Located in Ontario, Canada, Toronto will always be a special place to me, it is the place I got proposed to after all. (Cue the “awws.”) My future husband and I planned a 4-days trip to this beautiful city in November of 2021, where temperatures were around 40-50 F. It didn’t snow during our time there, but it was still pretty wet and windy. So, please enjoy these pictures of me in my oversized winter coat because as a southern girl, anything under 70 degrees is considered freezing to me.
Toronto is a great city, it’s very clean and diverse, with a multitude of options for activities. As first time visitors to the city, my partner and I decided to purchase the Toronto City Pass, which includes entry to five of the city’s biggest attractions. We stayed in downtown Toronto and mostly took Ubers around the city to cut down on our time spent traveling. We did ride the public transit twice to visit near by locations and rented a car for one day to take us to Niagara Falls. The main attractions in Toronto are not located near each other, so it is a good idea to plan ahead to limit the amount of time spent during transportation. Public transits do take a little longer to get to your destination and is the cheapest option, whereas ride-shares can cut your travel time in half but will cost more in total. Then there’s renting a car, where you may have a dilemma with finding a parking spot and paying tolls. Your transportation option is really dependent on your time and budget but either way, the most important thing is that you get there safely and enjoy yourself.
NOTE: Please visit Canada’s website to review required documents prior to entry as well as the requirements needed for your return back home.
Jump to the highlights of this blog:
St. Lawerence Market/Gooderham Building
Kensington Market/Toronto Chinatown
Day 1
After arriving in Toronto during the late afternoon, we took an Uber to our downtown hotel, where my partner and I settled in and freshened up for dinner at PAI. Just a 10 mins walk from our stay, PAI is a modern restaurant that offers Northern Thai dishes. One side of the restaurant is an open kitchen with decor that made you feel like you were teleported to a street vendor in Thailand (or so what I think it would be like). The other side of the restaurant was very modern and had a hipster feel to it. For starters, we tried the shrimp chips and the Kung Twat “Garlic Shrimp,” which were both super crispy and delicious. The shrimp chips were brought to the table in a large bowl and we were able to snack on it throughout the dinner and even add it as an extra crunch to our main dishes. The Kung Twat shrimp was coated in a super crispy and flaky batter, one that most Americans may not be used to. But If you’ve had Asian fried shrimp before, you’ll know what I’m talking about, if not, this is a great new way to try fried shrimp. For the main course, we tried the Pad See Ew and the Pad Gra Prow. Each dish is served with a mild/medium spice, which I found was just the right amount of heat for me, but it may be too much for others. Both dishes were tasty, but I thought it wasn’t anything too outstanding. I’ve definitely had better Thai food, but the dishes at PAI were still good and the atmosphere was buzzing with an energetic crowd.
Of course, I had to stop and get myself a sweet treat after dinner. We had originally had an ice cream location in mind to try (Sweet Jesus) but found that they were closed early due to understaffing. But not to worry, because if it wasn’t for that, we wouldn’t have stumbled upon Mizzica Gelateria & Cafe. And wow!!! It’s a small store, located in a neighborhood of apartments, that offers gelato, pastries, and coffee. I always get pistachio and hazelnut gelato in every shop that I stop by in and if you’ve read my other posts, you’ll know I love frozen treats. The gelato was AMAZING, so soft and smooth with natural flavors. My only regret was not going back to get more of it!!
To wrap up our first night in the city, my partner and I took a night stroll to Nathan Phillips Square. This is the iconic “TORONTO” sign that you have probably seen all over the internet during your research. During late November to late March, the square will turn into an ice skating rink. However, we visited Toronto in mid-November, so the rink was not set up just yet. Regardless, we found that it was still a great spot for pictures and a place to sit and relax in.
Day 2
We started our first full day in Toronto with a coffee and donut from Tim Hortons. You cannot go to Canada without trying this place at least once. It’s like the USA’s version of Starbucks, one in almost every corner. The menu is large, with every sort of coffee you could think of and they also offer sandwiches and teas, if that’s more your thing.
