No need for a car in Toronto’s core
Trendy neighbourhoods within easy reach by public transit
Within 15 minutes of arriving at Toronto’s Union Station, I am staring down at the big city from the floor-to-ceiling window of my 41st-floor room at the Delta hotel.
It’s a fascinating view, but no time to linger. Here for a few days in late summer as a guest of Tourism Toronto and partners, I’m looking forward to insightful tours of trendy neighbourhoods and their culinary delights — but for the next few hours, the core of Ontario’s capital city is mine to rediscover.
And a big bonus — I can proceed on foot.
Consider the proximity of the city’s big downtown attractions, such as the Rogers Centre (home base of the Blue Jays), the Air Canada Centre (Maple Leafs hockey and huge-draw concerts), the CN Tower and Ripley’s Aquarium. The harbourfront, museums and a wide range of shopping are also close by.
If you want to venture farther afield to a trendy neighbourhood, public transit is reasonably priced with day passes available, and cabs are omnipresent.
THE JUNCTION
(Dundas Street West)
Too much of a good time, and the resulting bad behaviour of its burgeoning population of male workers spilling out of taverns, resulted in a ban on alcohol in the Junction neighbourhood in 1904. The west Toronto location’s dry season stretched all the way to 2000. Nightlife is pulsing, catering to an eclectic mix of low- and high-income Torontonians.
We get a condensed history of this railway-crossing early-manufacturing community from Jessica Myers of The Junction BIA. At the same time she deftly shepherds us through a collection of fascinating Dundas Street businesses.
It’s a treat to meet Jennifer Rashleigh amid exquisite displays of handmade wonders in chocolate and ice cream. Appropriately named Delight, her shop features handmade organic chocolates and ice cream. Count on seasonal fruit from local farms and fair trade chocolate.
CORE ARCHITECTURAL
TOUR
(65 Church St.)
Our two-hour walking tour of Toronto’s new and old architecture led by Marta O’Brien provides a fascinating insight into the core’s mix of heritage and modern structures. We wind our way from the city’s oldest church, St. James Cathedral, and its lush garden adjacent to the financial district’s big bank towers.
At Old City Hall we sidestep a bride and groom’s photo session to check out architect E.J. Lennox’s stone portrait peering out from among the gargoyles. Along the way, O’Brien, an architectural historian, enthusiastically points out condos and offices occupying once Victorian and Edwardian factories.
For more about the tour, visit citywalks.ca.
WEST QUEEN WEST (between Bathurst Street and Gladstone Avenue)
Residents Gabrielle Makarewicz and Marlene Kosh — at the Drake Hotel for brunch at the second-floor Sky Yard Bar — are quick to acknowledge their neighbourhood as a trendy locale.
“It’s culturally fascinating” Kosh says, noting there are scores of independent shops and pop-ups.
Indeed, in 2014, West Queen West was ranked second on Vogue magazine’s list of the world’s coolest neighbourhoods.
And it’s no coincidence the Drake, a boutique hotel that dates to 1890, occupies prime real estate. It’s perhaps the epitome of this happening hood, which reinvented itself a decade ago. As well as live entertainment, the Drake has a full-time art curator and temporary and permanent exhibits.