Toronto

I don’t know how others feel about this analogy: I consider Toronto the NYC of Canada. It has a downtown that feels a bit more like the financial district of New York, and fashion comes before function. The style is clearly a step up from San Francisco: dress shirts on every man, pumps on every woman. I felt consistently on the cusp of underdressed in most neighborhoods and much more significantly so when window shopping among serious shoppers in Yorkville.

Type Books has to be one of the prettiest bookstores I’ve seen with a great selection of super books that fly just under the radar on the best sellers list, yet very much deserve to top it. Pizzeria Libretto was a gem of an upscale pizza shop that came at the suggestion of my pizza-snob colleague and friend. I loved the Anndore House, even if I only stayed for 1 night.

If I’d have done anything differently, I’d have gone to Casa Loma sooner - there is a castle in Toronto! And the Almond Butterfly was a superb café with a range of allergy-friendly options that I’m so glad I skipped out on a top-ranked place for when the line was too long.

Day 1

• Queen Street West

• Type Books

• The Chase Toronto

Day 2

• CN Tower

• Pizzeria Libretto

• St. Lawrence Market

• The Distillery Historic District

• Toronto Maple Leafs game

Day 3

• Toronto Islands

• The Anndore House

• Royal Ontario Museum

• Shopping in Yorkville

• Summer’s Ice Cream

• Sabai Sabai Kitchen & Baro

Day 4

• Breakfast at Almond Butterfly Cafe & Restaurant

• Casa Loma mansion