Welcome to the 6ix!
While planning this trip I had realized that I had not seen enough of what Canada has to offer, so I was excited to see what Toronto was all about, cross off some items on my bucket list, as well as to reunite with some old friends!
Hi Jo & Yukari !!
My first recommendation is to get the Toronto CityPass, you can purchase & print it from online.
It was $72 and so worth it, it gives you access to 5 places across the city. I’ve included the entrance prices for the different locations below for a reference as well.
I had a very early wake up call to make it to the airport. I was just crossing my fingers hoping that I would be able to make it onto my flight, it was my first time flying stand-by (thanks Long Ha!) & wasn’t sure to expect. But I made it on my flight! The start to this trip was already going awesome, and I was going to keep that momentum going for the rest of the trip.
When I arrived I met up with Jo, had a quick bite of Sushi in Annex, then went off exploring Queen Street West. If you are a sports fan, you should definitely check out Real Sports Bar & Grill, it’s right beside the Air Canada Centre and has the biggest screen I’ve ever seen. It’s amazing. Later that night we had drinks at The Beaconsfield. It’s a tiny bar, but it had good vibes & good music, so I would recommend going there, though there’s not much of a dance floor so if you’re looking to get your groove on that then maybe skip it and go somewhere else.
Holy Pucks!
Day 2: Hockey Hall of Fame: If you are a hockey fan, this will be your heaven on earth. Entrance fee is $18 and definitely worth it. You even get in & out privileges which is pretty cool. Now I like going to watch hockey, but I still don’t know that much about the game. There is so much history in the hall, I would say to set aside at least 1.5-2 hours here, not only are there vintage items to view and facts to read, but there is also more activity stations than I thought, like practicing your slap shot / goalie skills with an interactive screen.
Ripley’s Aquarium: Entrance Fee is $29.98 I would say you would need to spend at least 1.5 hours here, definitely can stay longer than that depending on how much time you spend looking and learning about all the sea creatures. I enjoyed it quite a bit & would definitely recommend it.
CN Tower: Entrance Fee is $35 (if you purchase online you pay $33) A must-see while you are in Toronto, it gives you a great view of the city for some great photo ops. I was going to do the EdgeWalk but chickened out last minute when I realized how high the CN Tower actually was. There’s always a next time!
I was able to go to my first MLB Game, which is one of the top things that I was looking forward to crossing off my list – next up, NFL!
Blue Jays VS. Red Sox
Day 3: Stay tuned for my Niagara blogpost 🙂
Day 4: Luckily for me I was able to attend a second Jays game on the Sunday, unfortunately we lost but it was nice to be able to go to an afternoon game & an evening one.
I also got the chance to check out Steam Whistle Brewery, The Distillery District & Nathan Phillips Square. We went to a bar called El Furniture Warehouse. It’s a pretty small dive bar, but the music was amazing (think 90’s R&B throwbacks) & the perfect ending to my last night in TO.
Day 5: My last day here was spent exploring at Casa Loma ($22.12) & The Royal Ontario Museum ($17) with my good friend Yukari. Both are amazing to check out, but if you had limited time I would definitely say check out the ROM, you can easily spend a whole day there with all of the exhibits they offer.
It was definitely a short, sweet, and jam packed 5 days, but I had the absolute best time with some of my favourite people. Crazy to think that Jo & I met in Portugal nearly 8 months ago, and have remained in touch ever since. Meeting people while travelling and building those connections is something that I will forever cherish. Who knows where we will end up meeting next?!
Until next time …. ❤
With Love,
Murs xx
little murs x big world 