Visiting Toronto for the First Time? 10 Helpful Things You Should Know
Visiting Toronto for the first time? Toronto is a big, diverse city with plenty to discover, but a little local knowledge can make your first visit much easier. From figuring out which way is east to saving money on attraction tickets, here are 10 things worth knowing before you start exploring.
1. Toronto Is Bigger Than You Think
One of the biggest mistakes first-time visitors make is underestimating the size of Toronto.
Many of the city’s best-known attractions appear relatively close together on a map, but those distances can add up quickly. The CN Tower, Distillery District, Yorkville, Casa Loma, Kensington Market and Toronto’s waterfront are all in different parts of the city.
Walking is a great way to experience individual neighbourhoods, but trying to walk between everything can leave you spending more of your day getting from place to place than actually exploring.
A Hop-On Hop-Off tour is a great option at the beginning of your visit. It gives you an overview of the city, helps you understand where the major attractions and neighbourhoods are, and lets you decide which places you’d like to return to and explore in more detail.
2. Getting Downtown From the Airport Is Easier Than You Might Think
Flying into Toronto Pearson International Airport? The UP Express is one of the easiest ways to get downtown. Trains connect Pearson directly with Union Station in the heart of downtown Toronto, allowing you to skip the traffic altogether.
If you’re flying into Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, you’re already practically downtown. The airport operates a complimentary shuttle between the mainland terminal and downtown, with its downtown stop outside the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, across from Union Station.
Either way, you may not need a taxi or rental car to get your Toronto visit started.
3. Know Which Way You’re Going
Visiting Toronto is actually quite easy to navigate once you learn a couple of local tricks.
First, remember that Lake Ontario is south. If you can see the lake, you immediately have a good idea of which direction you’re facing. The CN Tower is another useful landmark for getting your bearings downtown.
Yonge Street is also important. It divides many downtown streets into east and west. So if someone tells you to go to 100 Queen Street, make sure you know whether they mean 100 Queen Street East or 100 Queen Street West. Generally, the smaller the street number, the closer you are to Yonge Street.
Here’s another Toronto trick that even some visitors staying for several days never discover. On streets running east-west, even-numbered addresses are generally on the north side and odd-numbered addresses on the south. On streets running north-south, even numbers are generally on the west side and odd numbers on the east.
Learn those few basics and finding your way around Toronto becomes much easier.
4. Toronto Has Islands – Right Beside Downtown
This comes as a surprise to plenty of first-time visitors.
Just offshore from downtown is a chain of islands offering beaches, parkland and some of the best views of the Toronto skyline.
The Toronto Islands also give you a completely different perspective on the city. From the harbour, you can appreciate just how dramatically Toronto’s skyline rises from the shore of Lake Ontario.
You can take a ferry across and spend a few hours exploring the islands, or experience the harbour and islands from the water on a sightseeing cruise. A Harbour & Islands Cruise is an easy addition to a day of downtown sightseeing and offers some fantastic opportunities to photograph the skyline.
5. The Price You See Usually Isn’t the Price You’ll Pay
This is one that catches international visitors all the time.
Ontario has a 13% Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), and unlike in many countries, the tax generally isn’t included in the price displayed.
That means something advertised at $100 will normally cost $113 once the tax is added.
Whether you’re shopping, buying attraction tickets or eating out, remember to allow for tax when you’re working out what something will actually cost.
6. Come Hungry
Toronto’s diversity is one of the city’s greatest strengths, and nowhere is that more obvious than its food.
52% of Toronto’s population was born outside Canada, and that diversity has helped create an extraordinary food scene. You can practically eat your way around the world without leaving the city.
Explore Chinese restaurants around Chinatown, Greek food on the Danforth, Italian cuisine around College Street, Korean restaurants in Koreatown, South Asian cuisine, Caribbean food and countless restaurants representing cultures from around the world.
Kensington Market is particularly good for visitors who want to sample several different cuisines within a relatively small area.
Skip the familiar restaurant chains for a meal or two and try somewhere local. Food is one of the best ways to experience Toronto.
7. Niagara Falls Is Close Enough for a Day Trip
If you’re visiting Toronto for the first time, you may want to take the opportunity to see one of Canada’s most famous natural attractions while you’re here.
Niagara Falls is approximately 130 kilometres from Toronto and is close enough to visit as a full-day trip.
And there’s much more to the Niagara region than the Falls themselves.
A Niagara Falls Day Tour can also take you along the Niagara Parkway and introduce you to places such as the Niagara Whirlpool, local wineries and the historic town of Niagara-on-the-Lake.
It makes for a full day, but for many international visitors, combining Toronto and Niagara Falls becomes one of the highlights of their trip to Canada.
8. Toronto Loves a Festival
There’s a good chance something will be happening somewhere while your visiting Toronto, particularly if you’re visiting during the warmer months.
Some of the city’s biggest annual events include the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September, Toronto Caribbean Carnival in late July and early August, Pride Toronto in June and the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in late August and early September.
But the big events are only part of the story.
Throughout the summer, Toronto’s neighbourhoods host street festivals celebrating food, music and the many cultures that call the city home. Depending on when you visit, you might encounter Taste of Little Italy, the Beaches Jazz Festival, Toronto Chinatown Festival, Roncesvalles Polish Festival, BuskerFest, AlohaFest Toronto or one of many other community celebrations.
Festivals can also mean road closures and changes to public transportation, so it’s worth checking the City of Toronto’s festivals and events calendar before your visit. You may discover something you want to add to your itinerary – or find out that the route you planned to take is closed for a street festival!
9. Plan Ahead for the Attractions You Want to Visit
Before building your itinerary, check the opening days and hours for the attractions you really want to see. Not everything is open seven days a week, and schedules can change throughout the year.
Planning ahead could also save you money.
Several Toronto museums and cultural attractions offer free admission at certain times. The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), for example, offers free admission during designated monthly evening hours, while the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) also has scheduled free admission periods. The Bata Shoe Museum offers free general admission on Sundays.
The City of Toronto also operates 10 Toronto History Museums where general admission is permanently free, giving you an inexpensive way to discover more about the city’s history.
Always check the attraction’s current schedule before visiting, as free admission programs and hours can change.
If you’re visiting at a time when paid admission is required, it can also be worth checking for discounts before purchasing at the door. City Sightseeing Toronto tour guides and the team at the Visitor Information Kiosk in Sankofa Square can help with discounted admission to many popular Toronto attractions, including the CN Tower, Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada, Casa Loma, Hockey Hall of Fame, ROM , AGO and more!
A few minutes of planning can save both time and money.
10. Visiting Toronto in Winter? Learn About the PATH
If you’re visiting Toronto in the middle of winter and wonder where everybody has gone, there’s a chance they’re underneath you.
Toronto’s PATH is a huge underground pedestrian network connecting much of the downtown core. The network stretches for approximately 30 kilometres and connects office towers, shops, restaurants, subway stations, Union Station and a number of major downtown destinations.
When temperatures drop, thousands of Torontonians use the PATH to get around without having to spend as much time outside.
It’s possible to travel through large sections of downtown underground, including connections through the Financial District and toward areas around Yonge Street, the Entertainment District and the waterfront.
One warning: the PATH can take a little getting used to. Even Torontonians occasionally find themselves heading in a direction they didn’t intend!
But once you understand it, it’s a very useful thing to know about – particularly when Toronto’s winter weather arrives.
