OT: Visiting Toronto

[Arizonan God]

outside of the downtown area that is, Scarborough is obviously in the city. Your opinion's your opinions.

Right but Scarborough has only been part of toronto for 15 years. Anyway we obviously disagree no point on babbling on about it.

 

[Team First]

I know the GTA like the back of my hand. Raised in Scarborough, work downtown, currently in the Western burbs. Scarborough has Toronto's best natural feature, the Scarborough Bluffs. Worth a looksee anytime (from the top and the bottom).

 

[Arizonan God]

I know the GTA like the back of my hand. Raised in Scarborough, work downtown, currently in the Western burbs. Scarborough has Toronto's best natural feature, the Scarborough Bluffs. Worth a looksee anytime (from the top and the bottom).

True, the bluffs are neat. You don't get anything really like it around here.

 

[Bedards Dad]

outside of the downtown area that is, Scarborough is obviously in the city. Your opinion's your opinions. Let's just say I'm a real Torontonian and I've been downtown only a few times this year.

And I'm a real Torontonian and I am downtown 4 times a week. Living in the beaches makes it pretty easy to get there, but still have to make an effort to get there, and do since there is a lot to do in the city.

Thinks to do in Scrborough... Scarborough Town Centre, Bluffs, drive by TSN, Metro Golf Dome, get on the RT to head downtown. That's pretty much the whole list.

 

[colchar]

Last time I went up the tower was in the 80's when I was a kid and I remember being something like $7 adult, $5 youth. All these Toronto landmarks are insanely expensive now and only out of towners or newcomers with money go into them.

http://www.cntower.ca/en-ca/plan-your-visit/rates/rates.html

 

[Frelimo]

Well there you go, West Indian and Chinese food. You want advertised Toronto, stay downtown and look at what's in the brochures. But that's just stuff that's sold to tourists. The real Toronto is outside of it, including the 905. I mean, I can't really say a visitor has really visited Toronto if they just stay downtown and look at all the tourists sites, that's not real Toronto for me. It's probably the same for any other city.

And yeah, actually when I was in New York I loved being in New Jersey and other areas outside of the downtown Manhaten, downtown area. The real New York is regular people not Sex in the City, and the real Toronto is Scarborough and strip malls and families and normal people.

That's just ridiculous. I don't like downtown either, but this talk of "real" Toronto is what I find condescending. I don't live in a suburb that hasn't actually been part of Toronto until amalgamation, and that means I don't live in the "real" Toronto?
I live along Bloor Street West, which is my favourite part of Toronto. I also like College. Rarely do I go downtown, but I'd suggest it for someone visiting for a few days.

Hockey Hall of Fame is a must see if you're in town for a hockey game.

 

[Bedards Dad]

Well there you go, West Indian and Chinese food. You want advertised Toronto, stay downtown and look at what's in the brochures. But that's just stuff that's sold to tourists. The real Toronto is outside of it, including the 905. I mean, I can't really say a visitor has really visited Toronto if they just stay downtown and look at all the tourists sites, that's not real Toronto for me. It's probably the same for any other city.

And yeah, actually when I was in New York I loved being in New Jersey and other areas outside of the downtown Manhaten, downtown area. The real New York is regular people not Sex in the City, and the real Toronto is Scarborough and strip malls and families and normal people.

For the OP, this post is horrible advice, I highly recommend ignoring it, unless you want to spend you vacation at Tim Hortons and Pizza Pizza, and being November it is just extrapolated. Stay downtown.

 

[thehumanpanda]

That's just ridiculous. I don't like downtown either, but this talk of "real" Toronto is what I find condescending. I don't live in a suburb that hasn't actually been part of Toronto until amalgamation, and that means I don't live in the "real" Toronto?
I live along Bloor Street West, which is my favourite part of Toronto. I also like College. Rarely do I go downtown, but I'd suggest it for someone visiting for a few days.

Hockey Hall of Fame is a must see if you're in town for a hockey game.

Well I was definitely too harsh, downtown Toronto is definitely 'real Toronto' - but I'm just saying what's down there and the lifestyle is a minority in the city, and in any city of course.

I'm just a different type of tourist I guess. When I went to Japan for a week (Tokyo area), I started off going to what the tourist brochures told me to. But I got bored with that and started taking the subway to random places, down to Yokosuka and other places I can't remember, and I just wandered around and looked at how regular Japanese people lived, and I found that to be much more satisfying than looking at museums and temples.

If I was a visitor to Toronto, I would like to see the downtown area but then I'd get bored and want to see what else there is, considering that most of the city is not downtown. Pizza Pizza and Tim Hortons? That's what we do up here. In Japan I ate at little noodle shops where the working class Japanese seemed to eat, and I didn't go into the great restaurants with 5 stars or whatever. If I was visiting Toronto from another country, yes I would rather go and eat Pizza Pizza and Coffee Time and look at the ethnic stores in Scarborough strip malls and ride the TTC here and there because that's the reality of most people in Toronto. I'm just that kind of tourist.

 

[Stats01]

I'm not a "downtowner", but i just don't get why anyone visiting the city would want to go visit scarborough? That's like visiting New York and going to Long Island lol. Scarborough is just strip malls and houses, I don't get what's so great about it. Although they do have some great West Indian and Chinese food.

You do realize that probably 70% to 80% people who walk the streets of downtown live outside of the downtown core. Do you know how many people use the Go Train from Scarborough, Ajax, Oshawa and from the west side as well. Toronto is more than just what you see in brochures and the CN Tower and all the tall buildings. This city is made up of million of people outside of downtown. You may not be so fascinated with what Scarborough brings but try getting out the downtown bubble for a bit. It's not exactly Scarborough but the beaches (which is like a 10 min drive from VP or Kingston road) is beautiful.

