6 hrs in Toronto
 

Hello @ all,

I am new here and I hope you can give me some suggestions about our next trip to north america.

My husband and I will fly to Seattle this summer, but we have a 6 hrs layover in Toronto (we are living in Europe). We have been twice in Toronto and we already made sightseeing, boat trip around harbour, ... so we don't need to see this again.

Do you have some suggestions what we can do in these 6 hours? Our layover is from about 12 until 6 pm. I think it will take too long to go to downtown. Or what do you think? Is there something to see for us not too far from the airport? Maybe a nice park were we can make a walk (between 2 flights might be a good idea ;-)), eat something, relax... or maybe something to visit when the weather is bad? Maybe you know an event on this day? (30th of june) Or an interesting museum/gallery...?

Thanks a lot!
Tanja

PS: Sorry for my english - it's time for me to go to America again to improve my knowledge. ;-)

Visit www.woodbineentertainment.com and then the Woodbine racetrack logo on the left side of the page.

Thoroughbread horseback racing about a ten minute taxi ride from the airport. racing starts that day at 2 p.m. and there are some other things to do at the racetrack before racing, includng perhaps having lunch.

The Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington is perhaps a half hour cab ride. Burlington is south west of the airport, so traffic is not as bad as trying to get back to the airport from central Toronto before your flight.

See www.rbg.ca

BAK

Tanja your English is very good .
The Botanical gardens would normally be a great idea but June 30 is the beginning of a major holiday weekend . The traffic going back into the city will be unbelievably jammed up . It's typical for the beginning of a weekend . So I would not go south of the airport at all .

Perhaps Woodbine Centre would be close enough .
You could also google and see if there is anything going on at the nearby International Centre at 6900 Airport Road .

I'm so sorry Tanja, I checked and there doesn't seem to be anything going on at the international Centre

Thanks for your answers, BAK and kodi! :-)

The Botanical Garden would be a great idea, but the distance is a bit far (70 km) and the garden is so huge, that the time we have would be too short. :( But I keep that in mind for a next visit in Ontario.

Does anybody know Centennial Park? It's only a few km from the airport and on this day starts the "Ribfest". Maybe this would be something for us? Does anybody know this festival or the park? Is it something to spend our time between 2 flights? (Relaxing, listenting to the music, eat something...)

If it is something like the Oktoberfest, please let me know... then I would rather spend my time at the airport. ;-)

In North America there are travelling teams of rib-cookers. They have trucks that tow trailers with large fires, and they each have their own special recipes.

They travel from city to city, setting up their travelling stoves and have local judges saying which ribs are best.

The competitors sell small portions, so you can eat some ribs from several different cooks. Or larger portions from one you like particularly well.

The competitors are often real characters, most often from the US south

It's been a while since I've been to a rib-fest, so I do not know what else might be going on at the same time.

Centennial Park also has a very nice public greenhouse you can visit, but it is a big park and may be a long walk from the ribfest area to the greenhouse.

BAK

These are all interesting suggestions, but you should realize that you don't have 6 hours available. (I assume that your flight from Europe arrives at 12 and your flight to Seattle leaves at 6).

First of all, on arrival you will need to clear immigration, retrieve your bags, and clear customs. If you don't leave the airport, some transfers do not require you to claim your bags. Depending on the number of international flights arriving this could take up to an hour--30 minutes at minimum.

Secondly, before boarding your flight to Seattle, you must clear security and US customs and immigration. (At most Canadian airports, there is pre-clearance by the US Customs and Border Protection Service so that when the flight arrives in the US, it is considered a domestic flight).

If you change flights in Canada between Toronto and Seattle (e.g. at Vancouver) then the US clearance will be at the last stop before entering the US. This would give you more time, as you will recheck your bags in Toronto immediately after leaving Canadian customs, and you could safely return an hour before your departing flight.

For these reasons, Pearson Airport in Toronto recommends that passengers arrive 3 hours before a flight to the US. Here are some tips on connecting:

http://www.gtaa.com/en/travellers/co...nnection_tips/

So, if you have a direct flight from Toronto to Seattle, that means that you should be back to the airport by 3PM, having left at about 1PM. That doesn't allow much time for visiting, but I'm sure that others can recommend something interesting to do for 2 hours in the vicinity of the airport.

If I've misread your post and you have 6 hours clear after leaving customs and before checking in, then there is much more you could do.

