Tell me about Toronto

My company is sending me to Toronto for a week to take a class. I know nothing about Toronto close to nothing about Canada. (Well, I know a little baout Canada…But, for the purposes of this post, consider me Canada-challenged)

Tell me all about it…

Good places to eat, would be really helpfull info. (I’m partial to italian food. Also, becuase I live in Louisville, the pizza sucks ass. Is the pizza any good up there? I’m originally from NY so I grew up with pizza and miss it dearly… <weep> )

Good places in Toronto to hang out?

Any information provided will be greatly appreciated…
Thanks…

Ok, step one, where in Toronto? Honest it’s big. A place down on Younge or Bay street may be no good if you’re actually getting planted out in Mississauga for a week.

It’s still cold (sub 32F), March tends to pack in some final snow storms and the 401 is a nightmare at rush hour (so I’ve been told).

I’ll be staying at the Inter-Continental hotal - 225 Front Street West…

The class is in Mississauga, though…

Is it possible to take a metro from the Hotel to the class?

Wow…that’s really poor planning on the part of your company. You could take the subway and bus out to Mississauga but because you’re leaving Toronto, you’re going to have to pay another bus fare when entering Mississauga. Probably close to $10 round trip which doesn’t even factor in how incovenient it’s likely to be.

If you could tell us where the class is, I could give you some better advice. The way it sounds right now, I would recommend renting a car and driving out there.

That’s quite a ways. You’ll have to take a GO bus or train from Union Station (which is right near your hotel).

One more thing, you can also take the GO Train or Bus to the class. That would be the best option assuming the location of the class lies near one of the lines.

225 Front Street West? Well you’re beautifully position in the downtown core. You’re completely screwed if the classes are in Mississauga though. Ok not so much screwed as being able to experience Toronto transit/driving in late winter. Some consider it the same thing of course.

This is where the class is…

5150 Spectrum Way
Mississauga, Ontario L4W 5G1
And…I was the one who picked the hotel…out of the choices I had, it looked like the best one, with the best location. I had no idea how far away the class was. I will be renting a car… But, I would like to experience the subway once, so if I can easily take the tain, I’ll try it…

So, the hotel is in a good spot? Cool!!!
Thanks, guys (and ladies…) I appreciate the help…

Ah that’s right near the airport, on the Toronto side of Square One. Shrug. The location downtown likely makes the commute worth it. RickJay or some other T.O. doper might be able to give you better information about driving times.

Wow, you’ll be a commuter. Luckily you’ll be going against the traffic, but still count on 20-30 minutes to get to the course. You’ll have to take the car as it would probably take WAY longer to take transit. You’re way off the major transit routes. You would have been better off getting a hotel at the airport since the course is right across the highway from Pearson Int’l.

That said, your hotel is very close to everything in downtown T.O. The subway is a 4 minute walk, and the club/theatre district is about a 10 minute walk. You are also close to many restaurants, especially ethnic ones. Chinese, Indian, Thai, Japanese, Italian, Cajun, Greek and fine dining are all within walking distance or even a short drive.

Links
Now Magazine - Excellent for what’s going on in the city, also has minimal restaurant reviews…
Toronto Life Magazine - also has restaurant reviews and info about the city.
Underground Malls - If you are feeling like a challenge, you can walk to the Eaton Centre Mall underground by crossing the street to building on the other side of Front St.Map (your hotel is labled Crown Plaza Toronto Centre)

5150 Spectrum Way? You’re taking a class in the office park south of the airport? And you’re staying downtown? Oh dear.

Your class is about twenty to thirty minutes’ drive from downtown, assuming no traffic problems. Go west on the Gardiner Expressway, north on the 427, exit at Eglinton Avenue. Be sure to get into the collector lanes on the 427; if you remain in the central express lanes, you won’t be able to exit at Eglinton.

Turn left onto Eglinton from the exit, and head west. You will pass under some bridges. Continue west past Renforth Drive. You will enter Mississauga. Spectrum Way is the second or third cross street past Renforth. The Hewlett-Packard/Agilent building is a landmark in the forest off to your right.

If you go down a hill and cross a bridge over a creek, you’ve gone too far. If you pass a vast postal sorting plant on your left, you’ve definitely gone too far. And you’d be in the neighbourhood where I used to work. :slight_smile:

You can get there on public transit, but it is not fast. You would have to take the TTC subway to Islington station, then pay another fare and take one of the Mississauga buses that go along Eglinton or Matheson Blvd through that office park. No GO buses or trains go anywhere near the location.

The TTC costs $2.50 for a single fare; if you are going to be using it four or more times in one day, it’s cheaper to get a day pass. The day pass is not valid until after the morning rush though. Mississauga buses cost $2.25 for a single fare.

The #27 bus from Islington goes along Matheson and crosses Spectrum Way; the #17 bus from Islington goes along Eglinton Avenue and crosses Spectrum Way. Mississauga Transit has a PDF map of the area.

As for restaurants in the area of the course, there’s not a lot. There are some lunchtime restarants, a McDonalds, and so on, but the area pretty much empties out at night, so it’s limited. If you are lucky enough to be in the HP building, I understand it has a decent cafeteria… but for evening meals, go downtown.

NOW Magazine is a good guide to nightlife: http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/current/

Toronto has a lot of really terrific things to see and do. Some of my favs are the Toronto Dance Theatre, the National Ballet of Canada, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, recitals through the University of Toronto Faculty of Music (hit and miss though), any number of theatres ranging from cutting edge (again hit and miss) to big shows, the Art Gallery of Ontario and private galleries in the Annex, lectures through the University of Toronto (including Massey lectures and Hart House lectures) and lectures/programs through the Royal Ontario Museum.

Although not a winter thing, walking about the artsie Queen Street West area and the upscale Yorkville/Bloor area is very nice. If you are a foodie, you will enjoy poking about the Kensington and St. Lawrence markets.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Toronto rocks.

And I would be truly remiss if I did not point out the smoked meat of Moe Pancer’s deli. That alone is worth the trip to Toronto.

And another thing, TMK

When you arrive in Toronto, you will find that cabs from the airport are absurdly expensive, about $20 to get off the airport property. You’d pay around $50 to get downtown.

If you are going to your hotel right after arrival, a better choice might be to take the privately-run Airport Express bus, which costs about $15 and will take you straight downtown. This is a good balance between price and convenience if you are expensing things. There are ticket booths at each airport terminal.

The cheapest way to get downtown is to take the TTC: the #192 bus from in front of the terminal to Kipling subway, then the subway to Union Station. Walking distance to your hotel.

If you are going straight to your course location from the airport, take a cab. There is the Mississauga Transit bus #7 that passes the airport and later goes along Spectrum Way, but it only goes to Terminal One, I think.

Of course, if you are picking up your rental car at the airport, things are different. I’ve never actually done that (since I live here), but I think that arrangements are easier in Terminal One (where all the rental car stuff is on the botton level of the car park) than in the other two terminals.

Toronto is a place? Huh. You learn something every day. I thought Toronto was just the Lone Ranger’s sidekick.