Travel, travel

[Harleyquiiinn]

Hello dear International BBS,

This post concerns people living on the other side of the Atlantic, namely people from the USA (I'd say Americans but Gustavo doesn't like that and he is a pretty nice guy so I can do this for him), and Canada.

We're doing a little trip this september/october that will take us from Toronto to New York, via Montreal.

We will stay a week in Toronto, a week in NY and 3-4 days in Montreal.

And I know, living in one of the most touristic cities in the world, that tourists usually do it wrong.

So please, if some of you guys know these cities, feel free to give your adresses (bars, restaurants...), your cool stuff to do, and what would YOU do if you were a tourist in your own city.

I will do the same if people plan to visit Paris.

Actually, let's extend this thread to everybody who wants to talk about the cool things to do where he/she lives. We could call this the BBS Tourist guide.

[Llamas]

You're going to that region and NOT going to Minnesota to see Mickey's Diner and all the other places the Mighty Ducks went?! :O I am judging you HARD.

[jacknife737]

Toronto:

Places to visit/things to do:

Go grab a latte/pint in the old Distillery District - historical (Victorian era) entertainment district - full of cafe's and art gallerys - and is right downtown.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distillery_District

The Ontario Science Centre - a lot of fun and very interactive!
http://www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/

Places to drink - Horse Shoe Tavern ( "rock and roll" flavored pub - fantastic venue for live music too-
370 Queen St West (right by Queen and Spedina) - this is right in the city's entertainment district: tons of restaurants, pubs, clubs and theaters in this area.

Take the Island Ferry and go have a picnic on the Toronto Islands
http://www.toronto.ca/parks/island/

Hockey Hall of Fame (if you even have a passing interest in the sport, it's worth seeing).
http://www.hhof.com/

Royal Ontario Museum - (if you like museum's and historical things, check this out).
http://www.rom.on.ca/en

[Harleyquiiinn]

You're going to that region and NOT going to Minnesota to see Mickey's Diner and all the other places the Mighty Ducks went?! :O I am judging you HARD.

More seriously, I would but we are on a limited budget and I'm not the only one involved...

Toronto:

Places to visit/things to do:

Go grab a latte/pint in the old Distillery District - historical (Victorian era) entertainment district - full of cafe's and art gallerys - and is right downtown.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distillery_District

The Ontario Science Centre - a lot of fun and very interactive!
http://www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/

Places to drink - Horse Shoe Tavern ( "rock and roll" flavored pub - fantastic venue for live music too-
370 Queen St West (right by Queen and Spedina) - this is right in the city's entertainment district: tons of restaurants, pubs, clubs and theaters in this area.

Take the Island Ferry and go have a picnic on the Toronto Islands
http://www.toronto.ca/parks/island/

Hockey Hall of Fame (if you even have a passing interest in the sport, it's worth seeing).
http://www.hhof.com/

Royal Ontario Museum - (if you like museum's and historical things, check this out).
http://www.rom.on.ca/en

Thanks Jacknife. This seems perferct for me as I like beer, science, picnics and hockey.

By the way, eventhough I truly like to watch hockey games, I actually know nothing about the game and I was wondering if it would be possible to catch a game in september or is it not the season at all ?

[RageAndLov]

Hello dear International BBS,

This post concerns people living on the other side of the Atlantic, namely people from the USA (I'd say Americans but Gustavo doesn't like that and he is a pretty nice guy so I can do this for him), and Canada.

USAmerican is a term I find suitable for people of US origin.

[Llamas]

More seriously, I would but we are on a limited budget and I'm not the only one involved...

Well, damn. These other people who are involved are clearly idiots and losers if they don't wanna go to Mighty Ducks land, and I dunno why you're even traveling with them

USAmerican is a term I find suitable for people of US origin.

