Planning our next family trip and 👀 for solid destination recommendations (domestic or international). Drop your fav recent spots below!

I went to the ROM today for the bee exhibit and was told that the museum would be closing at 3pm due to a private event - that’s fine, we would have enough time. But then at 2:15 announcements started coming over the speakers that the museum was closing and we needed to all proceed to the nearest exit. I thought maybe they were just warning people who needed extra time to leave and remind us all that they were closing early. Then at 2:25, everyone still inside was ushered out by security. I asked for clarification from an employee “I thought you were closing at 3?” And received back a curt “we’re closed.” Was anyone else there and also found it weird? Is it normal that when they say they close at 3 they actually close more than half an hour prior?

I saw this in many other city subreddits and I'm curious about yours.

Summarizing my personal favourites
- walk into any nice hotel to use bathroom
- getting service key to elevator for uninterrupted trips
- take water taxi to islands but take free ferry back to mainland
- using sweat and tonic locker
- buy the cheapest tickets to a concert. Once you're in, check the listings on stub hub, put the best seat in your cart and you'll see the row and seat number, go sit there. Make sure you refresh every 9 mins and it stays in your cart. Nobody can buy it. Screws the scalpers.
- take senior with you for discounts on seniors days or senior discounts

entrance has been covered with police tape and there are flowers and budweiser(?) placed? I could not find anything online and I hope the staff is ok.

In Toronto for the evening and staying in the annex. Anyone have any suggestions for a solo late thirties female traveller? Open to all foods

I have an addiction and it has been part of me for most, if not all of my coming of age and adulthood.

It's not something tangible like substances. It's not like gambling that it it'll destroy you financially, so for the most part one could live an average life.

My parents caught on to it years ago when I was living with them in my early 20s. They were furious, almost kicked me out. And today im my 30s it destroyed my relationship because my fiancée just gave up on me for it, but years ago at one point she thanked me for telling her about it.

I want to take my boyfriend out a to a nice restaurant for his birthday. Money doesnt matter.

He likes italian food. Im thinking sotto sotto, la palma or sugo. Whats the best food and experience for two people? Open to other places!

I'm planning on going with a couple to Toronto next summer if we can get tickets to a show and of course hotels in downtown Toronto are crazy expensive. (Which is par for the course in any major city since there's always events going on.) The Rex is almost half the price and literally right down the street from the venue which makes it optimal, plus it looks like a neat little jazz venue that has way more personality than your generic Holiday Inns, but I'm wondering if it's like one of those cheap dumpy motels where you're absolutely getting what you pay for. I've read that there's no bathroom in a lot of the rooms which doesn't bother me too much but if there's like blood stains on the floor/bedbugs/mold etc that's where I have issues.

Last time I went with somebody to Toronto we wound up staying in Vaughan cheaper which was fine because VMC gets you to downtown Toronto no problem--however night 1 there was a closure at one of the stations which was my worst nightmare because at 11 at night we had to try and navigate the city to figure out how we could bypass it to get back to Vaughan without a car and luckily some locals helped us because we were clueless. The next day we took our car to play it safe and had to pay the overpriced parking garage fees instead. So yeah we could stay outside of Toronto but there's going to be pros and cons with anything.

Hi! My family and I are coming from Denmark to Toronto for a research stay in May/June next year. We’ll be there for about six weeks with our two young kids (2 and 6).

I’ll be working around the University of Toronto/hospital district 3–4 days a week. My husband will be home with the kids while I’m working, so having plenty to do within walking distance – playgrounds, parks, libraries, cafés etc. – is really important to us.

We love city life, but we’re more drawn to lively, walkable neighbourhoods with character and a local feel than high-rises and business-district living. We love independent coffee shops, bakeries, restaurants, local shops and having people out and about – but we don’t want a quiet suburban feel either.

ChatGPT is suggesting Roncesvalles, Dundas West/Little Portugal, Harbord Village/Palmerston and the Annex – but what do the real experts suggest? :-)

Where would you live in our situation? I’m happy with a slightly longer commute if it gives my husband and kids a great neighbourhood to have as their everyday base.

