If You Like

If You Like

Ethnic Neighborhoods

You can encounter markets, clothes, music, newspapers, cuisines, and customs from around the world in Toronto. If you walk around long enough, you may hear everything from Hindi to Greek. You can pick up a sari on Gerrard Street East, purchase Chinese herbal medicines on Dundas Street, and browse for French books on Queen Street West.

Museums

Toronto is the place to explore often overlooked Canadian art, particularly at the Art Gallery of Ontario and the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg. The Royal Ontario Museum presents a brilliant and wildly diverse collection, including mummies and musical instruments. (Note that ongoing refurbishments until 2008 mean that some galleries are closed temporarily, but the "ROM" is definitely worth a visit, if only to see its striking architecture.) The city also has offbeat museums devoted to the study of hockey (Hockey Hall of Fame), design (Design Exchange), ceramics (George R. Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art), and even shoes (Bata Shoe Museum).

Patches of Green

The city has lush ravines, parks with jogging paths, and a handful of islands for R&R and outdoor activities. Miniparks throughout downtown burst with flowers and have public sculpture, historical plaques, and, of course, benches for resting tired feet. Nathan Phillips Square has live music and a farmer's market in summer; High Park, west of downtown, has a summer Shakespeare series; Edwards Gardens in North York is the city's botanical gardens.

Playing It Up

Toronto has venues for American favorites like baseball (Toronto Blue Jays) and basketball (Toronto Raptors). But ice hockey is a national mania. Maple Leaf tickets are a scarce commodity, even among locals. Never sampled Canadian football? See an Argonauts game; the play is faster and (locals say) more exciting than the American version.

Shopping

The city that created Club Monaco and M.A.C. cosmetics has everything from haute couture to ethnic markets. The city's megamall, the Eaton Centre, vies with boutiques on Bloor Street West and Yorkville for shoppers' attention. Unique areas to explore include the St. Lawrence and Kensington markets; funky Queen Street West; Chinatown, loaded with bargains; Queen Street East, with vintage and antiques stores; and Queen's Quay Terminal, a delightful converted warehouse on the waterfront.

Wining & Dining

After each of Toronto's immigration waves, an intriguing new batch of restaurants opened, including Hungarian schnitzel after the 1956 revolution and Vietnamese in the 1970s. The city's diverse dining scene yields a bit of everything, including contemporary Canadian fare. Wine lists include excellent regional and international varietals. In summer, do as the locals and dine alfresco, a cherished Toronto pastime.