Toronto General Tips by MissAntarctica2002

Favorite Thing: A couple of years ago, my sister discovered a way to experience the CN Tower for less money. As many VTourists have comiserated on this site, there is a fee ($12 I think) to ride the elevator up the CN Tower. People who eat at the 360 Restaurant (it revolves and shows an incredible view), get to ride the elevator for free. Dinner there is really expensive, but lunch is much more reasonable. So, plan on going there for lunch, and you can see the observation decks etc. for free. You'll probably spend as much as you would have on the elevator ride, but you get lunch out of it too.


Leave a Comment

Favorite Thing: If you need to find a phone number and/or address for a person or business in Canada, go to www.canada411.com and you can search for it. It's so much easier than using a phone book.


Leave a Comment

Favorite Thing: The best place to find out what's going on during your visit to Toronto, pick up a copy of NOW Magazine. NOW has the most extensive list of concerts, events, art exhibits, and film listings in the city. NOW is a weekly publication which comes out on Thursdays. You can also get the online edition at www.nowtoronto.com.

Best of all, it's free! You can pick it up from green NOW boxes that are all over the city.

P.S. I met my husband through the personal ads in NOW.


Leave a Comment

Favorite Thing: Toronto has several daily newspapers with different editorial orientations. Here's a bit about them to help you know which would suit you.

Toronto Star
Very balanced, targeted at wide audience. Contains a lot of human interest content and events listings. Probably the best choice for a traveller. Can be viewed online at thestar.com

The Globe and Mail
National paper targeted at business people. Slightly right of centre on political spectrum. High-brow Arts and Entertainment section. Online at globeandmail.com

National Post
National paper also with a business focus. Right-wing political spin for the most part.

Toronto Sun
I hate to be a snob, but I find this a pretty low-brow paper prone to knee-jerk types of reactions. Very pro-police. Read for Sports section and SunShine girl on pg 2.


Leave a Comment

Favorite Thing: ...you never know what you're gonna get. Couldn't resist ripping off Forrest Gump for this tip.

Kidding aside, one of the cool things about Toronto is that at any given time there's likely something interesting or off the wall happening. Often, things are going on right where you happen to be. If, like me, you're always open to new experiences, it can be pretty cool.

Here are some of the off-the-wall things I have seen in Toronto purely by chance:

-a competiton of 10 Filipino marching bands
-rear entrance of Bay Queen St. store made up to look like Madison Square Garden for a movie shoot
-a car completely covered in plastic bugs
-Roman centurions marching through the PATH underground
-the Surreal Gourmet's ToasterMobile

And, of course there is the usual assortment of movie shoots and celebrity sightings that anyone who's spent much time in Toronto can attest to.

Go with the flow and have fun!


Leave a Comment

Favorite Thing: The Entertainment Book for the greater Toronto area has great deals for a lot of the restaurants and attractions you'll likely be visiting on a trip to Toronto. Most of them are buy one, get one free so you'll get the best value out of buying one of these coupon books if there are two of you. In addition to lots of great deals in Toronto and its suburbs, the Toronto book also includes a bunch of coupons for touristy things in Niagara Falls and Ottawa.

Here's small selection of the places that have coupons in the Entertainment Book:

Hockey Hall of Fame
Royal Ontario Musem
Ontario Science Centre
Metro Toronto Zoo
Art Gallery of Ontario
Black Creek Pioneer Village
Historic Fort York
National Ballet of Canada

The Entertainment Book can be purchased at entertainment.com


Leave a Comment