Welcome to my city.

Tourist information for visitors to Toronto
This is going to become the absolute best Toronto tourism and travel web site 
for vacation and business visitors to 
Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

During April we will add Toronto Restaurants, Toronto Hotels, Toronto Concerts, Toronto Shopping, Toronto Tours, Toronto Walks, and much more, all accompanied by real photographs and genuine opinion.

	LE SELECT BISTRO, a great French restaurant on Queen Street West between Peter and Spadina, is NOT going to be closed over the summer, contrary to earlier reports elsewhere.
	When I mentioned the non-closing in the Fodor's Travel forum, one of the readers there sent this note to Fodors: Ate there on Friday: same great bavette (little skinny steak) with frites!

Toronto has at least three theatre districts, although only one gets capital letters. The official Theatre District is in the King Street West Entertainment District, with the Royal Alexandra live theatre across from Roy Thomson Hall (concerts, recitals, etc.) at King Street West and Simcoe (near the St. Andrews subway stop), the Princess of Wales a block west, at John Street, and Second City and the Tim Sims Playhouse one more block west, and half a block south, on Peter Street. Yonge and Front: Further east, on Front Street just east of Yonge Street, is The Hummingbird Centre, which among other things, is the current opera house in town. Next door is the St. Lawrence Center, with several performance spaces, including the Jane Mallet Theatre. And, a couple of blocks further west is the Young Peoples Theatre and west of that is the headquarters of the Canadian Opera Company. There's a performance space there for small shows and recitals..

The Canon Theatre and the Elgin Winter Garden are on Yonge Street, between Queen Street and Dundas Street, and Massey Hall (my father was an usher there more than three quarters of a century ago) is just off Yonge, on Shuter Street, half way from Queen to Dundas.

There are other theatres, too, but most are on the subway systems, or just a short cab ride from a subway station or most of the central hotels. And there are good restaurants near all the major theatres, with staff used to getting the customers fed, and the bills paid, in time for you to get to your seat before the curtain rises.

Shopping in Toronto
	It's easy to spend a fortune while shopping in Toronto, but there are some bargain priced stores, too. The fanciest shops in town are in the Bloor - Yorkville area.  These Boss sandals are in the window of an exclusive shop on the laneway from Cumberland Avenue to Yorkville Avenue, in the heart of Yorkville.   Keep coming back here, and you'll see more and more reports on shopping.

Friday, April 1, 2005 (not April Fool's jokes)

BARGAIN MEALS Best Fish & Chips I've had for a long time. Last night (March 30) at Scallywag's, a bar at 11 St. Clair Avenue West, just off Yonge Street. Ten bucks, two big, solid, flavourful pieces of fish, really good fries, too. Best Fish & Chips, but more expensive and farther away for tourists. Kingsway Fish & Chips, on Bloor Street West, in the block west of Royal York Road. By subway from downtown, just go to the Royal York Station and walk two-thirds of a block. I have not been there for several months, though, and it costs more than Scallywags. Best Japanese Lunches within the past month. I've eaten very good, very inexpensive, lunches at Yamato, on Belair, between Cumberland and Yorkville in the Yorkville neighborhood, and at Fune, on Simcoe Street at Adelaide, in the Entertainment district. Main course, teriyaki steaks, in both locations were under $10. Both are fun to eat in. Cooking at the table at Yamato and you can watch the sushi makers at Fune.

Good value if you want to visit a lot of attractions.  This sign is at the CN Tower, but the Toronto City Pass is available at all the attractions listed.

FINDING BREAKFAST: So, where do you have breakfast if you are staying at the Courtyard Marriott? A future guest of the hotel asked this question in the Fodor's Travel Forum, and I said I'd offer suggestions.

Most pix here are thumbnails.  Click on them to see bigger versions. Eggspection is a great breakfast restaurant, located on the outside of Eaton Centre, near Shuter Street.	LOOKING NORTH This was taken from under the "pe" in Eggspectation, looking north on Yonge Street. The Courtyard Marriott is just out of sight between the reddish building, a few blocks away, and the silver one (which is a few more blocks away, at Bloor.
But if you walk south a block from Eggspectation, to Queen and Yonge, you can duck into Senses for a casual breakfast. You do not need to wear all your jewelry on your head, as this lady chooses to do. The main Senses restaurant is one of the best in Toronto.	LOOKING SOUTH I just turned from taking the front of Eggspectations, and looked down Yonge. The arrow points toward the Sunset Grill, at Yonge and Richmond, in the silver building behind the red traffic light in the photograph. (The light is really one block north of the restaurant) Richmond is just south of the The Bay department store.

And then I walked down to Richmond and Yonge. Most Toronto people don't carry their chair and all their possessions with them, but a few do.

