Seeking Toronto Info (1 Viewer)

[Aaron Silverman]

Question for the Canadian contingent:

We're planning a family trip to Niagara Falls, and my wife suggested taking a day side trip to Toronto.

It sounds like about a 2-hour drive. Does that seem right?
It could be a Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. Which would be the best day? (I assume Monday would have traffic issues.)
Given one afternoon, what are the one or two must-see sights? (I would love to visit the Hockey Hall of Fame, but I don't think that will fly on this trip. Another time. . .)
Anything to avoid?
Is this a bad idea? Should we just plan a trip to Toronto some other time?

Thanks!

 

[TJPC]

Question for the Canadian contingent:

We're planning a family trip to Niagara Falls, and my wife suggested taking a day side trip to Toronto.

It sounds like about a 2-hour drive. Does that seem right?
It could be a Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. Which would be the best day? (I assume Monday would have traffic issues.)
Given one afternoon, what are the one or two must-see sights? (I would love to visit the Hockey Hall of Fame, but I don't think that will fly on this trip. Another time. . .)
Anything to avoid?
Is this a bad idea? Should we just plan a trip to Toronto some other time?

Thank

Question for the Canadian contingent:

We're planning a family trip to Niagara Falls, and my wife suggested taking a day side trip to Toronto.

It sounds like about a 2-hour drive. Does that seem right?
It could be a Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. Which would be the best day? (I assume Monday would have traffic issues.)
Given one afternoon, what are the one or two must-see sights? (I would love to visit the Hockey Hall of Fame, but I don't think that will fly on this trip. Another time. . .)
Anything to avoid?
Is this a bad idea? Should we just plan a trip to Toronto some other time?

Thanks!

Toronto is now larger than Chicago, so you will not cover much in one day. Getting there is a traffic nightmare. The drive is right beside Lake Ontario.

Niagara Falls to Hamilton will be the first half, and you should have no trouble with this. Hamilton to Toronto is another matter.

The closer you get to TO the heavier is the traffic. We live in Hamilton, if we are seeing a play that starts at 2:00, we leave here at 11:00. We have almost been late anyway due to traffic. Major road construction is taking place along the QEW which eliminates the York/Bay/Yonge exit which was the main exit to get downtown. Take Lake Shore instead.

Once you get there, you will find Toronto ultra safe and incredibly ethnically diverse. I would suggest some research. There are as many things to do as there are people.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Traffic along the QEW will be heavy, whether it's a weekday or a weekend. Same with Toronto. Once you get to Toronto, I would recommend finding a place to just leave your car and walk or use the subway -- you don't want to drive there any more than you have to. As Terry said, it's a very safe city, so walking around isn't an issue. When we are visiting, we always take the train from Windsor, Ontario, which is just across the border from Detroit. That way we do not have to drive at all.

We will be driving through Toronto on our way to Maine this summer, and that is the only portion of the drive I'm not looking forward to along 401. We should hit it around mid-day on a Thursday on the way there and around the same time on a Sunday coming home, so it won't be as bad as rush hour, but it will still be heavy.

Personally, I would rather visit Toronto than Niagara Falls. I have been to both many times (Niagara more than Toronto), and the Falls have become unbearably overcrowded. It's always been over commercialized, too, but seems even worse now. After our last visit there a few years ago, my wife and I decided we never want to go there again. If you do go, I would recommend spending some time at Niagara On The Lake. It's about a half hour drive from the Falls. It's a quiet little town in comparison to the Falls. There are also a few wineries along the drive.

 

[jcroy]

If one is somewhat physically fit and not carrying around a lot of stuff, I found riding around in the middle of Toronto on a bicycle could be just as fast (or even faster) than trying to drive around. (Assuming the destination isn't too far).

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Thanks to a ridiculous delay in our connecting flight from Detroit to Buffalo, combined with a ridiculous line at the rental car counter, we got to our hotel by the Buffalo airport at 3 am Friday/Saturday. But we got up the next morning and made the drive anyway!

The traffic actually wasn't too bad. The southbound side of the QEW, on the other hand, seemed pretty nightmarish. By the time we headed back out, though, it was fairly late at night, and things had greatly calmed down.

We went to Casa Loma for a few hours, then drove downtown and went up the CN Tower. We ended the day with dumplings and cheap souvenir t-shirts in Chinatown. All in all, a super fun day and well worth the drive.

The city reminds me a LOT of NYC, my favorite place in the world. We'll be back! (For the Hockey Hall of Fame, at least!) Thanks for the tips.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

How did you like Niagara Falls?

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Spectacular! VERY glad I chose the weatherproof camera.

We spent the last day in Buffalo. Toured a Frank Lloyd Wright house and visited the Naval Museum, then had a Beef on Weck with wings for dinner. Good times.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

We drove through Toronto yesterday (via Hwy 401) on our way home from Maine -- we spent the previous night in Montreal. That traffic may have been the worst I've ever driven in. It was stop and go (mostly stop) from well east of the city until we got past Kitchener. It probably took us 45-60 minutes longer than it should have to get through that mess. We left Montreal at 8am and did not get home until 7pm. What a long day's drive!

I'm glad I decided to take the southern route from Michigan to Maine -- across Ontario, through Niagara Falls to NY, and across the NY, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine turnpikes to Bar Harbor. It cost over $30 in tolls, but I avoided any major cities. Traffic was heavy through Massachusetts until we got past Portland, Maine, but at least it moved. And while there are no tolls coming back across Canada, gasoline is more expensive, even with the exchange rate. I probably spent $20 more for gas in Canada. I was mostly worried about the traffic on the QEW to Niagara, but it moved steadily the entire way.