TORONTO FIRST VISIT
 

My wife and I will be visiting Toronto in July for 2-3 days for pleasure, not business. We've heard its a great place to visit, but frankly we are unfamiliar with what to see or where to stay. Is it advisable to stay downtown, or is it more pleasnat to stay nearby, and to visit the downtown area? What hotels do you recommend? What are the best places to visit during a 2-3 day stay? Thanks.

As far as where to stay, I'd say downtown, for sure.

The question is <i>where</i> in downtown.

You can stay right on the lake (and while very nice in the summer, not as close to everything else as other options).

There's the &quot;theatre/entertainment&quot; district, the area around Nathan Philips Square (City Hall)/Eaton Centre and Yorkville (kind of like NYC's East Side.

You really can't go wrong anywhere downtown - it's easy to get around; Toronto's a good &quot;walking&quot; city. We've found the streets to be clean and safe (even at night) and public transportation is inexpensive, efficient, clean, safe and easy-to-navigate.

There's lots to do and see and there's great shopping and restaurants to fit every taste and budget.

So much to see and do; so much good accomodation from which to choose in all price ranges. (Query this board for Toronto Restaurants and Toronto Hotels and also try Tripadvisor.com for unbiased reviews.)

Run a web search on Toronto tourism and you'll certainly run into sites which will give you an idea of the lay of the land and a listing of what's what in terms of the tourist-type things.

Have a great time - you'll love the place (and the people), regret you don't have more time and will vow to return.

Try toronto.com and click on Attractions for lots of info about Toronto.

Hope it helps and have a great trip

Stay downtown to avoid hassle of driving/commuting. Visit CN Tower, Chinatown, theatre district, Royal Ontario Museum (ROM).

There are a lot of posts about where to stay (and not stay) in Toronto - you could try mine or those of BAK.

If you could give an indication of your budget and your interests, you might get more specific recommendations: 1) hotels (are you Four Seasons or Quality Inn?), 2) activities (shopping, museums and culture, restaurants, nightlife (big theatrical productions, more off-beat productions, live music, nightclubs?), watching sports, playing sports, etc).

Have you picked a specific date? There are some interesting festivals and other events (dance, theatre, Molson Indy, Caribbean festival, Gay Pride week - although that's in June I think) - you might want to time your visit to coincide with one of these if you're interested (or avoid them if you're not because hotels can be harder/more expensive to get for some of these).