Need answer fast: What to do in and around Toronto?

In My Humble Opinion
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TL:DR, visiting a Chinese lady friend that today I figured out is pretty loaded and basically “interviewing” me if I’m suitable material for a relationship. She has car(s), lives in Markham, and basically is only familiar with the new Chinese part of the city. For example, today we ate fantastic dim sum, walked all over one of the Toronto Islands (she had never been before), then at a fantastic Chinese seafood meal.

So, now, I’m here with nothing planned through Saturday night except to spend time with my friend. First time I’ve been somewhere on my own and unplanned for a week in decades. Need recommendations for here and within an hour or two drive. Like nature, 5-10km walks/hikes, anything unique to this area, etc. Don’t really need food recommendations or non-unique big city center stuff.

Anyone done the Dundas Peak Trail? Mono Cliffs? Others?

Romantic overnight destination suggestions are also welcome. Is Muskoka worth visiting? Montreal is a bit of a drive, neither of us speak French, haven’t been, and neither of us have a “must do” item. Educate me if you think there is a cool thing we are totally missing out on?

As an aside, does anyone have a traditional Montreal bagel recommendation for Toronto? Understand that might be an oxymoron, but we’re prolly not going to Montreal for an over nighter. But who knows, if you also have a traditional Montreal bagel shop in Montreal, please share that as well.

I got in last night. So far, my impression of Toronto is that it seems like a decent place. Nice to be home to the largest Chinese city, concentrated in Markham/Richmond Hill, outside of Asia. Markham seems like pretty decent suburbia, with pretty awesome Chinese food.

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I’m originally from Toronto, but haven’t lived there for twenty years. Still, I may be able to make a few suggestions.

Montreal is definitely too far. It’s a five hour drive there, and a five hour drive back. Plus, it’s a summertime weekend, when half the city leaves town on Friday night, and returns starting Sunday afternoon. Best to stick around town if you don’t want to be stuck in horrendously slow moving traffic back into the city.

Bagels. An old friend swore by the ones she got in a Jewish bakery on Bathurst Street, somewhere between Lawrence and Wilson Avenues. But any Jewish bakery on Bathurst between, I’d say, Eglinton and Sheppard would have what you want. Bathurst delimited by those roads, is pretty much the heart of Toronto’s Jewish community, so for things like amazing delis–and bagels–that’s where you go.

Not a hiking trail, but one of the things my ex and I liked to do was to take a walk along the boardwalk in the Beaches neighbourhood. It’s all one beach, but they go by three different names (Woodbine, Kew, Balmy), it’s a big park by the lake, and if you want to refresh yourselves, Queen Street East, with plenty of nice bars and restaurants, is only a block or two north of the lake. If you’re lucky, there might be a band playing in the park.

All I can think of for now, but will post more if it occurs to me.

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The little village of Kleinburg is about an hour from western Toronto. It has the McMichael Art Gallery, which contains a large number of Group of Seven paintings. It’s also in the country (I think) so you might be able to get in some nature walks or maybe canoeing. @Spoons, @FinsToTheLeft is that right?

There’s Fort York if you want a bit of history:

Preserved as a 43-acre archeological park, Fort York is where British soldiers, First Nations warriors and Upper Canadian militiamen stood together against the United States and its mission to capture Toronto in the War of 1812. The bloody Battle of York that ensued was a dark and dramatic moment in the history of the city.

It’s in the downtown area, and tells the story of the perfidious Yankees who burnt the public buildings of York, then the capital of Upper Canada.

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It’s not a weekend, of course, but I twigged on your mention of “Saturday” and forgot today was Tuesday. That changes things up a bit. Let me think.

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I love this place! thanks all and keep 'em coming.

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About the McMichael gallery in Kleinburg, yes; but I’m unsure about hiking trails and canoeing in the area. @China_Guy , you may want to Google up, “Toronto Conservation Areas.” These are parks outside of the city, that tend to be owned by the city. So, not provincial or national parks, but just as well-tended. Nice places for simple hikes and picnics. Two I recall are Bruce’s Mill and Heart Lake, though there are others.