 

[Stats01]

Well I was definitely too harsh, downtown Toronto is definitely 'real Toronto' - but I'm just saying what's down there and the lifestyle is a minority in the city, and in any city of course.

I'm just a different type of tourist I guess. When I went to Japan for a week (Tokyo area), I started off going to what the tourist brochures told me to. But I got bored with that and started taking the subway to random places, down to Yokosuka and other places I can't remember, and I just wandered around and looked at how regular Japanese people lived, and I found that to be much more satisfying than looking at museums and temples.

If I was a visitor to Toronto, I would like to see the downtown area but then I'd get bored and want to see what else there is, considering that most of the city is not downtown. Pizza Pizza and Tim Hortons? That's what we do up here. In Japan I ate at little noodle shops where the working class Japanese seemed to eat, and I didn't go into the great restaurants with 5 stars or whatever. If I was visiting Toronto from another country, yes I would rather go and eat Pizza Pizza and Coffee Time and look at the ethnic stores in Scarborough strip malls and ride the TTC here and there because that's the reality of most people in Toronto. I'm just that kind of tourist.

This is such an awesome post! Also to the OP head over to the Madison Avenue Pub (Maddy's) it's along Spadina and Bloor. Some like it, some don't but I do, it's a small three story house that was built into a pub. It's very cozy and I just love it. Good place to play pool, have a few drinks and have a bite to eat.

 

[Bedards Dad]

You do realize that probably 70% to 80% people who walk the streets of downtown live outside of the downtown core. Do you know how many people use the Go Train from Scarborough, Ajax, Oshawa and from the west side as well. Toronto is more than just what you see in brochures and the CN Tower and all the tall buildings. This city is made up of million of people outside of downtown. You may not be so fascinated with what Scarborough brings but try getting out the downtown bubble for a bit. It's not exactly Scarborough but the beaches (which is like a 10 min drive from VP or Kingston road) is beautiful.

This I can agree with. While I love downtown I have lived all over the GTA (Ajax, Courtice, Forest hill, Beaches) and there IS more than downtown, but if you are going to venture out of the core, places like Bloor West and the Beaches are where I would be going. Markham, North York, Scarborough are all places I would avoid sending a tourist. Maybe if they have been to the city 5 or 6 times, but not for a first trip. If it was the summer I would say check out the island or find your way to a cottage, but in November, not so much.


All that said, there is MORE than enough to do in the core for 4 days.

 

[Bedards Dad]

This is such an awesome post! Also to the OP head over to the Madison Avenue Pub (Maddy's) it's along Spadina and Bloor. Some like it, some don't but I do, it's a small three story house that was built into a pub. It's very cozy and I just love it. Good place to play pool, have a few drinks and have a bite to eat.

Just don't go to the Maddy on a Wednesday-Saturday night if you are over 25. Or at least that was my last experience when I went a few years ago. But an awesome place!

 

[Arizonan God]

You do realize that probably 70% to 80% people who walk the streets of downtown live outside of the downtown core. Do you know how many people use the Go Train from Scarborough, Ajax, Oshawa and from the west side as well. Toronto is more than just what you see in brochures and the CN Tower and all the tall buildings. This city is made up of million of people outside of downtown. You may not be so fascinated with what Scarborough brings but try getting out the downtown bubble for a bit. It's not exactly Scarborough but the beaches (which is like a 10 min drive from VP or Kingston road) is beautiful.

I know, I work in the Beaches area. I know most people in the GTA don't live downtown, I just don't get why someone visiting would go to Scarborough. Obviously alot of people live in the suburbs, including me, I just wouldn't suggest it to anyone visiting. I would suggest downtown and its immediate surrounding areas.

 

[Stats01]

Just don't go to the Maddy on a Wednesday-Saturday night if you are over 25. Or at least that was my last experience when I went a few years ago. But an awesome place!

yeah for sure lol I went last Tuesday with a friend of mine to watch the Leaf game and play pool..when did Maddy's start hosting poker tournaments/poker league? They were watching the Tigers-Red Sox game and we asked to switch the channel to the Leaf game, the server said "yeah after the baseball game" First time in my life that baseball stayed on over a Leaf game, it was no real biggie though we missed the first few minutes. Weird night though

 

[AsiantuntemusLoistaa]

I will be visiting Toronto for the hockey cards show November 8-10 and have a couple of questions:

1) What is the best way to get to the Toronto International Centre from downtown Toronto (Union Station) using public transportation? I have tried to search on Google maps, but the results are confusing.

2) I also plan to attend a game against Devils on November 8. What is the best way to get tickets? I checked Stubhub but prices are higher than on Ticketmaster for comparable seats (I mean the game is not sold out on Ticketmaster). If somebody has an extra ticket (1) for that game I am very interested. I am not looking for a free ticket. I am interested in the cheapest sitting sections or so.

 

[Pyrophorus]

Right but Scarborough has only been part of toronto for 15 years. Anyway we obviously disagree no point on babbling on about it.

Then so has everyone else (York, North York, Etobicoke).
Scarborough became part of the Megacity like all the others did, at the same time and was in the Region of Metropolitan Toronto, before that.

ex-pat Scarberian here.

 

[Pyrophorus]

This I can agree with. While I love downtown I have lived all over the GTA (Ajax, Courtice, Forest hill, Beaches) and there IS more than downtown,

First time I've seen my current town mentioned...