CUBAN PAINTINGS Pintura Pintura is the name of the latest exhibit at the Mooishi Art Gallery, just around the corner from me, at125 John Street, between Adelaide and Richmond. I was at the opening last night. (Show ends February 19) Good Cuban music and a cigar roller who demonstrated his craft, but the art was the best feature. It's a small show, featuring several very different styles. My favorites were sketchy paintings of Havana street scenes, with old cars -- one was an early 50s Cadillac -- and a complicated paining of a clown. If you are interested in Cuba, or like art, and are in the entertainment district, drop in. The gallery is between Friscos and Club Lucky, across the street from Milestones restaurant.  Janaury 16,2005

Visiting commercial  art galleries Toronto's full of commercial art galleries selling paintings, sculpture and photographs to the public. There's no admission fee, and a never ending range of art work for you to see and enjoy for free. And if something strikes you, you can always buy it. When you want to go for a stroll but don't really  know your destination, why not go visit some galleries? Most are closed Mondays, open Saturdays, and there's always a list of exhibitions in the Saturday edition of the Globe and Mail newspaper.

The CN Tower is a great place
		John Schilder won passes for four people to the CN Tower, courtesy of the National Film Board in Toronto, and on Sunday John took two friends and me to the tower -- his mother drove but then went Christmas shopping. Above, he's with skulls in the movie set of Harry Potter one of three kid-oriented movie sets on display at the tower. We got let into the display while waiting for the start of our second turn on the Lego Racer simulator.  We arrived at the tower at 1:30 and left about 4:45, on a beautiful sunny day, with no crowds and no serious lineups. We could have used more time, so a foodless visit could easily take four hours with kids, and another three-quarters to another hour if you ate there. Plus more time if there were lineups.
This is the view facing north from the SkyPod, extra high up the tower, and another $8 per person. The arrow is my office, in the middle of the entertainment district. The white multi-tiered building at the left is the Holiday Inn on King, and the red building below it is Hotel Le Germain. Roy Thomspon Hall -- symphonies and classical concerts, plus more -- is the circle in the lower right.	The Royal Alexandra Theatre is the dark building in shadow just north west of Roy Thomson Hall, and the Princess of Wales theatre is south of my office, hidden behind the tall building with the green glass, called Metro Hall. This entire neighborhood is packed with restaurants. Downtown (the giant office towers, etc.) is just out of the photo on the right. The orange sign is on the Paramount movie theatre and Chapters book store, and the National Film Board (see here)  is the white building north of it.

Sunday, November 27, 2004

Toronto's Celebration of the Lights	For the next few weeks, there will be fireworks at Toronto City Hall on Saturday evening's, and special Christmas lights -- but we don't say Christmas here in Toronto -- in half a dozen locations around town. Try www.toronto.ca/special_events for info. The city hall skating rink brings out your sense of fun.

Monday, November 22, 2004

A dad and his boys.  While there's lots of things parents can do with kids in Toronto, whether residents or visitors, it's hard to beat reading about trains.	NATIONAL FILM BOARD John Schilder, an experienced animator, took his friend Jesse to the National Film Board animation class on Sunday afternoon for the first time, and Jesse showed good natural talent. the project was to create a mini-movie where a character was transformed.  Jesse positions his character on the set, checking position in a monitor.         John with his characters

GOOD BREAKFAST: I

Saturday, November 20, 2004

GOOD BREAKFAST: In the Fodor's Travel Forum, someone asked about great breakfasts in Toronto. I suggested the very up-market Cafe Victoria in the King Edward Hotel. It's a favorite for business power breakfasts, and the few times I've eaten there, the service was excellent, very discreet but efficient, and the food was perfect. But expensive, and a touch formal. UPDATE IN APRIL: Friends ate there last weekend and report they were disappointed with the service. Not that it was a bad breakfast, but it certainly was not a great place to go.

Then another forum member suggested Cora's, a restaurant I'd never heard of. So I went to see today. It's open every day from 6 am to 3 pm, middling expensive (prices for main courses of breakfast stuff start with $4, $5, $6, $7 and higher.) One couple, leaving, told me it was excellent, and highly recommended it.

A beautiful blonde mother with a French accent and a tiny baby -- she'd been squaling before mom brought her outside, but smiled at me, wasn't as effusive. "It's fine" she said, with that tone that said "fine" is not the same as excellent, but good enough to come back to again.

For the money -- seems like it is worth trying.

The Fodor's questioner is staying at the mis-named Intercontinental Centre, which should be the Intercontinental South, on Front Street near Simcoe Street. Cora's is two or three blocks west (depends on what side of the street you walk on) and two-thirds of a block north on Blue Jay Way, almost at Wellington. It's kitty-corner from the SoHo Metropolitan and a block south of Gretsky's.

UPDATE TO ABOVE: The Fodor traveler is back home. She thought Cora's was great, (several times), raved about the hotel, and overall, had a wonderful visit to Toronto

And if you are a young German woman working in Toronto as an intern...

I met two young women today who were looking for the St. Lawrence market. Turns out they are from Munich, working in Newmarket (north of Toronto) for Cintas, the uniform company, and spending weekends visiting other parts of southern Ontario. they loved Niagara Falls. 

I walked over to the market with them -- I bought a  chicken leg -- and told them about the classic Toronto Saturday breakfast -- a back bacon sandwich from any of several snack bars in the market. This is what the sandwich looks like.

