48 Hours in Toronto

Did you know Toronto is the 4^th largest city in North America?! I went to Toronto for the first time and only had a weekend to see as much as I could! Read below to find out which neighborhoods are worth exploring if you only have two days, and a couple of suggestions for longer trips.

Trinity Bellwoods Park & Neighborhood

Our Airbnb was located in the Trinity Bellwoods neighborhood, and I highly recommend staying here as well if you don’t mind walking a mile or so to the main attractions or taking the bus. I really liked feeling like we were out of the busy downtown area and enjoyed getting to explore a less touristy part of Toronto.

Most of the restaurants and coffee shops in the neighborhood are located on Ossington Street, with some of them down on Queen Street. You can walk down Queen St towards downtown and do some window shopping. There are also a lot of bars and restaurants up on College Street to check out.

There is a large park, aptly named Trinity Bellwoods Park that was a block from our Airbnb. There were a lot of locals hanging out there, especially on Sunday afternoon and most of them seemed to be picnicking.

I also saw a black squirrel there, which freaked me out, because as far as I know those aren’t a thing in the US? At least not in Indiana or Illinois!

Bellwoods Brewery

This spot is a popular and very cute brewery/ restaurant on Ossington St. The beers we had were delicious and unique. We were there a little too early for dinner but the menu looked interesting, and if the French fries we had for a snack were any indication, the food is wonderful.

Pilot Coffee Roasters

Pilot is a popular spot with delicious coffee. It seems like a nice place to hang out and get some work done, or just snack on their pastries enjoy your coffee.

I Deal Coffee

We stopped here for a quick cappuccino and pastry one morning. They have a nice outdoor seating area and it looked like they turn into a wine bar at night.

The Danforth

I’ve always wanted to do a food tour in a new city, and I finally got to do one in Toronto!  We booked the tour through Airbnb Experiences but you can book directly through the company’s website also!

We grabbed coffee before the tour then stopped at the 5 restaurants listed below!

Red Rocket Coffee

We took the subway from Trinity Bellwoods area to the Danforth stop for a food tour of Toronto’s East Danforth neighborhood. We got there pretty early so we found Red Rocket Coffee and stopped in for some iced lattes. The furniture inside is very cozy and they have nice patio seating as well.

Dutch

The first stop on the tour was a Dutch/ Indonesian bar called Borrel. We were served a traditional Dutch bar snack called bitterballen, which are little fried balls of beef stew and spices and served with mustard. We also had a Dutch style beer that the bar had brewed in conjunction with a local brewery, Kensington Market Brewery, that we visited later in our trip from the recommendation of Borrel’s owner.

Ethiopian

The second stop on the tour was an Ethiopian restaurant, Wazema. The East Danforth neighborhood has a heavy Ethiopian influence and there are several restaurants in the area to chose from for authentic Ethiopian food.

We had a veggie sampler platter, with many different veggie stews served on traditional Ethiopian injera, which is like a spongy flatbread. Additional injera is served on the side and you use it to scoop the veggies up with your hands. Everything on the plate was very good!

Venezuelan

For the third leg of the tour we stopped in at Pomarosa, a café owned by a south American couple. They make delicious Venezuelan style arepas! We got mini sized versions for the tour, but the full sized version would make for a wonderful lunch!

Indian Fusion

For the fourth stop, we had little samosas from East of York. I had a butter chicken and a jerk chicken filled samosa, which were both delicious!

Brazilian Dessert

Our final stop was at Mary’s Brigadeiro for dessert. They make Brazilian chocolate truffle-like balls called Brigadeiros and have a large selection of flavors available.

Kensington Market

Kensington Market is a quirky little neighborhood that has many unique ethnic restaurants, little shops, and bars. It’s pretty centrally located, just west of downtown.

Kensington Brewing Company

We heard about the Kensington Brewery from the owner of the Dutch restaurant we went to on the food tour. I’m such a sucker for a beer flight!

Super Market Bar

After the brewery we got hungry and decided to check out the Super Market bar across the street. We had a super weird mix of food….

There were a decent amount of people there eating but then there was a concert in the back of the bar also. I couldn’t quite figure the place out. But if you want a Canadian twist on typical bar food, this is a great place.

Distillery District

This is a cute and fun area of Toronto, but I wouldn’t call it a must see, as it’s a pretty small and secluded area. Although if you’ve seen the other downtown neighborhoods and need a dinner idea, there are several good restaurants in the area!

We chose to eat at Pure Spirits Oyster House & Grill and the food was really good! Unfortunately I was a little (a lot) buzzed and the restaurant was dark so I didn’t get a good picture!

After dinner we went to Mill St Brew Pub which is a big brewery in Toronto. They have typical bar food, if you’re in the mood for that.

Harbourfront

I live in Chicago, so being in another big Great Lake city felt just like home, and we obviously wanted to check out the lake area. There is a nice walking/biking path close to the lake, and Harbour Square Park is a relaxing area to sit and watch the ferries and water taxis go by.

There are a lot of islands close to the city that you can take a ferry to, but the line for the ferry was insane when we went. I’m not sure if it’s always that busy on weekends, but if it’s something you’re interested in I would recommend checking it out during the week.

After walking around the park we were hot and thirsty which meant it was beer o’clock. We stopped in at Amsterdam Brewhouse, which was right on the water. It was fine for a beer, but seemed touristy and overpriced and I would not recommend eating there. The interior was beautiful though!

Entertainment District

The Entertainment District is where the Hockey Hall of Fame, CN Tower, professional sports stadiums and other attractions are located.

We walked around this area but decided not to go up in the CN Tower. Tickets were $38 CAD (August 2019)  and because I’ve already done the Space Needle and St Louis Arch, I didn’t feel like it was worth it. If we were there for a few more days, we might have considered it.

Other Areas and Attractions

Royal Ontario Museum

Our last morning in Toronto we decided to check out ROM, the Royal Ontario Museum. The museum is similar to the Field Museum in Chicago or the Natural History Museum in New York or any kind of other history museum you’ve been too. The entrance fee was $23 CAD (August 2019) and there were some special exhibits that cost extra.

I think my favorite part about it was the building itself, not what was in it! The museum is right next to the University of Toronto, which is also a nice area to walk around and enjoy the architecture.

Indian Food Festival

While walking down Queen Street our first night in Toronto, we saw a banner in Nathan Phillips Square for an Indian Food Festival on Sunday.

Please excuse the next photo… you try taking a nice picture of butter chicken in a styrofoam container with one hand! It was very delicious though.

Porter Airlines

We really started this trip off of a good note with our flight from Chicago to Toronto on Porter Airlines. They only fly from a few US cities, but if yours is one of them, I highly recommend the airline. There is free beer and wine, and a selection of snacks on board, and each plane is small so there are no middle seats!

You fly into Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, right on lake Ontario in Downtown Toronto. All other airlines fly into Toronto’s main airport that’s about 15 miles out from the city center.

Getting Around Toronto

Like most city trips, you don’t need to rent a car when you come to visit. Many of the attractions are walkable, and there are many busses and street cars and a few subway lines. All of the Ubers we took in the city were relatively cheap, so that’s an option as well.

Have you been to Toronto, did I miss anything great? What neighborhoods should I explore next time? Let me know in the comments!

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