Toronto..What to do?
 

I'll be in Toronto in July for 3 days? Don't really know much about any historical landmarks or anything else about it. What can I do that would be sort of like a "Only in Toronto" thing?
Thanks

Have a look at www.toronto.com which should give you some ideas of what you might like to see - it's updated for events going on.

If you're here July 1, there will be Canada Day events at various spots in the city - city hall and the provincial legislature are two.

www.heritagetoronto.org has lists of free guided walks.

NOW magazine, a free alternative weekly, distributed in restaurants, clubs and on corners all over is published on Thursdays - they have a list of events going on, often free, in every edition.

The ride on the ferry to the Toronto Islands is pleasant in the summer - you can either stop at the islands or just come back - the ride is about 20 minutes.

There's a hop-on, hop-off bus service that will give you a good overview of the city and you can decide what you might like to see more of.

We have a castle - Casa Loma - that has tours and gardens - the hop on, hop off will likely go there but you can get to it by subway, go to the Dupont stop and walk up the hill to it. There's a good view of the city from the second floor windows.

What are you interested in - art, museums, shopping, food?

Only in Toronto...

CN Tower --
Casa Loma --
Hockey Hall of Fame --
Toronto Islands, Ferry Boat, Harbourfront combination
Bata Shoe Museum

After that, variations on things you might find in other cities.

Royal Ontario Museuam
Art Gallery of Ontario
Gardiner Ceramics Museum
Uderground tunnels -- not all that interesting, though

And where else are we comparing to? Only in Toronto, in Canada -- some very good speciality stores, but you'd find similar in London, Paris, perhaps Rome.

BAK

wow, great!
Thanks for all the info...Casa Loma def. on the ToDo List. Harbor cruises sounds great too...also..what about boutique shopping..nice mens stores?
And, do you recommend eating at the CN Tower? Or are there better alternatives to the very expensive restaurant?
Thanks!!

Men's wear: Harry Rosen's is downtown in First Canadian Place; in the Eaton Centre and on Bloor Street West in the Yorkville area - I'd choose Yorkville.

You should definately try to get to the St. Lawrence market - Front and Jarvis area but it's not open on Sunday or Monday. There are 2 parts to the market across the street from each other. Also, Queen St. west between Spadina and University is great for ecclectic shopping - try eating at The Rivoli or The Queen Mother. Both are great Toronto traditions. The Kensington market area is also uniquely Toronto, It's off Spadina south of College. Have fun. Toronto's a great city!

I would consider going to the old distillery and the galleries there if I had the time.

The Distillery's address: http://www.thedistillerydistrict.com/

Special events/festivals most weekends

Two things I like:
Eating at different ethnic restaurants
and riding the streetcars through various interesting neighbourhoods (Little India, Little Italy, Chinatown, The Beaches) and hopping off when anything intersts me

Men's Wear -- Tom's Place, in Kensington Market is pretty much not-elsewhere. High quality, relatively low prices, in the midst of a weirdo-neighborhood.

About eating at the CN Tower -- either go to the expensive, and very, very good, main restaurant, or go somewhere else. Within 200 yeards of the bottom of the CN Tower are several dozen good to excellent restaurants, sdo you won't starve in the neighborhood.

If it's lunch time, have a hot dog and french fries from one fo the trucks on the north side of the CN YTower, on Front Street. I prefer Mr. Horvath's meals, from the smallest of the trucks. His name's on the front fo the truck.

And the streetcar ride mentioned by someone up above is an only-in-Toronto thing, and a great idea. Best route is the Queen car, either heading east or west from downtown. East gets you to the Beaches neighborhood, which has much to be said for it. West gets you to antique stores at Roncessevalles, which is where you should get off to return downtown. Going east, go to the end of the line at Neville Park (there are several ends of the line; Neville Park is the most common) walk to the lake, walk back toward downtown for a few blocks, and then come back up to Que4en Street East and take another streetcar back downtown.