4 Days in Toronto: A First-Timer's Honest Travel Journal
I came to Toronto expecting a cleaner, quieter version of New York. I left understanding why Torontonians get annoyed by that comparison. This city is its own thing entirely.
Day 1 — Thursday: Arrival and Skyline Shock
The UP Express from Pearson Airport to Union Station costs $12.35 CAD and takes 25 minutes. It's the most civilized airport transfer I've experienced in North America — clean train, free Wi-Fi, no stress. Compare this to the JFK AirTrain-to-subway ordeal and weep.
Hotel check-in at 3PM in the Entertainment District ($195 CAD/night — reasonable by Toronto standards, which are not reasonable by any other standard). Walked to the waterfront.
First impression: the CN Tower is bigger than photos suggest. It just keeps going up. The skyline from Harbourfront is impressive in a way I wasn't prepared for — glass towers catching the afternoon sun, the tower anchoring everything.
Dinner attempt: tried to order pizza by the slice at a place near Yonge Street. The guy behind the counter asked if I wanted "round" or "square cut." I said round because I'm an American and that's what pizza is. He shrugged. A Torontonian at the next table leaned over: "Next time, try square cut. That's how we do it here."
I will remember this interaction for the rest of my life. Not because it was dramatic, but because it was so friendly. The stereotype about Canadians is undersold.
Day 2 — Friday: Markets, Malls, and Museums
St. Lawrence Market at 9AM. Carousel Bakery's peameal bacon sandwich ($8 CAD) for breakfast. This is the Toronto breakfast, apparently. Cornmeal-crusted pork loin on a Kaiser bun. It's salty, slightly sweet from the cornmeal, and substantially better than any breakfast sandwich I've had in New York. Fight me.
Spent an hour wandering the 120+ vendor stalls — cheese samples, smoked fish, fresh pasta, and a vendor selling maple syrup in bottles shaped like maple leaves ($15 CAD) that I bought without shame.
Afternoon: Royal Ontario Museum. $23 CAD admission. The Daniel Libeskind crystal addition is like walking into a geometric fever dream that somehow works. Inside: a T. rex skeleton named Gordo, the bat cave (a real walk-through bat environment), and Egyptian mummies. Spent three hours and could have stayed longer.
ROM tip: I went on a Friday thinking I was clever. The museum is open until 8:30PM on Fridays, and after 5:30PM the crowds thin dramatically. The dinosaur gallery at 7PM with golden evening light through the crystal windows is a specific pleasure.
Dinner in Koreatown on Bloor Street. Bibimbap for $12 CAD at a place recommended by the hotel concierge whose name I unfortunately forgot. The stone pot version, where the rice crisps against the hot bowl. Excellent.
Day 3 — Saturday: Neighborhoods and Nightlife
Kensington Market on a Saturday morning is pure chaos. Vintage shops spilling onto sidewalks, produce stands, a record store playing reggae at 10AM, and the smell of freshly baked empanadas from Emporium Latino ($4 CAD each).
I tried Jamaican patties at Randy's ($3 CAD) — flaky pastry with spiced beef filling. Ate it standing on the sidewalk next to a man walking a cat on a leash. Toronto.
Walked to Chinatown for dim sum at Rol San ($18 for more food than any two humans should consume). Then to the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario, $25 CAD). The Henry Moore sculpture gallery — abstract bronzes in a wood-and-glass space designed by Frank Gehry — was the unexpected highlight of the entire trip. I don't particularly care about sculpture, but something about those curved bronze forms in that specific light made me stand there for 15 minutes.
Evening: Distillery District. Victorian industrial buildings converted to galleries and restaurants. Mill Street Brewery for a flight of four beers ($12 CAD). The cobblestone streets and brick buildings lit up at dusk have a genuine atmosphere — not manufactured charm, but the kind of beauty that comes from old buildings repurposed well.
Dinner at Pai Northern Thai on Duncan Street ($15-22 for mains). The pad see ew and khao soi were both excellent and the restaurant was packed with locals, which is always the sign.
Day 4 — Sunday: Islands, Ice Cream, and Departure
Toronto Islands by ferry ($8.70 CAD round trip, 13-minute ride). The view of the skyline from the ferry — the full panorama, CN Tower centered, glass towers catching morning light — is better than anything you see from the top of the CN Tower itself. I'm saying this with conviction.
Spent two hours walking Centre Island. Car-free. Rented a bike ($12/hour). Rode to Hanlan's Point (clothing-optional beach — I kept my clothes on — but the view of the airport with small planes landing against the skyline is surreal).
Back on the mainland by noon. Quick visit to the CN Tower to satisfy obligation — general admission $43 CAD. The glass floor at 342 meters gave me a physical reaction in my knees that I'm not proud of. The views are legitimately stunning on a clear day. But I still maintain the island ferry view is better.
Final meal: Little India on Gerrard Street East. Took the 506 streetcar. Lahore Tikka House for a mixed grill platter ($14 CAD) that would cost triple in Manhattan. Ate until I was uncomfortable. No regrets.
UP Express back to Pearson. Flight home.
Would I Go Back?
Absolutely. And here's what I'd do differently:
Stay in the Annex or Leslieville instead of the Entertainment District. More neighborhood feel, better restaurants, lower hotel prices.
Do Niagara Falls as a day trip. GO Bus from Union Station, $15 CAD each way, 2 hours. I ran out of time.
Visit in summer. I went in late October and it was fine (12-15°C, cloudy), but Toronto in summer — rooftop patios, beaches, Blue Jays games with the dome open — is supposedly a different city.
Spend more time in Kensington Market. One morning wasn't enough.
The Verdict
Toronto is not a cleaner New York. It's not trying to be. It's a city where 200 nationalities built something together and the result is a food scene that rivals any city on the continent, museums that hold their own against European capitals, and a politeness that is not performative but genuinely embedded in how people interact.
It's expensive. Hotels and restaurants carry Canadian prices plus 13% HST plus tip. Budget accordingly.
But the markets are world-class. The neighborhoods are distinct. The lakefront is beautiful. And the peameal bacon sandwich is, I'm now convinced, the most underrated breakfast item in North America.
