Toronto is a bustling city filled with endless places to explore, people to meet and food to eat. It’s also home to three Her Campus chapters: University of Toronto, Ryerson & York. If you’re just settling in, growing accustomed to the ‘city life’ may seem a bit daunting. Our advice? Check out some of our favourite places to visit in Toronto and take some time off for yourself.
Nuit Blanche
Winter may be coming, but that doesn’t mean you can’t go on an awesome city-wide adventure into the night to check out art installations. Toronto’s Nuit Blanche is an all-night arts event, that starts at sunset and ends at sunrise the next day. It transforms the downtown core into a series of thought-provoking pieces, light installations, and wild colours. Seeing Toronto’s streets flood with hundreds of people, with a new sight at every corner is most certainly a night you don’t want to miss.
Toronto’s Nuit Blanche 2017 will be taking place September 30th to October 1st, and will feature 90 projects as well as having an overarching theme for the first time, titled “Many Possible Futures”.
Ice skating in Nathan Phillips Square
If you’re a fan of ice skating and have your own, consider taking them to Nathan Phillips Square! The square, which features a large fountain that you’ll be able to see some engineering frosh take a dive during orientation week, freezes over to create a huge rink for locals and tourists alike to skate for as long as they please! If you do not have your own skates, you can rent them for $10 per two hours. The rink will be open November 25th up until mid-March, assuming it’s cold enough.
Visit Kensington Market
Looking for aesthetic places to take photos and up your wardrobe? We got you. Kensington Market, adjacent to Chinatown, is well known for its charm and eclectic mix of cultures and styles. The market offers a variety of shops ranging from mouth-watering groceries beautifully displayed on the streets, vintage wares, and unique cafes and bars. There’s always something new to discover in this area, and the photo opportunities are amazing. The area also features a ton of festivals and concerts, so don’t miss out!
Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF)
For our cinema aficionados, consider attending TIFF this year! Happening September 7th-17th, TIFF is a festival highlighting some of the coolest and most anticipated films, documentaries, and the like, and you may just spot a celebrity or two! That’s right, we can expect to see Jennifer Lawrence, Drake, Daniel Craig, Matt Damon, and many more of your favourite starsfavourite stars! Tickets are on sale now, and can be purchased online or in person by one of the box offices. Not sure what to see and how to plan out your day? Use this website to check out what will be playing throughout the festival and to plan your days to get the most out of the experience!
El Furniture Warehouse
Wait, good food for just $4.95? That exists?! El Furniture Warehouse, located on Bloor Street in The Annex, is a dive-bar with skateboard decks and neon advertising hung on exposed brick and wood panelled walls. From tasty burgers to their widely praised mac-n-cheese, students can fill themselves up on, that’s right, under five dollars. While the cheap menu may translate to smaller plates, it is not the case here. The pubby food is guaranteed to fill you up, along with extras and drinks if you’re feeling like throwing a couple of more coins down on your meal. The trendy atmosphere alone is what makes this bar a favourite for many broke university students. Be sure to get there early and beat the long line!
The AGO
The Art Gallery of Ontario, or the AGO, is located on 317 Dundas St. W. The gallery holds over 90,000 pieces of art ranging from different time periods and cultures. Most importantly, the gallery is very student-friendly and know how much of a struggle finances can be. That’s why the AGO has the FREE After Three programming, open to youth ages 14-25. The program includes tie dying, sticker making, mix tape making, skateboard building and other workshops. Are you above 25? No problem! The AGO has you covered by offering free admission on Wednesday evenings from 6pm-9pm.
Toronto’s Eaton Centre
You can’t possibly explore Toronto and forget to visit the Eaton Centre located in the heart of downtown of the city. Dubbed ‘North America’s busiest mall’, the complex has a wide array of stores for every shopaholic, restaurants for every foodie and beautiful architecture (including a glass ceiling). The mall is linked to Toronto’s PATH underground pedestrian pathway, is connected to two subway stations Dundas and Queen and is attached to Ryerson University Ted Rogers School of Management, which makes the attraction extra accessible.
Article co-written by Veronika Potylitsina, Campus Correspondent for HC UToronto and Lena Lahalih, Campus Correspondent for HC Ryerson.