Weekend in Toronto

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Things to Do in Toronto

A weekend in Toronto is just not enough time to really experience all that Toronto has to offer, but I feel for this first time foray, we did a good job. We hit some iconic spots, tried some local fare, and really enjoyed the outdoorsy feeling that you get wandering around the city.

Here’s what we recommend:

• CN Tower
• Royal Ontario Museum
• St. Lawrence Market
• Hockey Hall of Fame
• Trillium Park
• Nathan Phillips Square
• Berczy Park
• Philosopher’s Walk
• Gardiner Museum
• Ontario Science Centre

CN Tower

The CN Tower is hard to miss. We enjoyed views of it from all around the downtown area and during our sunrise jaunt. It’s one of the many reasons people visit Toronto, and you can go up to take in the view, eat in the restaurant, or, if you are an adrenalin junkie, walk around the edge. That, however, is not for me. I’m a bit of a wimp.

Royal Ontario Museum

The Royal Ontario Museum is probably the most important stop during your weekend in Toronto. It gives you the background, the history of where you are, and how it connects to the rest of Canada. One of the best things about the museum is that the whole first floor is free, which is great if you’re on a budget. You can see some amazing artifacts, including an Egyptian mummy, some Chinese statues, and a few really cool dinosaur exhibits. The museum also has a great section dedicated to First Nations, which celebrates the country’s diversity. It’s definitely worth a visit!

St. Lawrence Market

The St. Lawrence Market has been around since 1800, offering a wide variety of foods and souvenirs. There was an abundance of delicious food at the St. Lawrence Market. We could have spent the whole day there trying out all the food options, but we had other things to do. We did venture downstairs to the basement where we found a juice blender and had the best fresh peach juice I’ve had in years for only six Canadian dollars. In addition to the various food outlets, such as Italian restaurants, delis, bakeries, cheesemongers, fishmongers, and butchers, there’s also an art gallery on the upper floor.

The art gallery, unfortunately, is only open on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, so we didn’t have the chance to visit it. After the St. Lawrence Market, we were unsure where to go next.

Hockey Hall of Fame/ Spirit of Hockey

We thought about visiting the National Hockey Hall of Fame, but it charged $25 for admission, and as we’re not huge hockey fans, we bypassed it and went instead to the Spirit of Hockey next door. Don’t miss the Canadian or National Hockey Center. The Spirt of Hockey is basically a small mall that is hockey-themed and sells all manner of hockey-related items and souvenirs.

They even had a Tim Hortons that was all hockey-themed. There’s a nice little courtyard where you can enjoy some coffee, visit a drugstore, and buy souvenirs. You can spend some time there and have a great experience.

Sunrise at Trillium Park

We planned to wake up early to catch the sunrise at Trillium Park in Toronto where we could get a beautiful view of the city skyline. We parked right there, in an empty lot, and walked down to the water’s edge where there were three other couples taking photos. It was a beautiful morning, and I highly recommend it if you don’t mind getting up early.

Nathan Phillips Square

We wanted to visit the famous Toronto sign in Nathan Phillips Square. However, it was way too crowded on the first day and there was no place to park. So, we decided to head over there after our sunrise break.

Jim found a spot to sit in the car, not a real parking spot, while I jumped out for the photo. It was just before 8 a.m., and the Toronto sign was still lit. Luckily, there was nobody around, and I managed to get a beautiful picture of the sign with no one else in it.

If you want to get a good photo of the Toronto sign without jockeying around the people, go early. I believe the light turns off at 8 o’clock, so we went just about 5-10 minutes before it turned off, and it was the perfect time to get a good photo.

Berczy Park

Downtown, there’s Berczy Park which was a surprisingly nice green space near St. Lawerence Market. We parked on the street in front of the park and found the coolest little fountain, called the dog fountain. There were many different dog breeds spitting water into the fountain, looking longingly at the golden bone on top. Just to be fair, there is one cat on the edge of the fountain as well.

Philosophers Walk

Right downtown, you are smack dab in the middle of the university with its breathtaking old English-style stone buildings and ivy-covered walls. It’s truly pleasant to take a stroll around the area, and in fact there is a path called the Philosopher’s Walk. 

Gardiner Museum

Just across from the Royal Ontario Museum, we came across the Gardiner. It’s a ceramics museum, which we didn’t visit, but seemed well worthwhile. We put it on our list for next time, mainly because they offer classes and we love it when we can do something.

Ontario Science Centre

The Ontario Science Centre is another museum we didn’t have time for, but we plan on going when we return. We stopped out front and took a look. We love anything science-related and hands-on museums, so we know it’s a must-do.

Best Time to Visit Toronto

What to Eat

There are a few local dishes that everyone should have on their Toronto list.

• Peameal Sandwich
• Tourtiere
• Butter Tarts

One of the main reasons we visited the St. Lawrence market, as we mentioned above, was to try the famous Peameal sandwich, a Toronto favorite. The sandwich consists of a roll with Canadian bacon and a choice of toppings…although who can pass up the maple mustard?

The bacon used is called “peameal bacon” because it was packed in peameal in order to be shipped back to England. It may not sound appealing, but it was quite delicious. We highly recommend trying it at the Carousel Bakery, which is located inside the St. Lawrence Market.

After a while, we got hungry again and decided to look for Tourtiere, which is a Canadian meat pie made with various types of meat, although mostly pork. However, it wasn’t easy to find a place that was well-known for it. We found one at Papillon, but it cost $23 and didn’t open until 4 pm. As we weren’t there around that time, we decided to try somewhere else and found Patisserie La Cignon. The pie itself was very tasty, and the other pastries from the shop were good as well.

We were excited to try the local delicacy, butter tarts. They are similar to sugar pie in the United States or the base of a pecan pie, as they only have a gel-like center. We found them to be quite delicious and they were available in mini form at many different places. We tried them at Doo Doos Bakery and Wandas Pie Sky. Butter tarts seem like one of those delicacies that you can find anywhere, and no matter that bakeries’ unique take on it, they’ll all be amazing.

For coffee, we were looking to try Balzac’s café. It’s a local chain in the Toronto area. I must say, it was the best coffee I have had outside of Vietnam. In North America, it was definitely the best coffee we had on our entire trip. If you are looking to try them, don’t despair, there are plenty of them located around the city. We tried two different locations while we were there and loved them both. We figured it was something a little different than a Tim Horton’s or a Starbucks.