Canada
Don’t be put off by the name – this is a classy joint in downtown Toronto! There are, however, brilliant discounts on offer with happy-hour drinks and a half-price dinner menu every day between 5 and 8 p.m.
I enjoyed watching office workers hurrying home, sat on one of the bar’s terraces with a nice cold beer…
A great place to relax with your shopping and soak up the city’s vibe.
539 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON, M5S1Y6
A great, cheap place to stay right in the centre of Toronto. This budget hostel has a fantastic community feel and is a fun, lively place to meet other travelers. As a girl visiting Canada on my own, I felt right at home here – especially on Saturday nights where the free barbecue attracts a large proportion of the guests for a beer and a burger!
It’s located in Kensington market, about five minutes from the entertainment and shopping districts – and there’s no curfew so you can stay out exploring as late as you please.
This is a friendly place but its real selling point is the combination of the low price of a bed of the night set against their great facilities…
175 Augusta Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5T 2L4, Canada
www.hostelbookers.com/hostels/canada/toronto/7339/
The Spaghetti Factory is a quirky restaurant that is excellent value for money - a loaf of freshly baked sour dough bread, free refill soft drinks, starter, ice cream and tea and coffee, are included with the price of your main course. Fantastic for feeding a whole family!
The restaurant itself is a treasure trove of Tiffany glass panels and lights, mismatched furniture means you may be seated on a grand wooden throne or inside a reclaimed streetcar, and should you glance up check out the many artefacts and trinkets that adds to the family atmosphere.
#54 The Esplanade
Toronto, Ontario
M5E 1A6
(416) 864-9761
Parking available; Meter & pay parking
One of the best cities for regional Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese, and a host of others. If you have a friend with a car, check out Scarborough and Mississauga for them, also Richmond Hill and Markham for Chinese. Almost every strip mall has cheap and amazing, authentic food, much more authentic and diverse than the better known areas downtown.
Spicy, vegetarian and non-vegetarian south Indian:
Anjappar Chettinnad, 3090 Eglinton Avenue East, Scarborough; tel: 416 265 2695
Fang's Restaurant (Hong Kong food)
3225 Hwy 7, Markham; tel: 905 947-9969
Dragon Dynasty (banquet food and dim sum)
2301 Brimley Road, Scarborough; tel: 416 321 9000
Vegetarian south Indian:
Saravana Bhavan 4559 Hurontario St (at Eglinton) Miss.; tel: 905 290 0769
also 1571 Sandhurst Circle (Finch & McCowan); tel: 416 293 7755
Toronto Island is a must see and it is basically free, an oasis in the middle of the city. The island is a like a large peaceful park with beaches (there's a nude beach, gay beach as well as regular beaches), rollerblading, biking and walking paths, and even an amusement park and free petting zoo for children.
Ferries leave every 15 minutes from Bay St and Queens Quay at Harbourfront, just south of Union Station. There's plenty of parking too. www.toronto.ca/parks/island/index.htm
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