And if you are a squirrel, rather than a human...

Head over to Nathan Phillips Square in front of Toronto City Hall, and you may meet this kind gentleman, and get your breakfast for free.

Wednesday, November 10, 2004

True bargain food: In the Fodor's Travel Forum Canadian section today I mentioned Mr. Horvath's french fry truck as a good place to buy tasty, inexpensive food that refreshes and gets your walking more when visiting the city.

I'm a customer perhaps every six or eight weeks or so. There's a little urban park across the street where you can sit and eat -- good hot dogs, too, and if the weather's cold, you can even head underground to a food court and eat Mr. Horvath's french fries at tables supplied by other food suppliers. In this picture, he's heading from the supply shop north west of where I took the picture, to his regular spot in front of the Toronto convention centre, south east of where I was. The truck is parked from late morning to early evening on Front Street West, in front of the convention center, between the Intercontinental Hotel and the CN Tower.

And snacks to take back to the hotel? 
How about fresh fruit?
You can buy fruit on the street seven days a week, from early morning until into the evening, on Spadina Avenue's Chinatown, from just south of Dundas up to College Street, and west a block or two into the Kensington market area.  

Early November 2004

The more I talk with tourists, the more I learn they mostly want to shop and eat.

On a walk today, I talked with these two groups of young people. The eaters were outside a South American takeout shop in Kensington Market, just west of Spadina and North of Dundas Street.  They think you can eat well, very inexpensively, when you find the right little restaurants. 

The sitters -- well, they were trying on some makeup they'd just bought in a shop along Queen Street West, a great area people or all ages and interests love for shopping. They think that if you are a true shopper, this is a neighborhood tourists should be sure to visit.

JULY 2004

Lots of what you need to know about Toronto. Frequently updated. This guy, and many of his brothers, lives at the Toronto Dominion Centre office complex, and is one of many public sculptures in Toronto. He was created by Joe Fafard, a Saskatechwan artist. If you like art, Toronto's the city to visit. Photograph was in the winter, but it's nice there now.

NOTE: This information below  was built up over the past two years.

Kids learn animation at National Film Board: 

The Toronto office of The National Film Board of Canada has a wonderful Saturday and Sunday program teaching animation to children. It's from 1 - 3 both days, costs $5 per session, parents are welcome to watch for free or participate for their own five bucks. The kids learn about scripts, make their own props, think about the actions, learn to plan and implement, and all in all, have fun while learning a lot. If you bring your own blank videotape, you can take away a copy of your work. 

The NFB office is in the Toronto entertainment district, at the corner of John Street and Richmond Street. The instructors are recent graduates of one of the best animation courses in the world, and they really know how to work with kids.

I'm planning on telling a newspaper education reporter about this course. It really educates kids, and it is fun. If you arrive early, you get to watch movies for free. I recommend Wrabbit, a cartoon, if the kids are seven or older. Parents will enjoy it, too. 

Here's how to learn more. Go to http://www.nfb.ca/mediatheque/en/fallworkshop.html for information on the workshops, and go to http://www.nfb.ca/mediatheque/en for general NFB Toronto info. If you have kids, send them to www.nfbkids.ca for a games site based on movies and animation. They'll have fun.

Toronto's full of interesting cars

For some travelers, grown-ups and kids alike, the opportunity to see special cars is a treat. Depending on where you come from, Toronto automobiles, new, old, racy, antique, may be a visit highlight. The Entertainment District at John and Adelaide, usually has something automotive to see, and there's almost always luxury and zoomy sports cars in Yorkville, in the Bloor and Avenue Road area.  This is a 1969 MGB I saw at Richmond and John. I used to own a red one, and still regret selling it to buy something more respectable, with air conditioning, to drive to a new corporate job thirty years ago.

WHERE TO EAT There's a solid block of restaurants on King Street West, between John Street and Peter Street / Blue Jays Way (same street, it changes its name). 

One of the good restaurants is Le St. Tropez, with the Le Germain hotel, the red brick building with the square windows, in the upper right background. I asked a big man, seated in the shadows, how good his lunch was. Two thumbs up, since his mouth was full of steak. I've eaten there several times, and know it is excellent.

Looking down the street, the black and white cow sculpture coming out of the wall at the far left is above the Kit Kat, another of my favorite restaurants. The Kit Kat telephone number is 416 977 4461. It is small, and very good, and owned by a friend of mine.

CAMPING NEAR TORONTO
Since most of my readers are communications pros, here's a cut and paste from a message to Ned Lundquist, an American PR man who runs the Job of the Week e-mail newsletter, available from  JOTW@topica.com He'd mentioned he likes camping, and a Canadian reader of JOTW sent him this note, which I've simply scalped. 

You can read JOTW online. To read this list on the web, go to the JOTW online at:
http://www.cornerbarpr.com/trollingforjobs/index.cfm.

Ned, if you're looking for a great place to go camping, hiking, fishing,
canoeing, etc. you might want to check out Algonquin Provincial Park in
central Ontario (about 250 km north of Toronto).  Easy to get to but
still very big and wild.  You could go for days... A Google search will
turn up lots of links but here is one...

http://www.algonquinpark.on.ca/

I'll send her an e-mail asking if I can use her name.

