A day in Toronto

Toronto isn’t a city that begs for attention. It doesn’t scream like New York or seduce like Paris. No, Toronto is the kind of place that plays it cool, having a quiet confidence wrapped in layers of concrete, maple leaves and multicultural swagger.

Anthony Bourdain once described Toronto as “Soviet chic”, and while standing in the midtown madness of anonymous buildings, it certainly feels that way. Toronto may not be the first choice in Canada for travelers as I suppose the foodies goes to Montréal, the adventurers to Banff and the hipsters all the way west to Vancouver.

But do not despair, there are lots of things to discover around the corner.

Toronto skyline.

Start the day by taking a boat ride to the Toronto islands. Enjoy the greenery around the 14 islands basking in the morning light, while looking for shy herons and hidden hermits. While looking back towards the city, surrounded by blue, the imposing buildings actually look kind of beautiful. If you squint your eyes.

The CN Tower juts into the sky like Canada’s polite middle finger to gravity. Queue up for the glass floor, make a few pushups while looking at the ground 553 meter below you, and then get away from the area.

Elaborate staircase at Art Gallery of Ontario.

Take a walk to beautiful Casa Loma, known from several movies such as X-Men, Cocktail and Scott Pilgrim. But beware, ascending the steep Baldwin Steps in summer heat will test your superhero abilities. If you need a rest after the stairs, visit the Live Organic bar just down the street for excellent smoothies and vegetarian dishes.

Casa Loma.

If you’re feeling artsy or having a bit of rain, check out the Art Gallery of Ontario where sculptures by Rodin and paintings by Van Gogh are housed inside a building with interesting architecture. I also recommend Royal Ontario Museum, which has a nice collection of gems along with dinosaur skeletons.

Streets of Toronto.

Have a quick peek inside the RioCan Hall at John St (easily found by the Rubik’s Cube on the facade), where you will find models of Enterprise and Bird of Prey hanging from the ceiling.

Stroll down the once-alternative Queen St and grab a bite at Queen Mothers cafe (208 Queen St W). They have a nice garden patio on the backside.

Sweet delights at Uncle Tetsu’s.

Why not pick up dessert on the way? Uncle Tetsu’s at 598 Bay St have a famous Japanese cheesecake, if you can beat the queue.

Russian theme at Pravda.

If you want to end the evening on a weird note, head to Pravda at 44 Wellington St. It’s a Russian bar with busts of Lenin that goes with a lot of different vodka drinks, such as the “Breznev latte”. A dancer is performing stunts in a ring at the ceiling, the Russian national anthem is played at midnight and then Ivan Drago goes into party mode. Soviet chic indeed.