few days in Prince Edward County. We stayed in a town called Picton, really lovely little town, lots of little shops and cafes, close to breweries, wineries, distilleries, all of which had food trucks or kitchens, very open to kids coming along. Also close to Sandbanks Provincial Park, which has gorgeous white sand beaches on the shore of Lake Ontario.

For our second trip we got out the city as soon as we arrived and we went up to some little towns on the shore of Lake Huron. We went to the Blue Mountain resort (which in winter is a ski resort, but in summer is like a massive outdoor playground, we had an amazing day there) we went up to Tobermory and Bruce Peninsula, did a boat trip and some walking. All very beautiful. Went on for a few days in Muskoka area, as we knew we loved it there. Then on for a few nights in a cabin with its own lake access and watersport equipment in the Haliburton Highlands. Another stop along the north shore of Lake Ontario for 1000 Islands, then a final few days back in Picton as we loved it so much.
These trips were done first with a nearly 4 year old, then 10 by the time we were able to return for the second trip. Happy to share accommodation recommendations/specific area recommendations if of interest to you. Eastern Canada seems to get bad press in contrast to the west, but we absolutely loved it.
Edited to add: we made it so that we didn’t need to drive longer than 3 hours between stops, and that was only one of the legs. Majority were around 1.5 hours, so felt very manageable for our child, who isn’t accustomed to super long car journeys. Even the 3 hour leg was fine, as we stopped for a quick walk.

Ah, more suggestions! Thank you!
I've added these to the list - will have a good number of options for us now to plan the trip.

I also had a look at trains to Ottowa and Montreal instead of driving and the prices were a bit more reasonable than I'd looked before so that's an option for travel too. I love a train journey!

Oh yes @InsertUsernameHere forgot about the prevailing smell of weed!

@Twoweeksandcounting any chance you could share where you stayed in Muskoka and Haliburton please? We’re planning a similar trip in August but haven’t been to the area before. Thanks ☺️

Niagara by the lakes is well worth this trip on the way down to of back from Niagara, it’s very quaint. Niagara was better than I thought it would be, the falls were breathtaking and quite a lot to do there. One area was a bit tacky but the kids loved it and bought themselves Niagara hoodies. Toronto - not as much there as I’d hoped for. Hard to find decent places to eat, not a huge amount to see once you’ve been up there CN tower. The Islands were pretty underwhelming and the main mall was okay but not huge. We did 3 days and that was enough. Was quite scary driving around Toronto.

I thought I would update after our holiday last year!

Biggest advice: October is the start of winter opening hours (forgot that from last trip to Vancouver) so quite a few places either weren't open (eg the theme park, apart from late night Hallowe'en events) or had different opening hours.

We spent a week in Toronto, and loved it. We bought a CityPass which was a small saving for attractions. From that pass, we went up the CN Tower (cracking views! Kids loved the gift shop), got the boat to the islands and walked around there (cracking views back to the city). Also went to the Ripley's illusions place which was good for a few hours when the weather was a bit grim. The zoo was excellent and the aquarium at the bottom of the tower was a lot better than we all expected. Also went to the museum (i LOVED it).

We walked everywhere and found good lunch places on our last day in the train station!

There's a place at Roundhouse Park at the bottom of the CN Tower that has a lot of old train carriages and a wee ride on train (we didn't go on that). Nice place to chill. Also enjoyed Berczy park with a fountain decorated in statues of dogs.

Eaton Square Shopping centre had a foodhall and range of shops. We walked a lot between the shore to Eaton Sq and up to the university and all over.

Didn't get tickets for baseball or hockey but watched them in bars or restaurants.

Loved St Lawrence Market - upper level food places were great. Lower level had mix of wee shops and food. Went there a few times.

Favourite place of all was the Distillery Quarter. Shops, cafes and a few restaurants. V chill and great photos.

We got a Flix Bus to St Catherines which was easy. Stayed there 3 nights and went to Niagara Falls on two days. Went on a boat (got soaked, epic!) And behind the falls. Also went to Clifton Hill and played indoor crazy golf and went in an illusion/hall of mirrors that was more fun than expected too. And then a day at the outlet mall where we bought clothes, shoes, etc and felt smug about saving money.

Flixbus back to Toronto and then the train to Montreal. Prices were reasonable for both, I think about $200 for 4 return tickets on each? Can't remember but reasonable anyway.

We stayed on the edge of China Town in Montreal. First day went into the old town and wandered about. We hadn't expected a culture shock, but everything everywhere was French. It was genuinely like being in France! Anyway, enjoyed that wander. Next day we got the subway to St Helen's Island and walked about there. It was shut! But getting decorated for Hallowe'en. We saw an Otter! Just trundling around.

Complex Desjardins shopping centre had a great foodhall. We went a few times. We walked loads again. Walked to McGill University and spent an hour or so in the wee museum there (it had a dinosaur!). Also went to the planetarium. It was a great city to walk around.

We loved Toronto. Loved how it was a living city- loads of playparks in amongst the skyscrapers and so many dogs out and about!

Using the train and the coach were great as driving and parking were expensive and we didn't want the hassle.

Using our phones was expensive. We didn't buy sim cards there as we thought we would be ok. WiFi was pretty decent everywhere but if we used 5g it was so expensive.

Thank you for all the ideas and suggestions. If we go to the east coast again we would explore away from the city so all those places like algonquin are still on the long list.

Happy to give details of where we stayed and ate (and if we would recommend!) If helpful to anyone.