On Canada Day, July 1, one of Canada's best journalists, Roy McGregor, wrote a front page story in the Globe and Mail about our country, featuring the Algonquin Park area. His cottage is right next door, and it was there that I photographed him for the cover of a book he wrote. It's a wonderful part of Canada, and easy to get to.

---------------------

And if you have a tourism-related question, write to me at BrianKilgore@BrianKilgore.com and I'll try to answer it. 

UPDATES ARE SCATTERED THROUGH THE INFORMATION BELOW

Your money

The International Association of Business Communicators web site says:

Banks
Regular banking hours in Canada are 9:30 am to 4:30 PM Monday to Friday, with extended hours including weekends at some locations.

Actually, bank hours vary greatly by branch location and by the policies of various banks. Remember, automatic teller machines abound in Toronto, and most are connected to the Interac and Cirrus networks. Machines that are clearly identified as belonging to a big bank cost less -- often a lot less -- to use than "white" machines which are run by entrepreneurs, and, interestingly enough, by some of the big banks. They charge a lot more, but the prices are up on the screens, so you know the fees before you press the final transaction buttons. The white machines are found in restaurants, clubs, stores, etc. The "real" machines are inside real bank entrances, but also in some stores, and even on the outside of buildings. The big banks are Royal Bank of Canada - RBC; TD Canada Trust; CIBC; Scotiabank or Bank of Nova Scotia; and Bank of Montreal or BMO. The nearest bank machine is a Royal Bank unit, on the exterior wall of the office building immediately across Richmond Street from the Sheraton Centre main entrance. It's got Cirrus, Plus and Interac connections. I'll find some other locations near the hotel and add them here.

Exchange rates: 

In quick and dirty terms, convert US dollars to Canadian prices by adding 33%, and convert Canadian prices to US dollars by subtracting a quarter.

For instance, $100 US dollars buys about $135 Canadian dollars, and a $10 US bill will buy you a $13.50 Cdn lunch. Going the other way, subtract a quarter from that $15 Cdn lunch and you'll find it costs only $12.50 in US money.

Americans, please remember you are in a foreign country, and you have foreign money with you. Don't expect everyone to accept it happily and give you good exchange rates. That said, most restaurants and big stores will take your US dollars and give you a pretty fair exchange. Many stores and restaurants post the exchange rate outside their doors.

They'll give you change in Canadian money, so this is not a bad way to get some local cash.

Paying for the first cab ride: the bus and limo services from the airport will take US dollars, give you a reasonable exchange rate, and let you get to your hotel, where you can change US dollars into Canadian money. I wouldn't try to pay with Australian, Hong Kong, British, money, or with Euros, though.

The easiest way to get Canadian money is to withdraw it from your own account back home, using automatic teller or automatic bank machines. The currency exchange stores you see will charge a bit more than banks, but are more likely to be open when you want them to be.

$100 dollar bills -- Many stores won't take either Canadian or US $100 bills because of worries about forgeries, and many won't take $50 bills either.

Two places for more information

www.Toronto.ca is the official City of Toronto web site.

www.Toronto.com is a private enterprise site devoted to entertainment, restaurants, events, etc.

Come early and stay late -- if you come to a conference, allow some free time the days before or after, so you can enjoy the city.

Bring your family – Toronto’s a great city to visit, regardless of your age. Come a few days early and stay a couple of days afterwards, and see the city and a bit of neighboring southern Ontario.

Getting around

From the airport
This is a Pacific Western Airport Express bus, advertising the Lion King, which was well worth seeing. (it's an old picture -- now there are Hairspray buses) Beside it is an orange and red Beck taxi, one of several Toronto cab companies that serve the airport. And you can get a limousine, which is usually a regular Lincoln Town Car, to bring you from the airport to your hotel. Cabs and limos are about the same price, so pick the limo. They are more than twice the price of the bus, but they take you directly to your hotel, while the bus makes stops at several hotels. And if you are travelling with someone, the limo fare is about the same as three bus tickets. Bus and limo are flat rate, with limo rates varying by hotel. Cabs are by meter. Airport to a downtown hotel by limo is, a driver told me recently, a little over $60 with taxes and tip.

What does the big bus cost? One way, from airport to the Sheraton Centre or from the hotel back to the airport, is $15. Roundtrip is $26. Kids 11 and under are free. 

Cabs: Toronto has three kinds of cabs, in broad strokes. There are "chain" cabs, painted in chain colors. Some are yellow, some and black & white, some are green and orange. These are what you get when you phone for a cab from one of the big cab companies. Then there are independent, non-chain cruising cabs and cab stand cabs that are not part of a chain. Like the chain cabs, they've got roof-top lights, licensed drivers, the same fare structure, etc.

Toronto also has "Ambassador" cabs, where the cab will be driven by the owner (other cabs are often leased or rented to independent drivers) and the Ambassador drivers pass special tests for their knowledge of the city. These Ambassador cabs tend to be the cleanest, the chain cabs tend to be the grubbiest, and the independents tend to be in between.

