After five days in Bali and a 21-hour stopover in Taipei, we finally landed in Toronto and made it to our city apartment by midnight. Since we’d cross the international date line and several time zones, we calculated that our 25 June actually lasted 35.5 hours!
Welcome to Canada.
Toronto was our only stop on the North American leg of our six-and-a-half-week round-the-world adventure, added so that we could spend time with my parents and two brothers, who were on their own travel adventures.
There’s something really special about exploring a city for the first time with family. The sightseeing is great, but it’s the shared meals, the laughs and the random moments together that end up becoming the best memories.
Where we stayed
We based ourselves in Toronto’s Entertainment District, and overall, I think it was the right choice.
Almost everything we wanted to do was within walking distance, from the CN Tower and Rogers Centre to Harbourfront, St. Lawrence Market, Union Station and the ferry terminal for Toronto Islands.
The only downside? Noise.
Normally this probably wouldn’t have been too much of an issue, but Toronto was hosting FIFA World Cup matches while we were there. Big screens had been set up nearby, football fans filled the streets late into the evening and the city was buzzing.
It was an incredible atmosphere…
Just perhaps not ideal when you’re trying to convince two jet-lagged children that it really is bedtime.
Jet lag is real
We discovered the one thing you should always take with you when travelling with kids: Grandparents (aka built-in babysitters).
Travelling from Taiwan to Canada absolutely scrambled our body clocks and the kids were waking at around 4am every morning for the first few days before gradually adjusting. Thankfully, staying with the grandparents meant that we could share the load a little and rest the kids when needed.
I, on the other hand, never really recovered. By our second-last night in Toronto, I stopped fighting it altogether. I was already waking up on European time, and since Scotland was our next destination, I figured I may as well embrace it.
Our first impressions of Toronto
Toronto is awesome. It’s incredibly walkable, easy to navigate and feels very family-friendly.
One minute you’re standing beneath towering skyscrapers.
The next you’re wandering through quirky parks or strolling along the waterfront.
We spent our first full day exploring Roundhouse Park beneath the CN Tower, discovering Toronto’s incredible PATH network — more than 30 kilometres of underground walkways connecting the city — and sampling our first Canadian poutine.
Let’s just say… We weren’t immediately convinced by the Poutine. Clearly more research was required.
A city built for exploring
One thing we loved about Toronto was how easy it was to get around.
We explored most of the city on foot, often clocking more than 20,000 steps in a day.
When our legs needed a break, Toronto’s clean public transport made everything simple. Between the subway, trams and buses, we could tap on using our debit cards or Google Pay without needing to buy transport cards or figure out complicated ticket systems.
It made travelling with kids refreshingly easy.
A perfect summer day: Toronto Islands
Without question, my favourite day was our trip to Toronto Islands.
Just a short ferry ride from downtown, it felt like we’d escaped the city completely.
We hired a family bike and spent the day cruising along quiet paths, spotting swans and geese, wandering through gardens, getting lost in a hedge maze and taking in some of the most beautiful views back towards the Toronto skyline.
The kids even braved a swim… Or a very refreshing cold plunge in the 14 degrees water!
Centreville Amusement Park was the icing on the cake. The log ride, dodgem cars and chairlift were huge hits, and by the time we made it to dinner that evening we were all exhausted but happy (for the most part).
It was one of those days where everything just clicked.
Relaxed. Simple. And exactly what summer family holidays should feel like.
Dan’s perfect Toronto day: a view and a game
Ask Dan, though, and he’ll give you a completely different answer.
His highlight was heading up the CN Tower before spending the afternoon watching the Toronto Blue Jays take on the Texas Rangers at Rogers Centre.
Which, to be fair, was a very fun and epic day!
While Dan had a much better understanding of the rules, some of us were happy to just soak up the fantastic atmosphere.
To finish the day, we devoured some of the best smash burgers we’ve ever eaten from Rudy.
After dinner, Dan even managed to sneak out for a few games of pool. Which concluded a pretty perfect day in his books.
A day trip to Niagara Falls
One of the highlights of our time in Toronto was our day trip to Niagara Falls. While the falls themselves were every bit as spectacular as we’d imagined, what made the day even more special was the chance to catch up with family.
My Nana’s Irish aunt’s children and grand children travelled from Chicago and Buffalo, turning a sightseeing day into a family reunion. We enjoyed a long lunch together at Queen Victoria Place Restaurant, overlooking one of the world’s most iconic natural wonders.
