An insider's guide to Toronto, featuring the city's best hotels, restaurants, bars, shops, attractions and free things to do, including how to travel there and around. By Paul Wade, Telegraph Travel's Toronto expert. Click on the tabs below for the best places to stay, eat, drink and shop.
Put simply: Toronto is fun. With top-notch restaurants and theatre, museums and art galleries, there is plenty to see and do. The downtown skyscrapers mark Canada’s financial hub, but after hours, business folk swap suits for shorts and head outside in summer; in winter, they pull on parkas and ice skates.
North America’s fourth-largest city, Toronto buzzes with 200,000 students and a population representing 200 nations. As well as ethnic restaurants, the food scene features some of Canada’s best chefs, all following the “fresh and local” mantra. Getting around is easy on the efficient transport system; Niagara Falls are two hours away.
Two decades ago, Canadians would have laughed at the idea of the provincial capital being a fun place to visit. Today, one of North America’s safest cities hosts visitors from around the world. Perhaps their best souvenir is memories of Torontonians themselves: welcoming, ready to help, with a smile.
Spring, when it comes, is warm (17C on average in May), but summers can be hot (25C in July, August). Autumn, fall in North America, is particularly attractive with warm days (September 20C, October 16C), cool evenings and brightly-coloured foliage. At the first sign of sunshine, Torontonians head for their favourite patios where they can drink a beer, watch the world go by and store up the warmth. Winters can be extremely cold.
But whenever you go, there is bound to be a festival or event, from music to comedy and theatre. The most star-studded annual event is the Toronto International Film Festival (mid-September; tiff.net). Now 40 years old, it draws Hollywood idols as well as thousands of fans. But there are stars here year round, thanks to a flourishing film industry. The city has provided the backdrop to blockbusters, such as Chicago and X-Men.
Toronto’s variety is surprising. The 1,815-ft CN Tower (cntower.ca) provides astonishing views over Lake Ontario. Below, Toronto’s cultural scene hums, with theatre, ballet and live music nightly in dozens of pubs. Classy museums include the Art Gallery of Ontario (ago.net), the Royal Ontario Museum (rom.on.ca) and the quirky Bata Museum, all about shoes (batashoemuseum.ca). Have fun in the Distillery District (thedistillerydistrict.com); buy funky fashion along Queen Street West (queenstwestbia.ca); munch your way round Kensington Market(kensington-market.ca) and St Lawrence Market (stlawrencemarket.com).
All British visitors travelling to Canada by AIR must have an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) to enter the country. If you are planning a trip to Canada, do apply in advance of booking your airline ticket. Purchase is straightforward, usually taking only a few minutes. The ETA costs C$7 and is valid for 5 years. NB: Any site charging more than C$7 is NOT the official government site.
British Consulate-General Toronto (001 416 593 1290; 777 Bay Street, Suite 2800, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2G2; gov.uk/government/world/Canada).
Tourist office: seetorontonow.com, the website for Toronto has extensive information on what’s on in the city and tips on where to go. To talk to a real person, the Tourism Toronto Call Centre (001 416 203 2500) is open Mon-Fri, 8.30am-5pm Eastern Standard Time. Pick up maps, leaflets and other information from the Toronto Travel Information Desk (001 416 392 9300) at Union Station, 65 Front Street West. Open 7 days a week from 10am - 6pm.
Currency: Canadian dollar. The one dollar coin is nicknamed the loonie, the two dollar coin is the toonie. Note: cents/pennies have been abandoned. Change is rounded to the nearest five cents.
International dialling code: to call Toronto from the UK, dial 001, then the ten-digit number. To call the UK from Toronto, dial: 011 44, but omit the ‘0’ at the front of UK numbers.
Visitor passes/discount cards: CityPASS Toronto (US$58; citypass.com) offers entrance to the CN Tower, Casa Loma, Royal Ontario Museum, Ripley's Aquarium of Canada and either Toronto Zoo or Ontario Science Centre, with savings of some 40%.
For taxis, tip 10%; in restaurants, add 15-20 per cent. Some restaurants add this automatically to groups of six or more; check your bill. HST (a bit like VAT) is 13 per cent.