The past few days have been absolutely beautiful – the perfect weather, in fact, to explore the city. That is, if you know where to go. We all know about the ROM and Ontario Place, but Toronto’s real beauty lies in its colourful neighbourhoods. There’s nothing quite like picking a street, and wandering around to see what you’ll find. To help you decide where to go, I’ll be posting a series of articles on the best places to wander and explore in Toronto, starting with The Distillery District.

This is absolutely my favourite place to be in Toronto. A set of renovated and refurbished distillery buildings, this pedestrian area is beautiful and charming, and worth seeing if only for its wonderful architecture (think Cannery Row North). The majority of the space is taken up with art galleries, artsy shops, restaurants, and cafes. Its incredible atmosphere, mixing the old, the cultured and the new, makes it a place that can’t be missed, whether you’re new to Toronto or have been here for your entire life.

How To Get Here:

-From King Station (Yonge Line): take the 504 King Streetcar. Get out at Parliament, walk 2 blocks South to Mill St.
-From Castle Frank Station (Bloor Line): take the 65A Parliament bus to Front St., walk 1 block South to Mill St.
-See the Distillery Website for more directions.

Places To Go:

-Bergo Designs: This is an industrial design (a fancy name for home decor items like vases, clocks, and tea pots) store. This sounds pretty boring, but Bergo isn’t Ikea. I don’t know how to describe it except to say that it’s really, really cool – I’ve been known to spend well over an hour looking at the hundreds of unique objects. Their designs are creative, beautiful, and made with more than a little humour. Unfortunately, they also come with more than a little price tag, so if you’re a student just think of it as a gallery.

- Soma Chocolatemaker: Three words: Mayan Hot Chocolate. This is hot chocolate with chilli pepper. Not to everyone’s taste, but definitely an experience not to be missed. If you are not adventurous enough for this, they have many other drinks to try, as well as gelato and handmade chocolates. A window into the kitchens allows you to watch them make their creations.

- Sandra Ainsley Gallery: This is a gallery space full of incredible glass sculptures and mixed media contortions. A gallery not to be missed.

-Gibsone Jessop Gallery: This is an art gallery specializing in international artists and, at least every time that I’ve been there, usually displays photography or modern art. Its door is always open, and it’s far less intimidating for those who just want to take a look than some of the other galleries on the property.

Things to Do:
- Soulpepper Theater: This is easily my favourite theater in Toronto. They have excellent productions and a very well chosen repertoire with everything from Classical plays to Shakespeare to modern theater (and a penchant for producing Stoppard and Beckett doesn’t hurt). Best of all, they have $5 rush tickets for those under 21, $20 regular rush tickets, and $28 student tickets for any level of seating. Click the link for this season’s performances.

- Festivals: There are many, especially during the summer. I’ve personally only attended the Distillery branch of the Jazz Festival, but it was entertaining as always. Although due to space constraints these tend to not be as full as other street festivals around Toronto, they are the perfect time to wander the Distillery. Click the link to see this year’s list.

Photo Credits (top-bottom): 1, 2 by Carly Basian; 3, 5 by me; 4 from here.

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 18th, 2009 at 2:23 pm and is filed under Featured Posts, General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.