With great food, a cocktail in hand and uninterrupted views of the Horseshoe Falls, it was the perfect place to sit back, catch up and appreciate just how fortunate we were to be sharing this adventure with family from across North America. It’s one of those travel memories that will stay with me long after the details of the itinerary have faded.
And then we headed down to experience the thundering falls in all their glory!
Food highlights
Toronto turned out to be an excellent food city. Even for the fussiest of 8-year-olds!
We squeezed in plenty of Canadian classics along the way and some excellent local beers.
Smoke’s Poutine
We popped into a nearby Smoke’s Poutine on our first afternoon and enjoyed a loaded Poutine. Instead of just the usual fries, cheese curds and gravy, we added bacon and chicken to make it a full meal. The portions were huge and we think it was a little too rich and filling for our first big meal after a week of Asian cuisine.
Unfortunately, their hot dogs were not as good… Though the bloke who served us had suggested we stick to Poutine. So that’s on us. Hot dogs at the baseball game made up for it.
The best hot dogs
Meanwhile, Mr 7 declared the “street meat” hot dog from Gus’s Hot Dogs outside Rogers Centre one of the best things he’d eaten all trip.
High praise from a seven-year-old.
The best burgers
More than a week later, I’m still thinking of those incredible smash burgers and fries we had from Rudy in the entertainment district. I’d go back to Toronto just for that.
The Old Spaghetti Factory
One meal that perfectly summed up this leg of the trip was dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory.
It wasn’t fancy, but it didn’t need to be. The eclectic decor and fabulous wait staff made it awesome. And sitting around a big table with my parents, brothers and our little family after another full day of exploring was exactly what this part of the adventure was about. Large bowls of pasta that included a starter and sides were accompanied by plenty of laughs and a fun card game. After 23,000 steps, even exhausted 7-year-olds had fun in the end.
St Lawrence Market
One of my favourite discoveries was St. Lawrence Market because there was something for everyone.
Alex and I shared an incredible pulled pork melt from one of the delis.
Dan’s fresh oysters disappeared almost as quickly as they were served. And his side of Chinese dumplings were a hit.
After a few detours, Mum eventually got her smoked salmon bagel and loved it.
And somehow there was still room for maple cookies and banoffee cheesecake for dessert.
There was also huge range of delicious cheeses, bakery goods and fruit and veg that we could take with us.
The Distillery District
While the grandparents took the little ones home for a rest, Dan, Alex and I headed towards the Distillery District.
Toronto’s historic Distillery District is now home to boutique shops, cafés, restaurants and artisan distilleries in beautifully restored Victorian industrial buildings. With the FIFA World Cup in full swing, the laneways were buzzing as locals gathered to watch the match on big screens. We escaped the heat inside and settled in with a tasting of locally distilled spirits, shared a basket of delicious fried potatoes and soaked up the lively atmosphere.
It was one of those places where you could easily lose an entire afternoon, simply enjoying great food, good company and one of Toronto’s most vibrant neighbourhoods.
Richmond Station for a date night
On our final night, Dan and I escaped for dinner at Richmond Station while the kids stayed behind with their grandparents and enjoyed a home cooked meal.
After weeks of moving from country to country, it was lovely to slow down over a fantastic meal and enjoy a rare date night together. The beef tartare and rustic burger and fries were exactly what I was craving!
Those moments are just as important on family holidays as the big sightseeing days.
A week in Toronto with kids wasn’t enough
On the 1st of July, our last day in Toronto, we strolled along the Harbourfront and rested in the shade, taking in the buzzing atmosphere as people celebrating Canada Day. It was here that we realised that while six nights felt like the perfect introduction to Toronto, it was not enough.
A week is long enough to experience different neighbourhoods, catch a baseball game, explore the waterfront, visit Niagara Falls, enjoy Toronto Islands and simply spend quality time with family. But there is still so much we didn’t get to see. And we’d love to explore the city in the winter, which would be a very different experience.
Would we come back? We’re already looking at our calendar.
Next time, I’d spend even longer wandering neighbourhoods, eating my way through the city’s incredible food scene and finding more hidden green spaces.
Toronto surprised us in the best possible way.
It isn’t just Canada’s biggest city.
It’s a city that somehow manages to feel energetic and relaxed, exciting and peaceful, all at the same time.
And for our family, it was the perfect place for a summer adventure.
Coming up next: My guide to the best family-friendly things to do in Toronto, including our favourite attractions, transport tips, costs and everything we’d recommend for travelling with kids.
Leave a Reply