If you read my post about long distance relationships, you know that Zach and I celebrated our five-year anniversary in December. We started dating my sophomore year of college and it feels like the years have literally flown by – I blinked and somehow we went from our first date at a small café in Denton, Texas to living together in Morgantown, WV and celebrating five years.
Five years feels pretty monumental, which made it the perfect excuse (not that I really need one) to plan a trip!
Ever since we moved up to this part of the country (where everything is so much closer together) I’ve had Canada on my bucket list. It’s only a five-hour drive from here to Niagara Falls and only seven hours to Toronto.
In Texas, you drive seven hours and you’re still in the middle of the state. So being this close meant we just had to go.
Luckily Zach was on board with my plan, so Toronto became our anniversary destination.
(We actually started our trip with a night in Nagara Falls – more on that later!)
I’ve been going back through all my pictures from our days in Toronto so I’m excited to share where we stayed, what we did, and what we ate.
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Where We Stayed
We splurged on our hotel in Niagara Falls so we wanted to find a place in Toronto that was a little more moderately priced, especially since we were staying multiple nights.
When traveling on a budget, I usually turn to Airbnb for accommodations – typically, I can find a few good listings for a private “whole apartment to yourself” space that’s closer to the heart of the city that’s less expensive than a hotel, and Toronto did not disappoint.
We found a place right by Nathan Phillips Square with parking and a fabulous view of the city for less than $80/night. I couldn’t believe it. It was perfection.
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What We Did
Nathan Phillips Square
Since we were there just before Christmas, there were tons of booths set up for different vendors and a nice big Christmas tree at Nathan Phillips Square. Year round, this is where you’ll find the iconic “Toronto” sign that you can ice skate in front of.
Queen Street
Queen Street is basically a super long street that runs through Toronto and has tons of shops, restaurants, bakeries, etc. for miles. It would take me a year to write about every single place along Queen Street, so I’ve listed out my favorite pit stops instead.
Curiosa: Every Potterhead’s dream. This oddities shop carries tons of Harry Potter goodies as well as other “extraordinary things” like eclectic curios, vintage reproductions, and quirky novelties. Even if you’re not super into Harry Potter it’s still a fun place to browse.
Bar Poet: A delicious pizza + cocktails place. More details below
Cocktail Emporium: A shop full of cocktail themed gifts, accessories, and goods. The iconic location (the big pink house) that everyone likes to take pictures in front of is in Kensington Market, but they also have this location on Queen Street that’s just as full of exciting things.
Roselle West: The cutest bakery. More details below
Drake General Store: Apparently this is actually a hotel gift shop but from the street it just looked like a neat little gift shop. It’s full of unique, locally inspired finds like socks, books, cookbooks, etc. Basically a more hipster version of Urban Outfitters (without all the clothes)…in a good way.
St. Lawrence Market
If you love food, the St. Lawrence Market should be at the top of your list. This place is full of different foods and goods stalls selling everything from cakes to steaks to kitchen tools. We sampled some ice wine (which I definitely recommend if, like me, you want your wine to taste like grape juice), bought some macarons, ate some cheese, and explored both floors of this expansive market.
There were a number of stalls that served meals too, so be sure to go with an empty stomach!
Bata Shoe Museum
Any city with a whole museum dedicated entirely to shoes is my kind of city. Thank you, Toronto. The Bata Shoe Museum opened in 1995 and now has a collection of over 13,000 objects. Their collection is so extensive that famous fashion designers like Christian Louboutin have visited their archives for inspiration.
If you don’t have a ton of time to spend at a museum, this is a great choice because it only takes about 2 hours to get through the whole thing and you can still feel like you really got to see everything.
They have circulating exhibits and a ton of different events throughout the year so be sure to check their calendar and see what they have on during your visit.
Distillery District / Christmas Market
The Distillery District is a pedestrian-only area known for the 19th century buildings that are now full of restaurants, bars, galleries, performances, and boutiques. This is where you’ll find the heart statue everyone posts pictures with!
