Parisianstyle partying in The 6
For our 30th birthdays, my girlfriends and I went to Paris and museum hopped, danced to jazz in a cool bar and had a few glasses of vin rouge Hôtel Costes. Now, we’re 35 and I want to create a day for us that’s same-but-different. Help!
Considering the Canadian dollar is currently worth just over half a euro (sob), I’m not surprised that you, your pals and all your combined loonies have chosen to stay home this year for your birthday shenanigans. Ne vous inquietez pas, mes amis. You can still fête yourselves in style without ever leaving the downtown core.
A day of museum-hopping isn’t quite as feasible in Toronto as it is in Paris, where renowned cultural institutions are more ubiquitous than Starbucks, but we do have a myriad of indie art galleries to meet your same-but-different birthday needs. Head to West Queen West and make your way in and out of dozens of cool spots such as Birch Contemporary, Georgia Scherman Projects, Propeller, Graven Feather and the Stephen Bulger Gallery. Feeling flush? An original piece by a local artiste would make an unforgettable from-you-to-you gift.
All that gazing, perusing and scrutinizing has probably left you feeling parched, so head east to Reservoir Lounge, where you can regroup over serious cocktails and dance-worthy tunes. The bar boasts a different band every night — think jazz, blues, swing and Motown — and musically inclined celebs have been known to stop by (imagine birthday selfies with Prince or Tom Jones). The venue itself, a cosy, subterranean cavern with exposed brick walls and red vel- vet banquettes, gives off a distinctly Parisian je ne sais quoi.
Feeling peckish? Pop into Colette Grand Café (adjacent to the Thompson Hotel) for birthday macarons and bubbly, then head next door to the hotel’s Lobby Bar, which reopens this month after a glam makeover and might just be Toronto’s answer to the louche, eclectic excess of Hôtel Costes.
You and your birthday gang can also make your way up to the rooftop bar for more debauchery and an unbeatable view; the CN Tower is no match for the Eiffel, but it’s ours.