Is Toronto a nice destination?
 

Dear All.
My family and me are planning to spend some days in Canada during late December early January and the flight stops in Toronto to make connection to Quebec city so we are thinking about staying in Toronto 2 or 3 days. We know it will be cold but we are winter travellers but my main concern is if it´s worth the visit.
Thank for your help.

Regards,
Ramón
Caracas-Venezuela

Of course it is!

www.toronto.com

Tell us more about your family and the things that interest you, and we will be sure to come up with two days worth of interesting things to do.

As Canadian cities go, and taking into account where people come from and how long they are staying, Toronto may be first, second, third or fourth on the list of top tourism cities in Canada.

Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, and Ottawa are the top four in a broad, general, listing. Christmas and New Year's in Toronto can be very enjoyable for a visitor.

BAK

There's tons of stuff to do here and come hungry -- we have great restaurants!

Yes, definitely come and stay a while !
We might - might - even have snow for you by then. :)
Lots of nice things to see and do.

I guess I am prejudiced because I live in TO but I think its a very nice destination - great dining (EVERY type of cuisine that you can imagine), nice museums and art galleries, a good zoo and lots of theatre. BTW Toronto is warmer than Quebec City so even if you are winter travellers be prepared for Quebec City - which is magical but VERY cold in the winter).

Include Niagara Falls and Niagara Wine region on your trip and you will find plenty to do...

Yes, it's definately worth the visit.
I love Toronto and think it's a great destination.

Thank you all to share your knowledge of Toronto.
My family is of three : My wife , my 12 years old daughter and me. We love to hang out in foreing cities and to have some good food (not necesarily expensive),to visit museums an sighseeings,to attend plays and musicals in general and, very particularly my wife loves to shop.
Since we are winter travellers neither of us are sensible to cold weather and we use to combine our trips with a week skiing. In this planned trip to Canada we are thinking in Mont Sainte-Anne.

Thanks again for all the support
RR

"Christmas and New Year's in Toronto can be very enjoyable for a visitor.'

True, but it may not be "white Christmas" - some years it has been mild and rainy that time of the year.

Toronto - no snow guarantee but you should get plenty of snow in Quebec though. The Charlevoix area has had a major dump already.

Haha. So have I!

Hello Ramon,

Like many posters, I think that Toronto is a great destination and well worth a visit. Last time I visited Toronto was in Sep 2007. I cut out the information I posted a while ago regarding what I did in TO and the photo link of my trip. Please have a look if you are interested.

Ben

This is the second album of my September 2007 trip to Eastern Canada. Please see below:

http://travel.webshots.com/album/560880646CRoTMb

Because of family reasons, I stayed in the Toronto area and Toronto was the main focus of this trip. My relative’s place was within a short bus ride from the efficient Toronto subway, it makes getting around Toronto fast and convenient. However, it is easier to reach certain sites outside of downtown/ uptown by car.


· Toronto – the largest city of Canada has lots to offer for tourists. Many of the sites are within easy reach from the Toronto subway. I love the following sites:
o CN Tower
o The beautiful ferry ride to Toronto Islands with a great view of the Toronto skyline.
o Beautiful Historic Buildings in downtown and uptown.
o The tours of Ontario Provincial Parliament Building, Casa Loma (highly recommended!)
o Toronto City Hall Buildings – both old and new
o Royal Ontario Museum – the largest museum in Canada.
o Many lovely neighbourhoods like Queen Street West, Church – Wellesley, King Street, Chinatown, Little Italy, Yonge – Sheppard, Yonge Street, Bloor Street.
o I also visited the new BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Hindu temple in Toronto. It is close to the Pearson airport.

Toronto is a nice clean city with excellent public transportation. There are interesting neighborhoods and fantastic asian restaurants. The best chinese food I ever had was in Toronto. Do I remember the name? No, but I it was in Chinatown.
Having said all that, I miss the charm and yes the grit of Montreal. I would go back to Toronto but with vacation time being so precious, there are other places on my list that I would like to visit first.