Following our quick breakfast, we stopped by our first attraction on our city pass, the Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada. At first, we were worried that this would be more for children, but we were way wrong. The Aquarium was huge and offered so many different sea life to view. There’s even a tunnel under water that you can walk through and look up to view all sorts of sharks, fishes, and turtles. You can stop and take pictures at a huge wall covered with jellyfishes and corals, see the large and unique octopus and lobsters, and make your way upstairs to see the turtles and stingrays swimming to the surface. We even caught feeding time with the stingrays and got to ask questions about them to the keepers. This is a great spot for people of all ages and we probably spent about 1.5 to 2 hours being in awe of the aquarium.
After the aquarium, we took a 10 mins drive to the Distillery District, which was once the area known for whiskey distillery and is now a super cute cobbled stoned area with lots of restaurants, bars, and shops. The Distillery District is a great place to walk through and has a really nice, laid-back vibe to it. We visited the district during the day, so it was pretty calm during our venture through the area. On the flip-side, we did pass through it during the night, which was much busier and when most of the events are held. I stopped by many stores to look around and even had lunch at El Catrin Destileria, an upscale Mexican restaurant. They offer a beautiful outdoor seating and the service was great and attentive. (But beware of the birds when eating outside, they have no sense of personal space.) We had the esquites as appetizers, which is like an elotes served in shot glasses, and the huevos ranchero and the carne asada as the main dishes. I thought the food was okay and not very authentic, so this may not be a good option for my fellow budget or foodie travelers.
Just a 15 mins walk from the Distillery District, we stopped by St. Lawerence Market, which is only open from Tuesdays through Saturdays. It’s a two story, indoor market that has a variety of shops. We saw produces, seafood and meat on display, many to-go restaurants to try, and even small shops selling clothing and souvenirs. I personally thought this was super cool to walk through, but again I’m a sucker for farmer markets. BEWARE! If you purchase any fruits, remember that you cannot cross the boarder with it. You will get stopped at the airport and be pulled aside for inspection. We found this out when my future husband tried to bring an orange with him as a snack for the plane ride. A whole 3 mins walk from St. Lawerence Market, you can stop by the iconic Gooderham Building, also known as the Flat Iron Building. It is one of the most photographed building in Toronto, and I found it to be absolutely beautiful.
After a quick outfit change at the hotel, my soon-to-be fiancé and I headed down to Polson Pier to catch the sunset. The pier is a great spot to view Toronto’s skyline… and to get engaged. This place was truly magical and definitely a sight to be seen. If anything, it’s a great place to sit and watch the day pass as you take a step back from the busyness of the city. It’s probably one of my favorite places now, but I’m also being extremely bias.
(our great engagement photographer)
For another view of Toronto, we stopped by our next location on the city pass, which was the CN tower. A whopping 1815.5 ft (553.33 meters) tall, you can see a 360 degree view of the city. We took the high speed elevator upon arrival, to see all of the buildings below lit up for the night. We even went a down a floor to the Observation Level, where there are glass floors to walk on too. It’s truly a magical sight. The CN Tower also offers experiences such as the 360 Restaurant and the Edge walk, which aren’t included in the pass, but is a more exciting experience for any adventure seekers.