Muskoka makes for a nice daytrip (or two days or more). Plenty of nice resorts on the Muskoka Lakes, opportunities for swimming, hiking, and other summer activities in the wilderness. Two recommendations: the Sherwood Inn (stayed there once; would recommend) and Clevelands House (had a friend who liked to go there for a beer if we were in the area). Nice patio overlooking the lake, back in the day.

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Too late for an edit, but the Muskoka towns are always worth a visit. I’m thinking Gravenhurst, Bracebridge, and Port Carling. Pretty much tourist towns, though they are inhabited year-round. But summers are when they really shine, with lots of interesting shops to explore, festivals, restaurants, and similar.

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Kleinburg is not particularly rural, more like a twee suburb. There are some nice trails around there, though (e.g. starting at Bindertwine Park).

I’ve done the Dundas Peak Trail and Mono Cliffs. They’re both pretty good, but I think there are options that are just as nice closer to Markham (e.g. Rouge Park or Eldred King Woodlands). Toogood Pond Park in Unionville has some nice paths to stroll through. The lakeshore has some nice areas to walk along like the boardwalk in The Beach(es) or Guildwood Park (which my wife calls Yuanmingyuan).

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Ah, a couple of hints for getting around Toronto.

Toronto is not New York City, where streets run east-west and avenues run north-south. Toronto has streets, roads, avenues, drives, boulevards, and pretty much every other designation you can give a route. Some of which can be pretty strange–the Bridle Path, for example, and I’ve never known where “Avenue Road” comes from. Don’t be thinking that streets run north-south (as Bathurst Street); routes such as Bayview Avenue, Morningside Avenue, and Markham Road run north-south too. And sure, there’s Queen Street, Dundas Avenue, and York Mills Road, all of which run east-west.

Similarly, Toronto does not use a block numbering system. Numbers start at 1 and go up to whatever, as long as there are buildings to justify them. So, if you’re thinking that 824 Queen Street West (I made that up at random; just go with it) is just eight blocks west of Yonge Street; I assure you, it’s not. Might be as many as a dozen blocks west. Or maybe not; maybe it’s only six blocks west. You learn to catch glimpses of building numbers as you go by.

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The issue with Muskoka is that it is a long weekend coming up and they will likely be pretty full at most of the resorts, IMO.

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Yes, the Civic Holiday long weekend coming up means that the drive out of the city to “Cottage Country”, whether it’s Muskoka, or other countryside within 2-3 hours of Toronto, will be horrendous on Friday.

If you’re in Markham, Unionville is a short drive away, a nice town for strolling around. And their website says there’s an open-air concert on Thursday: https://unionville.ca/

Ottawa is 4 hours away and there’s the Houses of Parliament and Changing of the Guard. On the other hand you don’t need to speak French to enjoy Montreal.

Another fun part of Toronto is the Distillery district: https://www.thedistillerydistrict.com/
"The pedestrian-only Distillery District, set in quaint 19th century buildings that once housed a large whiskey distillery, draws crowds to its cobblestone streets lined with hip indie restaurants, bars and boutiques. Art lovers come for the galleries, outdoor sculptures and dance, music and stage performances at the area’s several theatres. "

Here’s a romantic getaway an hour from Markham. I haven’t been there myself but my sister has and she really raved about it.

Disclaimer: I don’t live in the area myself, but my sister does and I visit for a few weeks every year. In fact, I’m here for the week.

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If you want to try Kleinburg, the McMichael gallery is currently running a show featuring works of the iconic early 20th century Canadian artist Tom Thompson, including what is probably his best known work “The Jack Pine” - https://mcmichael.com/event/tom-thomson-north-star/ The show has been open for just over a month, but I’d try to avoid going on a weekend.

There are some easy hiking trails in the area as well - Oak Ridges Trail Association :: Kleinburg - Humber River Trail (Bindertwine Park) - as @hogarth mentioned above.

