Luxury things to do in Toronto
DaNico, Osteria Giulia, Alo, and Restaurant 20 Victoria in three nights
Four serious dinners across three days, with Casa Loma, the CN Tower, and Nathan Phillips Square filling the hours between. This is for someone for whom the table is the point and everything else is the walk to get there.
Day 1: Little Italy and DaNico
The day opens in a neighbourhood café, takes in Christie Pits and Dufferin Grove, lunches on the Diplomatico patio, then ends with an Italian tasting menu at DaNico.
- 9:30 AM
Sam James Coffee Bar
Tiny Harbord Street espresso bar with almost nowhere to sit; take a cortado on the walk up to Christie Pits.
Map - 10:30 AM
Christie Pits Park
A sunken park on Bloor with a ball diamond in the bowl; walk the rim before lunch.
Map - 12:30 PM
Café Diplomatico
The 1968 Little Italy patio on College and Clinton: pizza, a glass of red and the street going by.
Map - 2:30 PM
Dufferin Grove Park
West-end park with a farmers' market on Thursdays and a wood-fired oven, a proper local afternoon.
Map - 7:30 PM
DaNico
An Italian tasting menu on College Street, in the room where Café Di Nico stood for decades.
Map - 9:30 PM
The Orbit Room
A College Street bar with live funk and soul bands most nights; one drink after the tasting menu.
Map
Day 2: Yorkville: Casa Loma to Enigma
A morning at Casa Loma, a Ligurian lunch near Ramsden Park, and an evening at Enigma Yorkville, one of the city's most ambitious tasting menus.
- 10:30 AM
Casa Loma
Casa Loma is Toronto's grandest landmark, a genuine castle with sweeping city views worth the short ride north.
Map - 12:30 PM
- 2:30 PM
Ramsden Park
Ramsden Park is a quiet, leafy Yorkville escape, perfect for a post-lunch stroll before the evening.
Map - 7:30 PM
Enigma Yorkville
A long, theatrical tasting menu in a Yorkville townhouse; plan on three hours and the wine pairing.
Map - 9:30 PM
Day 3: Downtown Icons and Alo
The CN Tower in the morning, Nathan Phillips Square in the afternoon, then Alo's tasting menu and a nightcap at the Royal York's Library Bar.
- 9:30 AM
Carousel Bakery
The peameal bacon sandwich on a bun, in St. Lawrence Market; closed Sundays and Mondays.
Map - 10:30 AM
CN Tower
Iconic city landmark a short walk away, the glass floor and 360° views are the city's grandest 'thing to do' opener.
Map - 3:30 PM
Nathan Phillips Square
Nathan Phillips Square, the grand civic centrepiece of the city, a stroll around the reflecting pool and the iconic Toronto sign.
Map - 7:30 PM
Alo
Patrick Kriss's tasting menu on the third floor at Queen and Spadina; book the moment reservations open.
Map - 9:30 PM
LIBRARY BAR
LIBRARY BAR, the grandest hotel cocktail bar in the area, plush and old-school luxe, perfect nightcap close to home before midnight.
Map
Where to stay
Four Seasons Hotel Toronto
The Four Seasons sits at the heart of Yorkville, putting Day 2 on your doorstep and offering the kind of service that makes every other hotel feel like an afterthought.
Windsor Arms Hotel
Windsor Arms is a proper small luxury hotel in Yorkville, intimate and old-world in the best sense, with Osteria Giulia and Enigma both within easy walking distance.
Make Toronto your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App StoreBefore you go
Book ahead
- Toronto Islands: a few days ahead
- Rogers Centre: a few days ahead
- Scotiabank Arena: a few days ahead
- Massey Hall: a few days ahead
- The Second City Toronto: a few days ahead
- Guerlain Spa Toronto: a few days ahead
Skip these
- CN Tower at midday on a Saturday. Go at opening or sunset on a timed ticket instead.
- Clifton Hill at Niagara Falls. See the Falls, boat and gorge, and skip the wax museum strip.
- Ripley's Aquarium as an adult must do, Eaton Centre as Toronto shopping, and King West bottle service clubs as Toronto nightlife.
- Casa Loma on a 2 day trip. It is real and fun, and half a day gone.
The full Toronto travel guide: when to go, safety, getting around