Thanks for the interesting link.
We have 6 hrs between arrival from Frankfurt (with Lufthansa) and departure to Seattle (Air Canada). Good to know that we have to pass US customs in Toronto, thanks for this information! I didn't know that. I hope I understand your explanation right... :-/

In this case, it is in fact not so much time ...

Yes, you have understood Laverendrye's points. You will have to pass through Canadian Customs on arrival, and through U.S. Customs and U.S. Border Security before departing. And as laverendrye pointed out, the Airport does advise people to check in 3 hours early for U.S. flights for this reason.

So - you may not have time for my suggestion but here it is anyway - if you are interested in art - to consider visiting the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in the little village of Kleinburg which is about a 20 minute drive north of the Airport. A famous collection of paintings of Canadian landscapes by the Group of Seven (early to mid 20th century Canadian painters) as well as collections of Native Aboriginal art and others. There is a restaurant on site (and others in the village) and walking trails in surrounding grounds and woodlands. http://www.mcmichael.com/index.cfm

You don't have time to go anywhere. Laverendrye sets out your time lines. Reading her post w/ Kodi's, where she mentions the upcoming Canadian holiday on July 1st, I would not leave the airport. The traffic will be awful in every direction.

Instead of leaving the airport, I would stroll over to the monorail which takes you to Terminal 3 from Terminal 1 & head for the Sheraton Gateway Hotel located @ Terminal 3. Just follows the signs. Sheraton Gateway is well marked. Have a nice lunch @ The Sheraton Gateway Hotel, maybe use their fitness facilities (you can get a day pass), go for a swim & then head back to the airport in plenty of time for your 6:00PM flight.

Ocean ((H))

Hi OceanBreeze1

You might want to rethink the use of feminine pronouns.

Here is a clue to my screen-name:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_...V%C3%A9rendrye

I know it is similar to the name of one of the Andrews Sisters and to a 30-year old sitcom, but it is not Laverne! (Or Lavender, for that matter).

Perhaps one of Canada's great explorers is not as well known today as I had thought.

laverendrye/La Vérendrye

Hello, Mr. Laverendrye!

I am sorry. Thank you for letting me know.

People often misuse the masculine pronoun wrt to me. Don't know why as my screen name is gender neutral. Do I sound like a guy?

Ocean ((H))

Well, I'll be darned.

Hi, kodi!

I was thinking about you & Murphy & Dolly yesterday!
I am going to meet some Schnoodles tomorrow....miniature schanauzer/miniature poodle cross.
They resemble your Westies!

Are you "darned" about Lav or me??? ha, ha

Ocean ((H))

TanjaN : What everyone has said about afternoon traffic on June 30th is true, so I wouldn't risk it. However if you must leave the airport I'd suggest it be in a Northerly direction and using one of the non-major arteries such as Hgy 27, Airport road, etc. Trouble is, there aren't many tourist attractions in that direction, except maybe something restful in Caledon. If you get into Toronto at noon, perhaps a quick ride to a nice restaurant for lunch not too far away (besides the Sheraton hotel, which isn't a bad option) and then start heading back to the airport at around 2.30 for a 6.00pm flight. Mat54's suggestion of Klienberg is good one, even if you only went for lunch and spent an hour there. The Doctor's House is a nice restaurant there. I'll see if I can find any other nice restaurants nearby and will post back.

" Well I'll be darned "

Me too ! Thanks for explaining that, Laverendrye. I've always wondered about your screen name and now I know. Thanks again.

Hi Kodi ! Good to see you here. So much to catch up on.
Haven't seen any info on the Toronto GTG this year and I'll be happy to help organise it if help is needed. There is a slight possibility that I may be out of town mid-Sept to mid-Oct if it's happening during that period. Have you spoken to Moolyn lately ?

Ocean, I didn't have to be 'darned' where you were concerned!
I bet the Schnoodles were really cute.

Mathieu.. no plans for a gtg this year. Moolyn and I have had other 'stuff' going on. But if there is one, it wouldn't be the same without you. Perhaps a Christmas gtg?

Tanja, so sorry to hijack this thread, but would like to ask Mathieu a question. Mathieu... any advice for Paris?

Kodi,

I'll PM you about Paris... if I can find your e-addy !
(Thats where I might be mid-Sept/Oct).


M.

M, my e-addy is not working very well. I'll try to find yours.

M, my email to you bounced... Please contact me at [email protected] Kodi

Once again, sorry Tanja.