My Toronto solo travel trip

I am just back from an amazing adventure to Toronto and I have put together a detailed travel post for you to check out. If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen my stories, so, I pulled together the most commonly asked questions and I hope this post answers them for you. I spent a week in Toronto where I solo traveled around the city and had one of my favorite trips. Even though I was solo traveling, I did have some friends in the city so I was able to enjoy the nightlife more than I usually do on my trips. I was really excited to visit Toronto as it is so close to the Niagara Falls which were on my bucket list. I have been to many big cities but Toronto is one of my favorites as it was so relaxed and didn’t have as much hustle and bustle as other big cities. In this post, I am going to share the places I visited and explored.

Where I stayed?

When researching hotels, I found it really hard to get a hotel that was good value. I also noticed that a lot of the hotels were booked out weeks/months in advance. I decided to get an Airbnb and I found an amazing condo with a killer view of the CN tower. Here is a link to the condo. If you are new to AirBnB then use my link to get money off your booking. My condo was located on York St which was right beside the CN tower and a 5-minute walk to Union Station and the subway. The location was amazing and you could also stroll to the harbourfront and easily get a ferry to the islands.  I flew directly to Toronto Pearson airport with Aer Lingus. I try and fly direct where possible as I really don’t like the stress of connecting flights, especially when solo traveling. The flight time is also roughly 7 hours which isn’t too bad. I got a taxi from the airport but Uber is really popular and I used it to return to the airport. You can also get a train to Union Station from the airport.

The CN Tower and Aquarium

If you are like me and love to go to a lookout then you will love the CN Tower. If you are brave you can do the edge walk where you walk along the edge. Not for the faint-hearted lol! We bought the package ticket for $58 which included a trip to the aquarium. The Aquarium was one of my favorite things that I did when in the city. There are so many different species and I was so surprised to see so many sharks. I will pop some pictures below but do check out my Youtube video as my pictures don’t do the aquarium justice. It was so relaxing to walk around and a perfect rainy/snowy day activity.

Niagara Falls and Niagara On The Lake

When I was researching how to get to Niagara Falls, I couldn’t find a way to get from Niagara to Niagara on the lake without renting a car. I decided to go on a day tour as I was not confident to drive on the opposite side of the road. You can get a train to Niagara Falls but if you are limited on time then I would book a day trip. My day trip left the city at 9 am and returned around 7 pm. They brought us to Niagara Falls and we had plenty of time to explore the Falls and the surrounding area. Then we went to Niagara On The Lake. We only had one hour in Niagara on the lake which is so cute and quaint. I would have loved more time to explore this village as it was so cute and had the most adorable shops. After the village, we stopped at a vineyard where I had my first ever Iced wine! So tasty! This is the company I booked my tour with. If I was to go again I would try and stay overnight in Niagara On The Lake as there are loads to explore in that area. It’s not just about the lakes, there is os many vineyards and hikes to explore in the surrounding areas.

 

Toronto Islands and the Harbourfront

Do you want to escape the city for a bit and get a nature fix? Well, hop on the ferry and head over to the Toronto Islands. We rented bikes and cycled all around the island. I was so surprised to see some really adorable homes on the island. The leaves were also on the turn so it felt really Autumnal. The ferry was really easy to walk to from my condo. You can get the ferry or get a water taxi over to the islands. When you come back you can stroll along the harbourfront and find some cute spots. Take a pit stop at Sugar beach and get an Instagrammable pic of the pink umbrellas. You can then stroll up to St.Lawrence market and grab a bit to eat.

Allan Gardens

If you have followed me for a while then you will know that I love a good wander around some gardens. If you happen to be wandering around this part of town then do pop into Allan Gardens. They are free to explore and a perfect pit stop on your rambles.

Graffiti Alley

If you stroll down Queen St. West you will find Graffiti Alley. This is a really cool and hipster area of the city. You will find some amazing artwork across the walls and you can get some really cool Instagram shots.  Grab an ice cream and stroll around this area and take in all the art.

Casa Loma and Yorkville

On my last full day, I took the Subway up to Casa Loma. You can get some great views of the CN Tower from the gardens of Casa Loma. Casa Loma is a gothic style mansion, and an adult ticket costs $30 to enter and explore the mansion. There is so much history in this mansion and it definitely felt a little haunted. The decor is amazing in the rooms and there is a coffee shop in the basement if you fancy some lunch. From Casa Loma, I walked towards Yorkville. Yorkville has some really adorable victorian townhouses with amazing gardens. Yorkville is more of an affluent area of the city with fancy designer shops, fancy cars, and a popular celeb-spotting spot. It took me twenty minutes to stroll down but you can hop back on the subway if you don’t want to walk.

The Distillery Historic District

Head to the cute cobblestoned streets of the distillery district for a ramble and you won’t be disappointed. There were some really cool vintage shops around here and you can stop for a pint in the brewery. I strolled down here before heading for my flight. There are some really pretty art displays around this area and a piano in the center of the historic district for people to play. If you are lucky enough to visit in December then head here for the Christmas market.

I hope you got some value and inspiration from today’s post. As always, there are so many places and recommendations for places to visit but have fun picking the ones that you suit. I always say that I would rather visit the places I really want to see and not cram in everything and end up exhausted. Check out my Youtube video below to get a better look at the places I visited. Don’t forget to subscribe to my channel and give it a thumbs up if you enjoyed it!

Thanks for reading,

Chat soon,

Catherine.