If I have much choice, I'll flag an Ambassador cab first, and a green and orange Beck cab last.

Remember that three people in a cab might cost less than three individual bus, subway or streetcar tickets, so cabs may be both a bargain and a convenience.

TORONTO TRANSIT COMMISSION
Subway: The bus, subway, streetcar system in Toronto is run by the Toronto Transit Commission, or TTC. The subway is an excellent way to get around, safe, comfortable, runs from early morning to late night, and if, for instance, you choose to stay in the Yorkville area, it's the best, cheapest, fastest, and perhaps most convenient way to get to the conference hotel. Adult cash fare is $2.25. If you switch from one subway line to another, you just walk up or down some stairs in a station. If you switch to a bus or streetcar, you may need a transfer, which is a piece of time-stamped paper you get from a big red machine inside each subway station. You need to get it when you get on the subway, not when you get off.

Streetcars and buses: Good, too, but less likely to take conference delegates where they want to go. You need cash, or a TTC ticket or token. $2.25, and you can get transfers to let you switch from streetcar to bus to subway, etc.

The Queen Street streetcar runs right in front of the hotel, running east and west. The main downtown subway route is a giant U-shape, and the Sheraton Centre is in the middle of the U. Walk one block east to Queen and Yonge (Queen Station) or one block West to Queen and University (Osgoode Station) to catch the subway.

Your most likely TTC trips are these.
-- Up to the Yorkville area. Visit the Royal Ontario Museum, the Four Seasons and Park Hyatt hotels, the Gardner Ceramics Museum, and the fanciest stores, including Tiffany's, Birks, Versace, Mont Blanc, Harry Rosen, and more. Go to Osgoode, get on a northbound train, and get off at Museum. The ROM is right there, and Yorkville neighborhood is one block north.

-- Down to Harbourfront. Go to either subway station (Queen or Osgoode) and get on a southbound train to Union. Get off, look for the tunnel to Queen's Quay (pronounce it Queen's Key) / Harbourfront streetcars. Walk through the tunnel, get on the streetcar, get off when it comes to the surface.

-- West on Queen Street. Just for fun, take the Queen Street westbound streetcar to Bathurst Street, and then walk back to the hotel past hundreds of funky, exclusive, grungy, fascinating, trendy,  mixed-bag of stores and restaurants.

-- East on Queen Street. People may try to convince you to go out to the Beaches neighborhood, stroll past the stores and walk down to the boardwalk along the lake. I used to sort of live out there, and wille it's a nice place to be, it would be forth on my list of places to go on the TTC. But if you want to, leave the hotel, catch an eastbound Queen Street streetcar that says Neville Park on it, ride to the very end of the line, by the water purification plant. Take a good look at the architecture -- it's a beautiful building, and then walk along the beacjh toward downtown for a dozen blocks, and then walk up a street running away from the beach (it will be going north) to Queen Street East. Turn left (toward downtown) and walk until your feet hurt or you get bored, and then get on another Queen  street car heading west.

Where to stay

The Sheraton Centre -- When I created this site for a particular conference, I wrote, "This is your best bet, I believe. The Sheraton Centre is often mentioned on travel forums as offering very low rates via the web-based travel services, including Expedia and Priceline. I have no idea if they would try to raise you discount Priceline rate, for instance, when you arrived at the hotel and learned you were attending the convention." It's still a good hotel, well located, and the steakhouse inside is good, and reasonably priced.

Less expensive hotels close to the conference hotel -- 3-10 minutes walk --  include the Toronto Hilton, the Eaton Centre Marriott, The Metropolitan, the Colony is nearby but closed at the end of May, the Fairmont Royal York, the Meridian King Edward, the Victoria (bargain), the Strathcona (bargain). The Novatel, Crowne Plaza and the Holiday Inn on King are another five minutes walk away.

More expensive hotels UPDATE
One long-time, senior, IABC member is coming to town early and bringing her husband for a mini-holiday. She wonders about where to stay for those extra days, and here's what I sent to her.

Central Toronto is fairly small, sort of like Chicago, but it is big enough that there's no hotel really close to everything.

 

The Sheraton Centre is across the street from City Hall, right next door to the site of the new Opera House (parking lot clear today, no construction started yet but the big sign is up. See BAK's Report early in the week for pix.)

 

If you are interested in spending some time in one hotel and some time at the Sheraton, the other part of town in which to stay is the Yorkville area, along Bloor Street West, from Yonge Street over toward Spadina Avenue.

 

This is the Toronto match for NYC's Fifth Avenue, including Tiffany's and Louis Vuitton. Hotels are Marriott Yorkville (there are a lot of Marriotts in Toronto, so "Yorkville" is important), Windsor Arms (Renee Swillwigger -- I know this is splled wring -- and her dog, and probably Richard Gere, stayed there when filming Chicago), Four Seasons, Park Hyatt, Intercontinental, and a Choice Hotel operation called Journey Inn or Journey End. (Next door to senior citizen's home, so they did not use Journey's End name when they opened it.)