To end our eventful day, we had dinner reservations at Miku Toronto, a Japanese fine-dining restaurant. Oh my gosh y’all, this place was AMAZING, hands down my favorite restaurant in Toronto. Any time I talk about Toronto, I always mention this restaurant. I cannot speak any more highly of a dining place than this. We started with the Spicy Sesame Edamame, which was okay and something I think you could skip, and the Chicken Nanban, which was GREAT. The chicken was crispy, juicy, and flavored so well, but it’s a pretty heavy appetizer, so I recommend sharing it with the table. We also ordered the Kaisen Soba Peperoncino, a very delicious noodle dish served with prawns and squid. This was one of the many favorite dishes of the night, and I’m pretty sure there were no crumbs left on the plate. Then as the main course, we tried the Miku Signature Sushi Selection, which offers Miku’s specialty nigiri and roll and oshi sushi. We also order a salmon and yellowtail nigiri separately for my partner. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint!! Each roll was unique on its own and all the fish were fresh and perfectly executed. Our FAVORITE was the Salmon Oshi Sushi. How can something be so savory and instantly melt in your mouth in just one amazing bite? It was the best sushi I’ve ever had, and it was so good, we ordered it To-Go the next night since we couldn’t get another reservation. And to top off this amazing dinner experience, we had the house-made jasmine tea ice cream for dessert. It was so light and refreshing, and a great way to end the meal. Everything about this restaurant was to die for. Please go try Miku Toronto if you can, I promise you would not be disappointed.
Day 3
Bright and early, we took our first train ride to Mildred’s Temple Kitchen, which is only open Wednesday to Sunday from 9am to 3pm. Mildred’s Temple is known for their poofy stack of buttermilk blueberry pancakes and boy, they are not playing around. It is probably one of the best blueberry pancakes I’ve ever had. We arrived around 9:30am and stood in line for 30-45 mins to dine in, where we were seated at the kitchen bar with front row seats of the chefs doing their magic. To start our meal, we had 2 biscuit and scones with apple butter jam, we probably could have eaten at least a dozen of these. They were so good! Then we ordered MRS. BIEDERHOF’S WILD BLUEBERRY BUTTERMILK PANCAKES and VEDA’S CHOICE with smoked salmon. Both dishes were large and more than enough to share. We didn’t realize until later that we could have ordered a side of the pancakes, which would have been two pancakes compared to the three from the main dish. But regardless, we ate everything on that plate and left with a full belly and happy hearts. I would definitely come back just for the pancakes. It was so yummy!
We then hopped into an Uber that would take us to Casa Loma, another location on the city pass. Driving up to the location, you’ll be in awe of this huge castle. You can engulf yourself in the history of this building and the man behind it all, Sir Henry Pellat, with a free audio tour that you can retrieve downstairs. Each room and floor of the castle was different and there was even an underground tunnel that will take you to the horse stables. Our favorite rooms were the garden room, which was filled with exotic plants and a beautiful stained glass ceiling, the wax model room, and the pool room. There’s even a room with a spiral staircase that will lead you to the roof, where you can get a view of the city and the CN tower. We spent about 1.5 hours here just exploring the estate.
With a 7 mins drive from Casa Loma, we then visited the Royal Ontario Museum to view the wide collection of art and natural history exhibits. The Royal Ontario Museum is the largest museum in Canada. We spent almost 3 hours in this museum, and it still didn’t feel like it was enough. During our visit, they had arts and artifacts from all eras, fossils from dinosaurs and other species, and even a room full of crystals and jewels. And that’s not even all of it! It’s definitely a great stop for all my history and science lovers out there.
It was almost sunset by the time we left the museum to visit Kensington Market, a creative and vibrant neighborhood lined with art, shops, and restaurants. We spent some time walking around the neighborhood and viewing all of the art on display while popping into different restaurants to try. Our first snack stop was at Abu Hummus to try their classic hummus. It was very smooth and the pita bread was served hot and fresh! I thought that the hummus was okay but my fiancé was not a fan. We also stopped by Seven Lives Tacos for some Huachinango (snapper fish) and Camarones a la Diabla (shrimp) tacos. This is also a great spot for all types of foodies because they offer different types of tacos with all sorts of protein. Each taco is packed to the rim, with the fillings falling out from the other end of the taco with each bite. (You’ll definitely need some napkins.) Our tacos were really tasty and we definitely enjoyed the shrimp tacos the most. Our final stop on our snack tour was at Pizzeria da Mario Kensington, where we both ordered a slice of pizza to enjoy in the outdoor seating. The thin crust pizza reminded us of New York pizza, which we both really love, and I probably could have easily eaten another 2 slices. Right next to the market, a very quick walk, you can find yourself in Toronto’s Chinatown. Since we did arrive in the area late, most of the shops were closed, but it didn’t stop us from taking in the beauty of the community and the shops. We did stop by for some bubble tea in Chinatown before heading to our next stop of the night.