Yes, yes, we are aware that you have an issue with the English language and wish to change a word, but "American" is the demonym linguists have agreed upon, so good luck changing that :P

[RageAndLov]

Yes, yes, we are aware that you have an issue with the English language and wish to change a word, but "American" is the demonym linguists have agreed upon, so good luck changing that :P

I know it is a universally accepted demonym for the people of the US, but I still can't accept that! You have no idea how hard it is for my OCD to deal with such misnomers!

[T-6005]

Beer and picnics?

Let me throw a few other possibilities for Toronto out for you, then. I'll try and stay away from obvious touristy things like the CN Tower or the Steam Whistle Brewery tour and suggest things that are more in line with some of the more interesting things happening at a local level.

I would personally recommend the AGO over the ROM - as far as museums go, I found the ROM pretty disappointing, but I do like the Art Gallery of Ontario and it's right downtown.

You will have to try one of the decent beer-focused bars downtown. They have amazing selections with all sorts of Canadian craft breweries and rotating taps. Toronto is a grid or north-south and east-west streets intersecting, so things are incredibly easy to find on the map.

Good beer bars include -
Bar Volo - Yonge St and Wellesley St - Small place, gets packed early but has 26 beers on rotating taps as well as cask and bottled beers.
Stout - Carlton St and Parliament St - My personal favorite. Much bigger and better lit than Bar Volo, and with a massive selection of bottled stuff. Fewer taps but they always have a two-week rotation of cask beers from the Great Lakes Brewery, and more often than not it's delicious.
C'est What - Front Street and Church Street - Another one with a pretty big beer selection, though it's a little bit pricier.
Victory Cafe - Bathurst Street and Bloor Street West - Kind of a hipster hangout, fills up incredibly early and the food is pretty crap. Still a good place to go during the summer or fall when it's warm and the patio is open and the selection is pretty good. Also cheaper than the other places on the list.

For picnics you might want to visit High Park, which is Toronto's largest park. It can be quite nice in the summer and fall, but it's a little farther west from downtown.

Happening areas of the city change fairly consistently, but currently the Ossington street strip from about Queen street up to College is pretty happening. Lots of bars, lots of shows and a very active nightlife - used to be a lot of art galleries in the area but because of rising rent they are moving out to the Dundas West area. Which brings me to the next thing...

Dundas West area and Roncesvalles have a lot of little art galleries and craft stores and Roncesvalles is an enjoyable area to walk down. There are a few jazz bars along it like Gate 403 as well as tons of little coffee shops, and it's a little less 'North America' than other parts of the city.

Probably the last area you might want to check out is Queen Street East, the area between Broadview Avenue and Gerrard Street. There are lots of little restaurants there that are apparently just killer.

You can use BlogTO or even The Grid to see what upcoming events you might be interested in a few weeks before your trip.

And of course - If you're interested in a Toronto meetup, let me know!

[Harleyquiiinn]

Thanks T ! This is very complete !

I'd be very happy to meet you in one of these bars. This way, you can give us advice about the best canadian beers.


Llamas> Yeah, actually, he's pretty great. The kind of guy who puts the Mighty Ducks DVD in when I'm sick and I don't even have to ask. The budget makes the decision really... We have to make choices but we'll go to Minesota someday, that's for sure !

(About that, I recently replugged my old super nintendo to play NBA Jam and remembered that when I was a kid, I was always taking the Minesota team because of the Mighty Ducks... thing is, the Basketball team, in the 90s at least, REALLY sucked ! Anyway, I laughed at the stupidity of younger me).

[Llamas]

(About that, I recently replugged my old super nintendo to play NBA Jam and remembered that when I was a kid, I was always taking the Minesota team because of the Mighty Ducks... thing is, the Basketball team, in the 90s at least, REALLY sucked ! Anyway, I laughed at the stupidity of younger me).

NBA Jam is the shit! And the Timberwolves have always been and always will be awful... Minnesota doesn't care enough about basketball :P That's funny, though - I picked teams on similar criteria as a kid. I was a big fan of orange/blue uniforms, so in bball I was the Knicks, in football I was the Broncos, in baseball I was the Mets... hahaha