I live close-ish to the Distillery District that @gkster mentions. There is a sake distillery there that is supposed to be pretty good, as well as at least one micro-brewery, keeping the tradition going. If you do go, check out the chocolate store Soma, they sell the chocolate equivalent of a single-malt whisky, with offerings made from the cocoa beans from individual plantations.

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Unfortunately, most of the really spectacular scenery I can think of (The Prairies, the Rockies, Old Quebec City, or Hwy 17 between Sault Ste Marie and Wawa for example) is a bit further away. However…

The Liftlock in Peterborough is interesting from a Victorian industrial history point of view.

Sandbanks provincial park in Prince Edward County has a beautiful beach, but it’s probably booked up by now.

Would you or she be interested in Petroglyphs provincial park off Hwy 28 north of Peterborough?

Good luck!

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Mono Cliffs is I think a great idea. Was there on a school trip many moons ago. Beautiful nature trails among rocks and woods, and not quite as far away as Muskoka. It’s in the Caledon area and is some of the most accessible “real nature” in the area. @Spoons suggestion of Bruce’s Mill is another nature escape, in Stouffville, North of the city. Near there is also Lake Wilcox.

I’ll bet you’re thinking about this place. Bagel World at 336 Wilson Ave. It’s a major local fixture.

To go back to nature for a moment, and to stay within the city proper, a favorite place of mine to go walking is the Tommy Thompson Park (not named after the Group of Seven artist mentioned above). It’s located on the Leslie Street Spit, an artificial headland that arose on landfill that was dumped into the lake. Nature reclaimed the landfill, and now it is a park with many species of birds, butterflies and other wildlife, some of which are not common arount the city, and a small marina. This is a great place to take a relaxing walk on a summer day and the waves of Lake Ontario beat soothingly against the shore, which is largely made of visible brick rubble. And you can just walk onto the “spit” - basically a peninsula - off the street, and don’t have to take a ferry (which you would take to get to one of the Islands).

For a more popular tourist attraction with an element of romance, it’s hard to beat Casa Loma, Toronto’s own neo-Gothic castle. It was built in the early 20th century by Sir Henry Pellatt, an eccentric local financier, who at one time was very wealthy, but who lost his fortune and subsequently the castle when the property taxes on it shot up very high and he couldn’t pay them. Now it’s a much-frequented museum and appears in films that need a castle. Fun fact: roughly around where the castle stands (around St. Clair Ave.) is where Lake Ontario used to have its shore in prehistory. Around the end of the Ice Age, the water level was much higher. This deeper version of the lake, retroactively named “Glacial Lake Iroquois”, basically meant that all of what is now Toronto’s downtown was well under water. If you go to trails in the St. Clair area, you will find geological relicts of that ancient shoreline.

And how about taking her for dinner at the revolving restaurant on the CN Tower?

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Could be. All I remember was her leaving me in the car, looking after her younger brother and sister, while she dashed in. Where she dashed in might as well have been anything, I couldn’t have paid attention, as those kids were a handful.

Good suggestion. Sir Henry Pellatt decided that Toronto needed a castle, so he built one. Only his reach exceeded his grasp, and he had to give it up, because of its cost and the property taxes. It is a museum now, and if you’ve never seen a real-life castle, then Casa Loma (“The House on the Hill” in English) is perfect. Take the underground passage to the stables, to see how his horses lived, back in the day. I cannot remember the exact street address, but Casa Loma is on Austin Terrace, which is a very short street, so you can’t miss it if you’re on Austin Terrace.

Somewhat similarly, you might enjoy a stroll through the University of Toronto campus. Many of the buildings surrounding King’s College Circle are well over a hundred years old, and they look it. While all are sound, from a structural point of view, their architectural details are what you’re interested in. From the Romanesque details around the main entrance of University College, to the “Educational Gothic” design of Hart House, you will be entranced by an Ivy League school that is not part of the American Ivy League schools.