 

This area has some great restaurants, the Royal Ontario Museum (think Art Institute of Chicago, sort of), the Gardner Ceramics Museum, the Bata Shoe Museum (honest), lots of great stores, the Chapters Book Store and the Indigo Book Store,  and you can walk to an area called The Annex, where there are lots of interesting smaller, less expensive stores. And it is one the east west and north south subway routes, so it is easy to get anywhere else you want to go.

 

One of my favorite places to eat is The Studio Cafe inside the Four Seasons. Have a drink in the rooftop bar of the Park Hyatt, a literary tradition in Canada. Boba, on Avenue Road is well regarded. Scaramouche Pasta Bar (Swillwiger again) and Scaramouche (the other part, not the pasta bar, costs more, same kitchen, better view), Joso (Portuguese, fish, expensive) are all in the neighborhood. This is, to me, the best part of the city, if you've got a few bucks in your jeans. It is beside the University of Toronto, so there are bargain eateries, too.

GREAT NEW HOTEL -- Update mid-May last year (It's July 2004 as I write this update) -- Le Germain is my kind of hotel, sort of, if I could figure out what kind of hotel I really do like. But I was sure impressed by this one. This is Toronto's first version of a great boutique hotel, and you can find out more at www.hotelboutique.com

It's near my office, and I was given a tour last year, when it opened. Beautiful rooms, interesting showers, free internet access, breakfast room where you get to meet people, close to dozens of restaurants, ten minutes by foot from the conference hotel. 

Good, long-time Toronto hotel 
with good service and good deals. 

This morning (May 27, 2003) I met, by accident, Vicki Zeppa, sales manager of The Delta Chelsea Hotel. This is Toronto's biggest hotel, it's well managed and well designed, it has the best hotel cafeteria I know about, and it wants business. It's about a five - seven minute walk to the Sheraton Centre. I told Vicki I'd give her hotel a plug. I've stayed there many times, I used to be a regular in one of the bars because a friend was a singer there, I'm in the cafeteria a dozen times a year, and I can recommend it with a clear conscience. www.deltahotels.com and then look in the list, not under T for Toronto but under C for Chelsea. UPDATE: On May 30 it was promoting it's pub, the Monarch, and I tried the chicken wings. Very good, and other food looked good, too.

Niagara Falls and Niagara on the Lake

MAID OF THE MIST -- Go and ride on this boat to the bottom of the American and Horseshoe (Canadian) falls. I'm a great fan of The Maid of the Mist, slow loading web site or not. To me, this is the lowest-priced highest-value tourist attraction I've ever visited. Info is at www.maidofthemist.com 

Major tourist attractions – non-intellectual and semi-intellectual

CN Tower -- There was a message in the Fodor's travel forum on March 7 telling how much a woman enjoyed her dinner there, and pointing out that the view was great, too. As rotating restaurants go, this one is excellent. JUNE 6: IABC delegate reports enjoying visit.

Hockey Hall of Fame -- go to the IABC event here if you are at the IABC conference, even if you are not a hockey fan.

SkyDome: it has tours.

Air Canada Centre; Who cares? Not me.

Toronto Zoo -- too far away, better things to do with your kids if you are only here for a couple of days.

Eaton Centre and The Bay
The Eaton Centre is eastern Canada's biggest shopping mall, a block from the hotel. You can get there indoors. Down the escalator from the Sheraton lobby, and straight ahead past a row of stores,. You'll enter the basement of The Bay, part of the Hudson Bay Company, the oldest company in Canada, which started out as fur traders.

This particular Bay store is, I believe, the finest department store in the country. Just inside the entrance is the food court, if you're looking for snacks to take back to your room. Walk through the Bay and there's a tunnel and an overhead walkway from the Bay to Eaton Centre. The far (north) end of Eaton Centre has a Sears store, a notch or two abopve most Sears outlets in Canada or the USA. Across the street is Yonge - Dundas Square, which may have open air shows. It officially opened on May 30.

Queen Street West -- March 7; I went for a long walk here yesterday, and it really does look like a street you'll enjoy if you want to do some shopping. Coming soon here; pictures of some kids clothing stores on queen Street West.

Kensington Market; Walk west on Queen to Spadina. Turn north (right) and walk up to Dundas and keepgoing, and look for signs pointing to your left.

St. Lawrence Market UPDATE

THE ST .LAWRENCE MARKET Back bacon on a bun
	Tourists, along with Torontonians, can eat well right at the St. Lawrence Market, with no need for a stove and refrigerator. Going to the market for a peameal bacon on a bun (under $5 with tax) that you eat outdoors on the balcony that surrounds the market is a long-time Toronto tradition. This one tasted as good as it looks. Easy to get to from the Sheraton Hotel. Walk east to Yonge, south to Front, east three blocks to the market. 7 blocks total.
	The market has two buildings. The north is open only on Saturdays, with temporary selling kiosks, usually run by the farmers who grow the food. The south building is open five days a week, with permanent vendors, full refrigeration, baking ovens, meat lockers, and more. This sandwich belongs to one of the ladies who shared my picnic bench. If you are not a bacon eater, well, you can be a veal eater, and you'll still have a great lunch or breakfast, at a bargain price.