And every year around the holidays, they have the Toronto Christmas Market – another thing we just couldn’t pass up. If you plan to go on the weekends, be sure to buy your tickets in advance. We decided to go just as around sunset so we could see it all lit up and it was so festive and fun. There were tons of delicious food stalls and some great little shops to poke through when we got too cold to be outside.
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What We Ate
FIKA Cafe
For a light breakfast, white lavender hot chocolate, and a picture-perfect book wall, FIKA Café is the place to be. It’s located on Kensington Avenue and although it’s fairly small inside, it was a great spot to start our morning off.
The Lockheart
If you’re a Harry Potter dork like me, you’ve probably heard of the wizarding world themed bar, The Lockheart. It’s a fairly small and cramped space but definitely worth a trip if you’re a Potterhead. They also serve (a very tasty) brunch on Saturday and Sunday from 10:20-2:30 if you’re less into night life and more into food. Like me.
Queen St. Warehouse
Google describes this eatery as a “mellow local eatery” but I have to disagree. As soon as you step into Queen St. Warehouse you’re met with the vision of a bar/pub and the sound of a club – it’s very high energy with loud music and lights but had some seriously delicious food.
And it was a very reasonably priced menu! Everything on the menu was $5.95 so you can get a three-course meal for less than $20…a total steal. Great spot for a night when you want some tasty comfort food in a fun atmosphere.
Bar Poet
If you like pizza, a creative drinks menu, and cool vibes, you have to eat at Bar Poet. We stumbled upon this place while exploring Queen Street and were excited to see an inventive menu. We went with the “Aged & Confused” pizza – gorgonzola, mozzarella, parmesan, fresh figs, toasted walnuts, balsamic reduction – and were not disappointed. I’m drooling now just thinking about it…
Lady Marmalade
This one isn’t quite in the heart of the city and we decided to save Lady Marmalade for our last day before driving home since we knew it would be easier to drive there. It’s a quaint little two-story space, very Swedish in aesthetic, and had the best eggs benedict I’ve ever tasted. They also serve London Fogs – my kryptonite – so as soon as I peeped their online menu, I was sold.
Roselle West
I’m a sucker for a good bakery, and Roselle West absolutely stole my heart. They have a lovely assortment of pastries and treats, homemade caramels (which I absolutely recommend), and earl grey ice cream. Need I say more? The little bakery shop itself is adorable and our desserts were perfection.
They also have a Roselle East location if you’re near the Distillery District and are in need of a sweet treat.
Cacao 70
Although if you are near the Distillery District and want something sweet, I’m not sure you can pass up Cacao 70. This dessert restaurant was the ultimate sweet tooth stop – they have a full desserts and sweets menu (including s’mores for one which I devoured) as well as a “salty” menu if you need something to balance out all the sweets. Seriously, if you love dessert, you cannot miss this place.
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A Note on Public Transportation
Parking in the city is tough. It’s very urban, busy streets, not a ton of parking options. Knowing this ahead of time, I planned to park our car at our Airbnb and not move it until we left on Monday, and I’m glad this was our plan.
I tried to find helpful info about Toronto’s public transportation options online ahead of time but didn’t find a lot of clarity. Their website looks a little outdated and I struggled a bit to find good details or instructions, so hopefully I can help you feel a tad more prepared.
The public transportation system is called the TCC and consists of busses/streetcars and underground trains. We wanted to be able to hop on and off as much as we wanted, so we got a PRESTO day pass – inexpensive and perfect on cold winter days when walking everywhere is not so appealing. You can get a single ride, double ride, or daily PRESTO card at kiosks in any TCC subway station and then you just scan it when you get on a bus – easy peasy.
There are different apps you can get to map your travel using public transportation, but I just like to use Google Maps. Using Google Maps made it super easy to find our closest streetcar stop and know exactly where to get off, even as first-time users.
I also think experiencing a city on foot and on local public transportation is the best way to really soak it all in so I highly encourage you to give it a try!
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