Summer in Toronto🇨🇦

Second visit to this great city.

Traveling to Toronto in summer gives you endless possibilities to enjoy one of the most beautiful cities on the east coast of Canada.

There are so many things to do here, it is different summer to winter. In the summer, you can enjoy everything with a bright sun, surrounded by large buildings. Toronto is the financial capital of Canada! Major attractions in the city include traveling to Island park, visiting house Loma, walking downtown, visiting Chinatown, visiting the CN tower and Ripley's aquarium, taking many photos, and enjoying the day. Do not stay at your hotel, walk, share joy and take many pictures. 😍 📸🍁

Eaton Center

It is the main commercial center of Toronto and one of the largest and most famous in the world. It has four floors of stores, cinemas and restaurants. It has direct access to the metro and the well-known Path of the City.

Dundas Square

It's like Times Square in Toronto. A beautiful square surrounded by shops with striking advertising signs and screens, in one of the most important shopping areas, next to the Eaton Center and Yonge Street, which is the longest street in the world, which crosses the entire city from one end to the other.

It is an area full of life, both day and night. There are street vendors, street performers, tourists everywhere, many terraces and restaurants and outdoor activities of all kinds. During the summer in the hottest hours it is not usually as busy as usual, but when the sun does not hit so much and also at night the whole area is a real hotbed of people.

Old Town, St. Lawrence and Distillery District

The area known as Toronto's Old Town is striking because, instead of glass skyscrapers, the buildings are nineteenth-century. It has a marked industrial and even decadent air, the necessary ingredients to become one of the most cosmopolitan areas of the city.

St. Lawrence Market

They say it is one of the best and most complete food markets in the world. It is 200 years old and is located in the heart of Toronto's Old Town.

Toronto Islands

It was what I liked most about Toronto. Without a doubt. It was the first place we went to just land and where we escaped every time we had a free time. So for nothing in the world you miss it!

You will go crazy taking pictures, but above all, you will relax enjoying a picnic, sitting on the banks of the Ontario River and enjoying the sunset. Although I already tell you that here the options are very varied, you can play ball, rent a bike, lose yourself in a trail...It does not matter if you travel alone, as a couple, with friends or as a family...the islands of Toronto do not they will disappoint!

How to Get to the Island

The boat tickets are bought in the same ticket office of the ferry station. In summer there are usually many queues, so be patient and try not to hurry much. The boats leave quite often so you will not have to wait long either, but if you want to enjoy the sunset from the islands, leave with plenty of time to spare.

The trip costs around $7.50 round trip, and the boat takes about 15 minutes. Remember to tell the seller which island you want to go to! You will make a queue or another depending on the destination!

Money and Purchases

Canada is a very expensive country in general and Toronto is one of its main cities, and so is it. If you are planning a visit, keep in mind that it is not the best destination for those people who go with very tight budgets. Accommodation, food and leisure are the chapters that will increase your expenses. However, if you come from Europe the final price of your stay will depend a lot on the exchange rate between the euro and the Canadian dollar when traveling. And if what you are going to do in Toronto is to settle down to live or work, make sure you arrive with a sufficient cushion of savings.

Most of the establishments accept the main international credit cards, so if your bank does not charge commissions for these operations, it is highly recommended that you use them to pay as much as you can and avoid having to change or withdraw from the ATM automatic large amounts of cash. However, it always helps to carry some cash on top.

The Canadian dollar is not the same currency as the US dollar, although its exchange rate is very similar. However, if you want to use US dollars in Toronto, many stores may accept them. Either way, accept them or not and the type of change they offer depends on the store, so you should be prepared for anything. Of course, you are more likely to be able to use Canadian dollars in stores in the United States, where it is almost impossible.

One of the Canadian practices that most desires tourists is the fact that the prices of stores, supermarkets or restaurants do not include indirect taxes. This means that all the prices indicated must be added 13% of taxes from the province of Ontario (the percentage is different in each province). This means that everything is more expensive in cash than expected, especially in the case of restaurants—in which to this 13% of taxes you have to add a tip of between 10 and 20%.

• Waiters, and some other service jobs, charge a very low fixed salary, so it is considered that the customer has to pay a good part of the service. The way to do it is through the tip, which more than usual is practically mandatory. It is usually between 10 and 20% of the total account, at the customer's choice. Sometimes, it takes some time to get used to what services have it or not. For example, in bars we pay even if they serve us at the bar, but we do not do it in coffee shops or fast food establishments (although it is not unusual for there to be a small tipping boat in which to drop a coin).
• For shopping in Toronto: The cheap zone of the city is Chinatown. There we can find food stores, textiles and souvenirs. There are also scattered throughout the city small bazaars or dollar store. It is interesting, too, the chain of stores of this type Dollarama, since we can find products for home, hygiene, food and drinks and small souvenirs for very little money.