Ontario Science Centre -- Pretty far away, great for children. Worth the effort to visit if it's a rainy day. You'll be inside, and the kids (and their parents) will learn a lot while having a good time. What more could you ask?

Wayne Gretsky’s Restaurant -- March 7 update; It's been revised and revamped and redecorated, and newspaper stories say Wayne actually goes there from time to time, cares about the quality of food and service, and is working hard to make it a good place to eat. It's just down the street from the Tony & Tina's Wedding special event planned for the conference, so you could visit Gretsky's after for a drink. UPDATE MID JULY -- reader called yesterday to tell me that some friends had seen T&T's Wedding, and say it is a great way to spend an evening.

Antique shops -- NEW UPDATE, MAY 23 -- The former Old Ed's Restaurant and Toronto Press Club building is now a giant antique center, with about a dozen vendors. if you were at the last IABC conference in Toronto, you may remember a giant cocktail party I organized for delegates at the Press Club, in a restaurant at King Street West and Duncan. The restaurant's gone, the Press Club is moved, and now it's an antiques market, ten minutes walk from the conference hotel. Walk west on Queen to Duncan. T-intersection with a Scotiabank. Turn south (the only way you can go) for several blocks, to another T-intersection. The antiques centre is in the old building on your right.

Harbourfront -- UPDATE MAY 23; I've been there a couple of times in the past ten days, and it's just a great place for a walk, and maybe a harbour boat tour. if you want to just hang out with some conference friends, but move around instead of occupy tables in a bar, go down to Harbourfront, stroll around, have a drink, etc. See the TTC section above for directions, or just walk down. Allow maybe 15 minutes walking down Yonge Street.

Live theatre

Discount tickets

Princess of Wales -- Hairspray, probably sold out, but there may be deals. Ask the concierge.

Royal Alexandra-- Mamma Mia, probably sold out, but there may be deals. Ask the concierge.

The Royal Alex and Princess of Wales were part of a big special ticket price promotion that sold out the theaters until early July, but it's possible the hotel has some tickets set aside

Canon Theatre

Elgin Winter Garden

St. Lawrence Center

Roy Thomson Hall

Shopping

Sam's and HMV. These are Toronto's two biggest music store chains, and Canadian CDs are often a genuine bargain compared to US prices. If you want some expensive music -- opera CDs come to mind -- check prices at home before you leave, and then visit the classics section at the main HMV store, Yonge just north of Dundas, ten minutes walk from the conference hotel, to see if you'll save up here.

Eaton Centre -- An IABC delegate bought shoes there June 6, finding the prices better than in the USA. name brand, same style, etc.

Queen Street West -- leave the hotel, turn left, west, and just walk.

Yorkville -- ritzy shopping district, short subway ride. Think Fifth Avenue and Rodeo Drive. Tiffany's, Holt Renfrew, Mont Blanc. Take the subway to Museum stop.

Yorkdale -- fashion oriented giant indoor mall, further ride on the same subway line. The best chain stores, but no Tiffany's and no Mont Blanc boutique, but there is a Holt Renfrew store (but the "real" Holt Renfrew is in Yorkville, on Bloor Street between Bay and Yonge. 

Hobby-related shopping

Henry’s -- cameras. I've been buying there for 45 years.

Downtown Camera  -- lots of stuff, I bought my latest camera there.

Vistek -- best pro camera store in Canada, maybe in North America. I've never seen anything equal, including Samy's in Los Angeles and half a dozen stores in NY, but that was several years ago.

Yorkville Galleries -- lots of art, just go stroll around on Saturday afternoon.

Queen Street West Galleries -- funkier art, same deal

St. Lawrence Market area galleries -- more art, again. Be theree Saturday morning. See pictures of sandwiches elsewhere on this page.

Basement of Royal York Hotel -- the greatest model car, plane, etc. store I've ever seen. Expensive, but what the heck, they're toys.

Major tourist attractions – intellectual

Royal Ontario Museum

Art Gallery of Ontario

Bata Shoe Museum

Gardner Museum of Ceramics

Textile Museum

St. Lawrence Market Gallery

Power Plant Gallery

Three long walks

Yorkville

Queen West – Chinatown

Down by the water

Kids’ treats

Chapters and Indigo Books -- These stores make up Canada's largest book store chain. Indigo bought Chapters a few years ago. All branches have public washrooms, cafes (often Starbucks, sometimes not)

Yorkville Park -- Along Cumberland Avenue, between Belair and Avenue Road, is an imitation of northern Ontario, with a giant rock to climb on, and a variety of wildflowers, weeds (well, they look like weeds to me) and other things kids will have fun looking at.

