Things to do in Toronto, splurging
Three days of serious food, sharp design, and the city's best drinks
This is Toronto for people who eat first and plan around the reservation. Days move between the AGO corridor, Queen West, and Yorkville, with an acclaimed or destination dinner anchoring each evening and strong cocktail bars to finish. It suits anyone who wants the city's best table on every night, not just one.
Day 1: AGO, College Street, Bar Vendetta
The day starts with coffee and a serious art collection, then works through a long lunch on Spadina and into one of the city's best Italian dinners on Dundas West.
- 9:30 AM
Jimmy's Coffee
Kensington Market café on Baldwin Street; a latte on the bench out front, then ten minutes' walk to the AGO.
Map - 10:30 AM
Art Gallery of Ontario
AGO houses Canada's finest collection, Group of Seven, Indigenous art, inside Frank Gehry's landmark expansion.
Map - 12:30 PM
Aloette Restaurant
Alo's diner-style sibling on Spadina: get the burger and the lemon meringue pie.
Map - 4:30 PM
Grange Park
The park behind the AGO, with the 1817 Grange house and the gallery's blue and black back wall in view.
Map - 7:30 PM
Bar Vendetta
A buzzy Dundas West room for handmade pasta, crudo and a negroni; the tagliatelle is the order.
Map - 9:30 PM
The Orbit Room
The Orbit Room is a cool College St bar for a nightcap cocktail without going far from dinner.
Map
Day 2: Queen West, Fort York, Linny's
A morning of street art and independent shops gives way to a Greek lunch in Beaconsfield Village, a landmark stop at Fort York, and a destination steakhouse dinner to finish.
- 9:30 AM
Carousel Bakery
The peameal bacon sandwich on a bun, in St. Lawrence Market; closed Sundays and Mondays.
Map - 10:30 AM
Graffiti Alley West
Rush Lane, the kilometre of murals behind Queen West between Spadina and Portland; free, any hour.
Map - 12:30 PM
Mamakas Taverna
A whitewashed Ossington taverna; share the grilled octopus, the spreads and a whole fish.
Map - 2:30 PM
Fort York
The 1793 fort where Toronto was founded and fought over in 1813, with original barracks and costumed drills.
Map - 7:30 PM
Linny’s Restaurant
Linny's is an acclaimed steakhouse with a destination-table reputation, exactly the splurge dinner the evening calls for.
Map - 9:30 PM
LIBRARY BAR
Wood-panelled bar inside the Fairmont Royal York; order the martini, poured with ceremony.
Map
Day 3: Yorkville, the ROM, Salon
Toronto's most polished neighbourhood: a long Yorkville lunch, two hours in the ROM, and modern Lebanese at Amal.
- 12:30 PM
Trattoria Nervosa
Trattoria Nervosa is a Yorkville institution, great pasta and thin-crust pizza in a buzzy room right on Yorkville Ave.
Map - 2:00 PM
Royal Ontario Museum
Give it two hours: the dinosaur gallery, the Egyptian rooms and the First Peoples hall under the crystal.
Map - 7:30 PM
- 9:30 PM
Crews & Tangos
Crews & Tangos is a lively Church St. cocktail bar, great drinks and energy to close the night before midnight.
Map
Where to stay
Nobu Toronto
A new tower hotel in the Entertainment District, a short cab to Queen West and Dundas West dinners.
Le Germain Hotel Toronto Mercer
Le Germain Mercer is a design-forward boutique hotel with exactly the right sensibility for this trip, and its location puts every day-one and day-two stop within easy reach.
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