City guide · Canada
Toronto
Two hundred cultures cooking under one needle-tipped tower
May–June & September–October
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North America
The guides
The best of Toronto, by category
More than half of Toronto's residents were born outside Canada, and the city eats accordingly—world-class Thai, Tamil, Tibetan, and Trinidadian within a few subway stops of each other. Beneath the CN Tower, Victorian distilleries, hockey shrines, and a 200-year-old market round out Canada's largest city.
The shortlist
If you only have time for the best
The single highest-rated picks across every category in Toronto.
Hotels
See all 6- 1
Fairmont Royal York
Financial District
4.5★10,000+ reviews
- 2
The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto
Entertainment District
4.7★3,000+ reviews
- 3
Four Seasons Hotel Toronto
Yorkville
4.7★2,000+ reviews
Restaurants
See all 6- 1
Alo
Queen West
4.8★1,500+ reviews - 2
Canoe
Financial District
4.6★2,000+ reviews - 3
Richmond Station
Downtown
4.6★3,000+ reviews
Bars
See all 6- 1
BarChef
Queen West
4.5★1,500+ reviews - 2
Bar Raval
Little Italy
4.6★2,000+ reviews - 3
The Rex Hotel Jazz & Blues Bar
Queen West
4.6★2,000+ reviews
Attractions
See all 6- 1
CN Tower
Entertainment District
4.6★50,000+ reviews - 2
Royal Ontario Museum
Bloor-Yorkville
4.7★25,000+ reviews
- 3
Art Gallery of Ontario
Grange Park
4.7★10,000+ reviews
Where to base yourself
Toronto neighborhoods, decoded
Pick your area first — it shapes everything else about the trip.
Kensington Market
Bohemian global street-food mazeA few pedestrian-scaled blocks of vintage shops, Latin grocers, cheesemongers, and patios that have resisted chains for decades. Pedestrian Sundays close the streets to cars in the warmer months.
West Queen West
Art-school cool, gallery stripVogue once ranked it among the world's coolest neighborhoods—indie galleries, the Drake and Gladstone hotels, and Trinity Bellwoods picnic culture. Boutiques run from local designers to sneaker grails.
Yorkville
Polished designer celebrity territoryToronto's most expensive postcode pairs the Mink Mile's flagship luxury retail with gallery lanes and most of the city's five-star hotels. Improbably, it was the 1960s folk quarter where Joni Mitchell played coffeehouses.
Leslieville
Brunchy indie east-end charmThe east side's answer to Queen West, lined with brunch spots, coffee roasters, and family-run boutiques along Queen Street East. Nearby film studios keep the patios full of crew on weekdays.
Beyond the city
Day trips worth the ride
Niagara Falls
90 min by car or 2 hr by GO trainThe Horseshoe Falls' 57-metre curtain of water, best felt from the boat deck or the tunnels behind the falls.
Niagara-on-the-Lake
2 hr by carA preserved 19th-century town amid Ontario wine country—icewine tastings, the Shaw Festival theatre, and lakefront inns.
Stratford
2 hr by car or trainHome of the Stratford Festival, North America's largest classical repertory theatre, running April through October beside a swan-filled river.
Eat like a local
What to order in Toronto
Peameal Bacon Sandwich
Cornmeal-crusted back bacon stacked on a soft kaiser roll—Toronto's signature sandwich since its Hogtown meatpacking days.
Try it at: Carousel Bakery, St. Lawrence Market
Butter Tart
A gooey Ontario pastry of butter, sugar, and egg in flaky crust—raisins or no raisins is a matter of civic debate.
Try it at: Wanda's Pie in the Sky, Kensington Market
Jamaican Beef Patty
Flaky turmeric-gold pastry filled with spiced beef, a beloved staple from the city's large Caribbean communities.
Try it at: Patty King, Kensington Market
Poutine
Quebec's fries-curds-gravy classic, supersized with toppings by a chain founded in Toronto in 2008.
Try it at: Smoke's Poutinerie, Entertainment District
Good to know
Toronto essentials, answered
Three days covers the CN Tower, the markets and museums, and a couple of neighborhoods; add a fourth for the Toronto Islands ferry or a Niagara Falls day trip. Food lovers could fill a week without repeating a cuisine.
Keep exploring