Thanks to all to share you opinions with me which has been very helpful.
We are planning two different scenarios.
1.- Arrive to Toronto (there´s no other way from Venezuela) and connect flight to Quebec City on december 20.Then to spend a week including Christmas in Quebec and stay at Chateau Frontenac until 26 when we would fly to Montreal from 26 to january 2nd and to rent a car to go skiing at Mont Tremblant until january 9th.Then return to Montreal to drop off the car and fly to Toronto and spend about 5 days and fly back home around January 15th.

2.-to fly from Toronto to Montreal same dates as above ) spending christmas there and new years eve in Quebec to go skiing to Mont Saint-Anne till the 9th and then to fly from Quebec to Toronto until the 15th.

Do you think these are good plans??

Thanks for all your support
Ramón
Caracas.-

I love Toronto...greatest city in the world! Your wife likes to shop? she'll love Toronto...I alwas feel safe in that city and it's the ONLY city I would ever consider living in!

Ramoram - excuse the question but does "winter travellers" mean you have driven in snow/ice? You will see a lot of both (less ice) at Mont Tremblant.

Ramon I think either of your choices will be fun. I live in Toronto, but Montreal and Quebec City are both great cities - and good to know you are prepared for the cold :)

I don't think anyone has mentioned the Ontario Science Centre yet and its another great choice in Toronto (especially with kids) whether you are a science geek or not! I think they have a Mars exhibit on, although not sure if will be here during your visit. A skate on the ice rink in front of city hall is always a fun treat too.

Enjoy

whiskey

The skating rink at Harbourfront is fun too.

Wherever you rent your car, ensure they know you will be driving in rural Quebec and you MUST have snow tires, NOT merely all-season radials.

Personally, I prefer the version where you spend Chrismas in QC and then end up in Toronto.The Chateau FRontenac is magical at Christmas with a traditional Quebecois feast. (M-m-m, tourtiere, Bouche Noel....)Then, if your wife is a shopper, she will love the post-Christmas sales in Toronto.

Have a wonderful trip.

Hi, Ramon. I like version #1 the best, especially with the special Christmas package at the Fairmont Chateau Frontenac. The Christmas package is called "Christmas at the Chateau," and it's from December 23 to December 27. I was going to take advantage of that special myself, but my vacation time got changed. The Christmas package at le Chateau Frontenac is four nights including: a welcome reception with your host from SN Tourisme Culturel; Christmas Eve High Mass at the Basilica; a lavish Christmas dinner; the traditional caleche tour (horse-drawn carriage ride) on Christmas Day; a tasting at a renowned chocolate shop; a visit to the Christmas market in town; anda visit to the Museum of Civilization (exhibit: "Gold in the Americas"). As others have mentioned, Christmastime is magical at le Chateau Frontenac (and throughout the tourist areas of Quebec City), and especially if there'll be blankets of snow! If rooms at le Chateau Frontenac are sold-out for "Christmas at the Chateau," there may be rooms available at another hotel connected to the special: the Manoir Victoria. Here is a way of finding out more about the Christmas package at le Chateau Frontenac: go to the website for a company called SN Tourisme Culturel: http://quebecculture.travel (The person to contact is Sylvie Nadeau, president of the company, but I do not have the direct number. I only have the number to call from Canada or the U.S.: (888) 569-4040. ... After spending Christmas in Quebec City, then driving (yes, with snow tires on) either Mount St-Anne or a train ride to Montreal. NOTE: Regarding the train to Montreal from Quebec City, I would try to book your travel now. Tickets could be sold-out soon. VIA Rail's website is: http://www.viarail.ca. ... For accommodations, I advise there, too, that you call the hotels now or book your room(s) via the Internet now because lots of people in the U.S. (where the dollar is strong against the loonie) will have the same idea to head to Canada for the holiDAZE. A good choice for family accommodations in Montreal, by the way, is the Hotel St-Sulpice, which is an all-suites hotel and has kitchens and kitchenettes. So you can save money (after you've spent a lot of it in Quebec City and/or Mont Tremblant and/o Mount St-Anne). The Hotel St-Sulpice is located in Old Montreal, very romantic but also family-friendly. As long as you're going to Montreal AFTER Christmas, you can be sure that lots of stores and restaurants will be open. Best wishes to you and your family as you plan the upcoming trip. Here's an early Feliz Navidad!