WHERE TO STAY IN TORONTO AS A TOURIST

If you are interested in where to stay in Toronto, you may also be interested in where to stay in Ottawa, where to stay in Quebec City and where to stay in Vancouver.

Downtown, the best area to stay in Toronto

One of the world’s most famous buildings is located in the downtown area of Toronto, which is the CN Tower and was one of the tallest buildings on the planet during the 1970s. It was built for media communications and there are observatory decks that are 346 metres high up, which give outstanding views of the city. You can also participate in the EdgeWalk, which is where adrenaline junkies walk outside and around the tower but don’t fear, you are strapped to a metal bar.

The tower also consists of a café, disco, bar and a fully rotating restaurant, which serves delicious food and the yummiest cocktails in Toronto. St Lawrence Market is busy place that has much history and is a symbol of old Toronto, which is used as a market as well as a meeting place. Many retail businesses and farmer’s markets have set up shop here since the 19th century and is named as one of the best markets in the world to visit. Kensington Market is another excellent market to check out and also has much history, which sells various products like cheese, jams, seafood and much more.

If you want to go more modern for shopping, you should head to the Toronto Eaton Centre, which is a huge shopping mall with over 300 shops and is where you can buy clothes, electronics and many other items. Make sure you save some time for the Royal Ontario Museum, which is located in the University of Toronto, and has an excellent collection of items that are all to do with natural history and world culture. St Michael’s Cathedral is one of the oldest and largest cathedrals in the city and is particularly famous for its intricate detail in the interior as well as exterior.

More ample shopping opportunities can be found at Yonge Street, which is a very long road that contains shops, cafes and restaurants. The waterfront is also a great place to visit as it provides beautiful views over the water and the area is full of entertainment venues like theatres, cinemas and art galleries.

There are many brilliant restaurants in the downtown neighbourhood and you are never too far away from one with Canoe Restaurant touted as one of the finest in the country, which serves delicious fish and Canadian cuisine. The harbour front is a popular area to check out for restaurants and there are also top quality American joints as well as European and Asian places to eat at and most serve vegetarian food.

There are plenty of bars and lounges that range from traditional American bars to brand-new venues and the neighbourhood has numerous luxurious hotels, including some of the most famous places like the Trump International Hotel and Toronto Marriott Downtown Eaton Centre Hotel.

Hotels in Downtown Toronto

Other neighbourhoods to stay in Toronto

Midtown
This neighbourhood is a lovely area that is nowhere as busy as downtown and is made up of small independent shops, traditional restaurants and delightful little cafes. There are also a number of things to do in the area like the Ontario Science Centre, which has fun-filled exhibitions on a range of different subjects to do with science and provides excellent fun for all the family.

The Alexander Muir Memorial Gardens is a decent sized lush green space that is also home to a forest and there are many footpaths which cyclists, runners and walkers like to use. Not the happiest place in the city but the Mount Pleasant Cemetery is well worth spending some time at and is the resting place of many famous people of the city including musicians, politicians, doctors and artists. One of the most famous landmarks is only a short walk away from Midtown and that is the Casa Loma, which is the country’s most famous castle, which was designed and owned by Sir Henry Pellatt, who was a local businessman.

There is lots to explore at the Casa Loma, which was one of the largest private residencies and today houses a museum with mountains of interesting information about the history of the place and the owner. There are also gardens, towers and tunnels to check out and see if you can work out which parts of the castle were used in famous films like “Chicago” and “X-Men”.