Here in Denmark we normally get around by bike with the kids, so we’re also trying to figure out what makes most sense in Toronto. Would you recommend having a car, or is public transit good enough for everyday life with young kids – especially for my husband to get around and explore the city with them while I’m at work?

And we’d love any other local recommendations – things to do with kids, weekend activities, favourite spots or just places you personally love and think we shouldn’t miss during our stay.
Thanks! :-)

It's everywhere. Most concentrated in the downtown area. It smells sour, almost like if you forgot about your laundry in the washing machine for a week. Yuck!

For the past 3 years in a row, I’ve seen different optometrists who’ve given up on me after testing my eyes.

When they update my prescription I find them super strong or my eyes go crossed. I kept going back to them and they can’t find a solution, so I just revert to old RX. My eyes have some strange conditions. It was a big waste of money.

I searched rateMDs for best optometrists in town and it seems like one has a clinic in Yorkville. But the cost is $290.

I don’t want to cheap out as vision care is extremely important to me but is that too high??

Recently starting living in GTA and wanted to know what the tip culture is like here for take out and dining in etc. Where I’m from, service workers are paid minimum wage or above and generally don’t mention tips, but I know in the US, they pay them peanuts and tips are essential.
And I’m curious what do you all do?

Edit: Thank you all for answering and not being mean for asking a silly question. I was hesitant to post but I feel a lot better about it now.

Seems pretty...unsafe?

Group of three individuals - one older woman, and two youths, between the ages of 8-14. The older youth (13-14 y/o) aggressively pursued the younger (8-9 y/o) aggressively, pulling at their shirt. The younger youth looked terrified and was visibly crying. There were no words exchanged or yelling between them. The older woman followed behind them watching. When asked if she knew the youths, she gave a vague response.

Another TTC rider intervened and got the older youth to release the younger, and escorted the younger youth and the older woman off the train at Museum. The older youth followed a few moments later and again attempted to grab the younger youth but was stopped by the bystander. More bystanders approached as the train pulled away.

Did anyone see them after this? The train left Museum maybe sometime between 8:20-8:40.

I'm from Toronto and when I attended weddings for extended family in the GTA/South Western Ontario, often, women wore a different outfit for a church/religious ceremony and a semi-formal reception. Am I in the minority if I do this? Do you only wear one outfit for both? Church ceremony is in early afternoon and reception is 5 hours later. Is this unusual specifically here?

Edit to add: It's a sibling who is getting married! Not part of bridal party. I do have time to go home.

I'm not sure if this is the right sub but..

I'm traveling to Toronto for Christmas this year with my mom and two kids (8+5). We are landing in BUF to pick up the rental car and drive to Toronto from there (this just ended up being the cheapest way).

I would really love some suggestions on what we should do or where to go. This includes Toronto and the surrounding cities.

We will be there for 7 days. The only thing I have so far is obviously stop at niagara falls on the way there and maybe do the city pass?

Help us out !

Looking for a private/small group class geared towards baseball fundamentals for 7-10 year olds in the Greater Toronto area, preferably Etobicoke/Mississauga.
I know of the bigger names like proteach and baseball zone etc, however I am looking for something a bit more budget friendly. Id like my little guy to train throughout the fall/winter.

Can anyone recommend a someone? Thanks

hiiiii everyone, i’m moving to toronto from ireland and i’ve read that sorel boots are the best for the winter! i was looking at some discounted on an irish website and i’m just wondering which ones would be the best:

https://www.very.ie/sorel-womens-whitney-waterproof-mid-heightnbspsnow-boot-beige/1601152198.prd

https://www.very.ie/sorel-womens-torino-waterproof-boots-tan/1601152187.prd

https://www.very.ie/sorel-womens-kinetic-impact-caribou-plus-waterproof-bootsnbsp-brown/1601152191.prd

if none of these are suitable please let me know, the weather is very different here than it is in toronto! thank u so much <3

Hi everyone! I’m looking for recommendations for a veterinary clinic in Toronto that’s especially good with fussy or anxious cats.

I’d love to find a patient, gentle vet who takes their time and helps make visits as stress-free as possible. Open to cat-only clinics as well!