Parks and playgrounds for your kids. City Hall Park -- there's a playground for little kids along the west edge of the Toronto City Hall, across the street from the hotel. The nearest bigger park for 4-12 year olds who need to work off energy is Grange Park, behind (south of) the Art Gallery of Ontario. Walk west on Queen Street several blocks to McCaul, walk north two short blocks, and turn left (west) at the little street that leads to the park. Swings, slides, climbers, etc. There's a food court and washrooms in the main level of the apartment complex -- Village By The Grange, I used to live there -- on the east side of McCaul.

Rainforest Café -- For kids from 4 to 12, this is a wonderful restaurant, with elephants trumpeting and giant aquariums. Food is good enough to keep parents happy, too. It's a long way away, but easy to get to. Take the University Avenue subway to Yorkdale Shopping Centre. (Yorkdale is different from Yorkville. Dale is a shopping center, and Ville is a neighborhood with fancy stores. If you don't need to take kids to the Rainforest and time is tight, skip Dale, go to Ville.)

Swiss Chalet. March 7 update. I ate at the Swiss Chalet at King Street West and Simcoe twice in the past week. Excellent food, about $10 plus tip, for a quarter chicken, great soup, really, really good french fries, and several cups of coffee.

Eaton Center Food Court. Lower level, south end of the Eaton Centre. Lots of medium good places for medium good quick food at medium prices. Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger King, and such like, but there's also Sbarro Pizza and a Le Marche operation, a bit more expensive and tastier.

Mr. Greenjeans -- the nearest "fun" restaurant with big burgers, steak sandwiches, big salads, waiters who tell you their names, etc. North End of the Eaton Centre. I like it better than the fancier City Hall Grill that's immediately below it, but City Hall Grill is more sophisticated.

Harbourfront, play area

Ferry and Center Island -- costs $6 for a mini-harbour cruise. Take the subway to Union station, look for the streetcar tunnel to Harbourfront, get off at the first stop (still in the tunnel), get up to the air, cross the street, go to the island.

Royal Ontario Museum and Ontario Science Center

Hockey Hall of Fame -- You'll have a good time at the IABC event here.

CN Tower

City Hall hot dogs and fries -- You'll see snack trucks parked in front of Toronto City Hall, across Queen Street from the hotel. For the cheapest possible lunch on a day you're skipping an IABC extra-cost event, this is the place to eat, especially if it is warm and sunny. Bad review in the newspaper mid-May of the food from the white truck called the Bratwurst Wagon, which has never been a truck I ate from. I ate, on May 30, fries from another truck here, and they were excellent. The small size, $2.50, is lots for one person

CITY TV truck
I love to look at this, and kids love it even more. If you're on a walk from the hotel, heading west on Queen Street, look up at the east-facing wall of the CITY-TV parking lot, four blocks from the hotel. CITY-TV's got one of its trucks protruding from the wall, and it makes a great photo with the CN Tower (and my office) in the background.

Restaurants and bars
What if you don't want to pay $55 over and over again to eat at the conference, at the meals that are not included in your registration?

Really cheap: 

The Peel Pub, on King Street West at Duncan, between the Princess of Wales and Royal Alexandra theaters, is very casual, but has a decent kitchen.  There are lunch and dinner specials, and a student delegate could eat well for $6 - 7, tax and tip included. So could an adult on a tight budget. Problem; breakfast does not start until 9 a.m. Ten minute walk from the Sheraton Center Hotel.

Dunn's, in the same block, as $3 breakfasts, as does the restaurant in Metro Hall, across the street from Dunn's and the Princess of Wales Theatre.

Amato Pizza, either $3.25 or $3.99 a slice, in the food market building (look for a sub shop in the window and weird looking panhandlers in front) on Queen Street West, between McCaul and John. (just past Pizza Pizza, which has nice pizza slices too, but not as exotic. I eat an Amato slice at least once a week. Take out, walk and eat at the same time.

Not quite as cheap, but very reasonable.

Raw fish; 
Fune, on Richmond, a couple of blocks west of the hotel. 

Real steaks; 

Mid priced bargain is Le Bifteque inside the convention hotel. For twice the price, Ruth's Chris Steak House in the Hilton Hotel, which is kitty-corner from the Sheraton. Leave the lobby via the parking entrance, and head across the street to the Hilton.

Best for less:

See the Swiss Chalet reference above in the kid's section.

Best, in general:

Toronto Life magazine's food writer, James Chatto, listed the best restaurants in Toronto. The Fifth, at the corner of Richmond and Duncan, and Avalon, at the corner of John and Duncan, are the two from the list that are closest (five - six minutes walk).   

My favorite top flight restaurant near the convention hotel is Oro, on Elm Street, just east of Bay. Oro has the Charles Pizzo seal of approval. (Charles sent me a note saying it was OK to quote him.) To get to Oro from the conference, leave from the Queen Street entrance to the hotel, cross the road carefully so you don't get run over, and cross Nathan Phillips Square, heading slightly right as you go, ending up on Bay Street, opposite the Marriott. Continue north on Bay Street, crossing Dundas and then Edward, to Elm. Turn right (east) and walk a few steps. Allow two to three hours and $150 for a great dinner, or $100 for a wonderful dinner.