Last month, I took a short break from the UK to Canada. Three days doesn't sound that long to spend in a city so far away, however, while there was probably still things we could have seen, we definitely crammed a lot in within those 3 days!
I went with my cousin and we had such a great time and explored a heck of a lot.
We flew with Air Transat and you can read my review of their club class here
We stayed in the Pantages hotel on Victoria and Shuter Street. The location was fairly good; it was about a 20 minute walk to Union Station and about 30 minutes to the CN Tower. We were across the road from the Eaton shopping centre and there were loads of places nearby to eat. The hotel was, spacious, clean, had a fitness centre and a diner underneath, called Fran's that was open from early morning to late at night.
Day 1
On our first day, we arrived about 5pm. We got the UP Express from the airport to Union station which was pretty easy and cheap to use (at the time of writing a one way ticket costs 12.75 canadian dollars). Then it was a 20 minute (well, should have been had we followed the map properly!) walk to the hotel.
I must admit, we were pretty tired so we didn't do much, just went out for dinner at a British pub on Yonge Street, sampled Poutine and Tater Tots and then went to bed about 8.30pm- I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow!
Despite sounding interesting (chips, gravy and cheese that was like mozarella), Poutine was actually rather yummy!
Day 2- Casa Loma and the CN Tower
Before arriving in Canada, we purchased the Toronto city pass. One of the attractions on it was Casa Loma located in the north of the city. The gothic building is the only castle located in Canada and was owned by Sir Henry Pellatt upon its completion in 1914. Loads of films including Chicago, X-Men and Scott Pilgrim versus the World have been filmed here.
Even if you're not interested in the films shot here, the castle itself is still impressive and well worth a visit. Both the grounds and the building are beautiful, grand and full of history. An added bonus is the impressive view of the city of Toronto from the balconies of the castle.
After a couple of hours wandering around the castle we headed back into the city. Admittedly we underestimated the distance between the city centre and Casa Loma (just under 5km) and so having walked there and back, we were a bit pooped. So after a little rest in our hotel room, we headed down towards the CN Tower.
This was another attraction included in the city pass and the only one that needed pre-booking. We chose a time that would allow us to see the last bit of daylight and watch the sunset which was well worth doing. Annoyingly, the glass floor deck was closed for renovation when we went but the rest of the experience was amazing. The lift ride takes 58 seconds to reach the observation deck before opening out onto the amazing views of Toronto. There are several canteen areas and after walking around the deck, we found a seat and just soaked up the beautiful views.
Day 3- Day trip to Niagara Falls
The next day was an early start for a drive to Niagara Falls. We booked a tour with Niagara Day Tours via Viator, which I would highly recommend. We started off on the hour and a half drive to a quaint little town called Niagara on the Lake which was like stepping into Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls. There was a bandstand, autumnal trees and a shop where it's Christmas every day!!
After Niagara on the Lake, we had quick stops at the world's smallest chapel, the famous floral clock, saw the Hydro power structure and one of the border crossings between the USA and Canada.
We arrived at Niagara Falls about 12pm and went straight onto the boat ride that we'd booked as part of the tour. We were given ponchos and even though they tried their best, we still got absolutely soaked, despite being in the undercover bit of the boat. Everyone else rushed up to the top deck but staying down below meant we could still get to the edge of the boat but without any pushing and shoving.
The boat ride was amazing and well worth doing. Even though we spent more time queuing for the boat than the 20 minute ride, it was amazing to get up close and personal with the Falls.
After the boat, we spent the remaining time strolling along the promenade past the falls. I think we may have taken a picture at every possible angle. For lunch, we went to Table Rocks towards the Horseshoe Falls end where you can find a variety of food and not-very-reasonable prices. 2 burgers, fries and diet cokes cost 51 Canadian dollars, but it is a top tourist attraction and to be fair, the burgers were great!
We managed to get a table with a sort of view of the Horseshoe Falls and just had a leisurely lunch.
As part of the tour, we got about 3 and a half hours at Niagara including the boat ride, but honestly, we could have spent a lot longer.
We arrived back in Toronto about 6 o clock and we were so tired that we just had dinner and went to bed.
Day 4- The Aquarium, mooching and going home :(
For our final morning, we had a hearty breakfast in the diner under the hotel before making our way down to the Aquarium. Although there are aquariums in England, it was nice to learn about sea life within Canadian waters, and who doesn't love looking at fish?!
After this, we walked back to the Toronto Eaton shopping centre to have a look in the shops and may have spent a bit too much money in Sephora, Bath and Body Works and American Eagle- but our reasoning was that we don't have those shops in the UK...
We caught the train from Union back to Pearson, which again was really quick and easy before going through the usual airport rigmarole to board our flight home.
Although it was quite a flying visit, we fitted in sooo much. Toronto is a lovely, safe city and thank you to my cousin for making it such a fab trip!
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