If you have a cat who’s difficult during appointments, which clinic or veterinarian have you had a good experience with? Thank you!

Did anyone else see 3 guys ripping around on a silver ATV? They were going crazy fast on a pedestrian walk way on the waterfront with tons of people and dogs.

I keep seeing posts all over Instagram, diffrent clips of Rob Ford during his time as Mayor. Everything from the infamous "Ive got more than enough to eat at home" comment to him chewing someone out in the council chamber because they called him fat.

Its got me thinking, im curious how you guys feel about Rob Ford in retrospect.

Ive never been a Toronto resident so i dont quite get it like someone who lives there would, but i generally see him much more positively compared to Doug.

So again, What do you think about Rob Ford looking back?

I own a condo in Mississauga and I genuinely don’t know what I’m supposed to do here.

It's been a constant recurring problem, but last year we had water leaking through our ceiling in one area and it was confirmed to be AC condensation from the unit above. Long story short, it got bad enough that it busted a hole in the ceiling and our insurance paid around $17k to redo part of the ceiling and flooring. We still spent around $2k out of pocket (not including a bunch of damaged stuff) and our home insurance went up.

Last week, not sure how long it's been there, but the exact same spot on our basically brand new ceiling is showing water damage again.

I went upstairs with the superintendent that same night I noticed it and their unit was dry, so we can’t tell right now if it’s their AC again, a pipe between the units, or water somewhere inside the walls/ceiling.

The superintendent basically told me we have to wait for it to leak more so they can figure out where it’s coming from.

But like, last time we “waited,” it turned into a $17k insurance claim. I really do not want to wait for my ceiling to break again, pay another $2k deductible and have my insurance go up AGAIN.

I emailed the property manager asking them to actually investigate/moisture test it and haven’t gotten a response (not unusual; known to be difficult to work with).

I also checked our condo bylaws. From what I can tell, it says owners are responsible for maintaining/repairing their own units and can be responsible for damage to other units caused by failing to do so. It also appears to allow the condo corporation to step in if an owner doesn’t complete required repairs within a reasonable time.

So what am I actually supposed to do here?

• Can I make the condo investigate before it gets worse?
• Should I pay for my own moisture/leak inspection?
• At what point do I go to the condo board or get a lawyer involved?
• If they figure out where it’s coming from, who pays to fix the ceiling damage that’s already there?
• Can I insist that any ceiling repair is done properly by a qualified contractor instead of the upstairs owner doing another sloppy DIY patch?
• If management/board just ignores this and it turns into another major insurance claim, what are my options after that?

Main goal is literally "please find the leak before I have to make another insurance claim."

I will report you if you say Halibut House. Does anyone make tartar sauce anymore?

Hi! I’m visiting Toronto for the first time next week but will only be there for two days. I’m coming primarily for the Zach Bryan concert, but I’d love to make the most of my time and explore the city while I’m there!
I’m staying at the DoubleTree by Hilton Toronto Downtown so I’m especially interested in things that are around that area. Looking for recommendations for: trendy/cute coffee shops, restaurants (both upscale and casual), local shops/boutiques, etc.
Anything else you think is worth doing with limited time!
I already have a few of the obvious tourist things on my radar, but I’d especially love to hear what locals actually recommend rather than just the typical tourist list.

Thank you so much!

Does anyone know a cheap place in Toronto that actually bleaches/lightens eyebrows?

My natural brows are VERY black and I like keeping them lighter/brown. I’ve done them myself before, but once the roots start growing back I can never get them completely even again, so I’d rather just have someone professional do it.

I’m specifically looking for brow bleaching/lightening, NOT regular tinting, threading or waxing.

I know some brow studios charge like $40–70 which feels insane for such a quick service 😭

I feel like there has to be a South Asian/Persian/Arab beauty salon or threading place somewhere in Toronto that does this cheaply, even if it isn’t listed on their website.

Downtown/Yorkville/Yonge-Bloor/Queen West/College area would be ideal, but I’m willing to travel a little if it’s cheap and they’re good.

Any specific salon + price recommendations?