All buildings are open to the public during regular business hours. Get some coffee in the Arbor Room of Hart House, and enjoy it at a table outside in Hart House Circle. I did my undergrad at University of Toronto, and while I studied in classes there, I like to think that I got an education at Hart House.

And should you wish a Chinese meal to finish your day, walk over to Spadina and College, and walk south on Spadina. That’s Toronto’s downtown Chinatown, and where I’ve had some amazing Chinese meals.

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If you and your lady friend have an interest in wine, one of Ontario’s best wine-growing regions is just a short drive from Toronto, the Niagara Escarpment and Twenty Valley, more or less centered around the village of Vineland. There you can enjoy wine tastings and, depending on the winery and their limited schedules, some really fine lunches and dinners. Vineland Estates, for instance, offers lunches and dinners with both a la carte menus and fixed-price multi-course meals with wine pairings, the wines in several different price tiers. Tables are both indoors and on a large outdoor deck. Featherstone Wineries has their store and restaurant in an old farmhouse and I had a great charcuterie there once sitting out on the old farmhouse porch while the official old winery dog came by to see if we had anything to share (we did). There’s another one (don’t remember which) that has an outdoor patio where they make fantastic pizzas in a wood-fired pizza oven that you can enjoy after the wine tasting, and order whatever wines have struck your fancy.

The great thing about all this for wine lovers is the opportunity to buy limited-production wines that aren’t available anywhere else. If this sort of thing interests you, it would be very helpful to get hold of a booklet called “Wine Country Ontario Travel Guide” published annually by these guys.

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Fun fact: Casa Loma was used in the outdoor scenes of the remake of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” The remake (2016?) sucked, but the outdoor scenes at the beginning, taking place on the grounds at Casa Loma, were perfect.

I cannot find a video that portrays Ivy Levin in front of the porte-cochere at Casa Loma doing “Science Fiction Double Feature,” but I’ve seen it. Best part of the remake. The film basically sucks, but the opening sequence, with Ivy Levin going through the pillars and porte-cochere of Casa Loma, stands out. Best part of the remake.

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Found one! It’s not the best, but it does indicate the architecture of Casa Loma in the first minute or so. Yes, that is Casa Loma in the background of Ivy Levin. The interiors are not; they are likely done on a soundstage:

Never mind, I wish I was back at the Roxy on Danforth Avenue. In the back row. For the late-night, double feature, picture show.

Anyway, the opening scenes are indeed the outside of Casa Loma. It’s quite something, and perhaps something you and your ladyfriend might like to explore.

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I didn’t see this thread before I went to sleep and looks like I missed all the fun!

Oddly enough, I am playing tourist in my own city today and staying at a hotel downtown as I’m on a training course.

As mentioned up thread, Bagsl World is a classic but it is Toronto style rather than Montreal. The original is on Wilson, but the Thornhill location is closer: Bagel World | Locations. St. Urban or Bagel House (both have multiple locations) are a better Montreal bagel.

Kleinberg is a nice little town and I love the McMichael and the Forks of the Credit is not far for a hike. If you want another little town closer to you old Unionville is nice.

The Niagara suggestion is great too and you can walk along the gorge or in Niagara on the Lake.

If you come downtown, the West Toronto Railpath is a nice flat walk and goes right past the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Oh! The Elora Gorge would be great for a hike too: Elora Gorge - Grand River Conservation Authority

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Indeed it is! Doubling as a movie theatre, no less.

Unionville - very close to Toronto, basically just outside it. Part of the city of Markham, it retains a small-town appearance which Markham as a whole once had, but has long since lost. Should you go to Unionville, I would be pleased to recommend two restaurants on Main Street Unionville:

The Old Country Inn if you’re in the mood for schnitzel or other continental European cuisine

The Unionville Arms Pub and Grill - I think this is the place where I had maybe the best French Onion Soup ever, a big bowl with lots of ooey, gooey cheese.