After our long adventure, we decided to get dinner, which turned out to be an extreme disappointment. The restaurant we had dined in was pretty bad, that I won’t mention the name to it. What do they say? If you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say it at all. The service was great and the ambience was chic and romantic, but the food was unappetizing with small portions, and I will leave it at that. But not to worry, we ended our night like always with dessert at Bang Bang Ice Cream & Bakery. The selection is limitless! There’s all sorts of ice cream flavors to choose from and even different types of cookies too. You could make an ice cream sandwich with your choice of cookie and ice cream or get your ice cream in a regular or bubble waffle cone or just in a cup. It was delicious dessert and I ended up eating both mine and my fiancé’s.
Day 4
As with most people visiting Toronto, one of our biggest sight-seeing destination was Niagara falls. We found that the falls was located 1.2 hours away from our downtown hotel. So on our last day in the city, we decided to wake up early and catch the train to get a rental car from the airport. This way we can return the car back to the airport for our departure the following day. TIP: USA’s driver license are accepted in Canada and no international license are required if you have one.
After picking up the car, we decided to drive to the last attraction on our city pass, Ontario Science Centre, which is only open Wednesday to Sunday. This is an interactive and educational centre which is definitely targeted more towards children. We made the most of our visit and only spent about 1.5 hours making paper planes, challenging each other with different activities, and learning about space and the human body. I think this place would be ideal for families and small children.
Following the science centre, we started our drive to Niagara Falls, stopping by Kunafa’s for some traditional Middle Eastern dessert and a late lunch at Masrawy Egyptian Restaurant. We ate both in the car, which definitely added more time to our drive but was just more adventures for us. Masrawy Egyptian Restaurant was delicious, even when we ordered To-Go. We ordered the lentil soup, which was thick and hearty and so flavorsome, with the Chicken Tikka served with fries and Koshary. The chicken tikka was cooked to perfection, super flavorful and moist. Koshary is served as plate of noodles with chickpeas with a red and chili sauce that you would add in to your preference. We added our chicken tikka to the dish to get some protein and overall, the Koshary was so yummy! It’s one of my favorite meals to eat and I would highly recommend this dish to try.
We finally made it to Niagara Falls after sundown and found paid parking for the car. Then we walked to the falls to get a better view and even from across the street, you can feel the mist of water hitting you. Definitely bring a rain jacket and something warm if you’re visiting at night. We walked alongside all the barriers to be able to see all points of views of the falls. The best view we found was at the very end, near the Table Rock Welcome Centre. This is where we got a closer look at the falls and the water, which were lit up with colorful lights at night. The water is so powerful and majestic looking, it was easy to spend some time there being mesmerized by the fall. We loved viewing it at night, but both agreed that we would have also enjoyed seeing the falls during the day. Maybe next time, we would visit during sunset to try to get the best of both worlds. Surrounding the falls, we walked through a park which had lights set up with Christmas festivities. Afterwards, we headed nearby to Clifton Hill, a strip full of attractions, restaurants and shops. Think of it as carnival or fair. You could ride the Niagara Skywheel, stop by a museum, go souvenir shopping, or treat yourself to something sweet. The bright lights and sounds of joy and laughter will put you in a cheerful mood. It was really fun to walk around and see lots of happiness within the area and was the perfect stop to end our trip.
Overall
Toronto is a great city for all sorts of travelers and has so much to offer. There’s so many food options to try, great and fun activities for families and museum lovers, and much more. My partner and I definitely plan on returning one day to explore more of this beautiful city and to reminisce on our milestone. In all, I hope that you will get the chance to make memories with your loved ones on your next trip too. If you’ve already been, be sure to share your favorite memories and activities of Toronto in the comments below!
As always, thank you for being here!!
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Lena The Rover 