Toronto Tourism Magazine 2009 - (Page 81)
Neighbourhoods hearT of The ciTy Bloor West Village & High Park www.bloorwestvillage.ca DETAILS One of the city’s greenest neighbourhoods, Bloor West Village, on the north end of High Park, offers a leisurely adventure in Eastern European pastry, coffee and culture. Delicatessens brim over with sausage, perogie, paska (a traditional Easter bread), borscht and other mouth-watering European goodies. The park terrain is varied — manicured gardens in the western side, an open prairie in the centre, and unkempt forest in the east. In between are sports fields, playgrounds, a swimming pool, a nature school, sculpture and vegetable gardens, a greenhouse, a small zoo and restaurants. LOCATE Bloor St. W., from High Park to Jane St. TTC Subway stations High Park, Runnymede and Jane. DISCOVER Unique gift ideas. Bloor West Village is a popular resource for distinctive gift items and European delicacies. IDEAS According to urban legend, Grenadier Pond is bottomless, that is, its depth cannot be measured due to the amount of mud. LOVE Nature. The park is home to multiple species of birds and marsh wildlife, and fish caught in it are safe to eat. Queen West www.westqueenwest.ca Roncesvalles Village/ Little Poland www.roncesvallesvillage.ca DETAILS A community of Eastern European and Russian immigrants, this area is a mix of residential and small family-owned retail and food shops specializing in sausages, handmade perogies, sauerkraut, cabbage rolls and hearty soups. LOCATE Roncesvalles Ave., from King St. W. to Dundas St. W. TTC Dundas streetcar westbound. DISCOVER Designer and vintageclothing stores. LOVE Dancing in the streets. In September, the friendly atmosphere in the village gets downright festive, as the Roncesvalles Polish Festival calls for the streets to be closed off, and then polka bands and dancers take over. DETAILS Over the past decade, numerous trendy restaurants, clothing chains and purveyors of art and chic house décor have descended on Queen West, but they haven’t diluted this colourful strip’s street-cool factor. The strip is lined with tenacious textile stores, antiques shops, tattoo parlours and stores selling “real vintage.” Further west and a couple of blocks south are sleek loft condos, while the stretch past Bathurst is alive with a flurry of new dining spots, fashion boutiques and start-up art galleries. Given the sheer volume of bustling watering holes, restaurants and grab-andgo ethnic-fare eateries, Queen West is always a virtual carnival of food and drink bursting with culture, creativity and attitude. LOCATE Queen St. W., from University Ave. to Gladstone Ave. TTC Osgoode subway station, then Queen streetcar westbound. DISCOVER Street savvy. Stroll this stretch of Queen, from University to Bathurst, past unpretentiously hip taverns and local greasy spoons clustered with upscale dining establishments. LOVE Staying up all night. For one night each fall, Queen West is the backbone for Nuit Blanche, an all-night contemporaryarts festival that takes over the city’s galleries, streets and public spaces. Kensington Market www.kensington-market.ca DETAILS Experience firsthand Toronto’s rich cultural mix at Kensington Market, where the shops are stacked with produce and gift items from Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. This labyrinth of streets, just west of Old Chinatown, affords a multisensory virtual trip around the world, with a myriad of global finds in the vintage and second-hand-clothing stores tucked in amid eclectic restaurants and cafés. Every day is busy here, with fishmongers, shoppers, street musicians and impromptu speechmakers crowding the laneways. Kensington is ranked among the best street markets in North America. LOCATE Spadina Ave. to Augusta Ave., from Dundas St. to College St. TTC Queen’s Park subway station, then College streetcar westbound; or Spadina subway station, then Spadina streetcar southbound. DISCOVER Pre-loved treasures. Nassau, Baldwin and Augusta streets are lined with vendors offering an eclectic range of musical instruments, clothing, textiles and antiques ranging from vintage to garage-sale quality. IDEAS The Kensington Market community traces its roots to the 1920s, when 80 percent of Toronto’s Jewish population lived here. LOVE Winter solstice. Every December 21st, Kensington celebrates the solstice at Kensington Karnival. Chinatown www.chinatownbia.com Kensington Market DETAILS Always bustling with crowds of shoppers and vendors, Toronto’s Old Chinatown is home to some of Canada’s best Asian restaurants and beststocked Asian stores. Besides Chinese imports, this everbusy area sells Vietnamese, TORONTO 2009 | 81
http://www.westqueenwest.ca
http://www.bloorwestvillage.ca
http://www.roncesvallesvillage.ca
http://www.kensington-market.ca
http://www.chinatownbia.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Toronto Tourism Magazine 2009
Toronto Tourism Magazine 2009
Contents
Contributors
Welcome
Cityscapes
Toast of the Town
In the Night Garden
Gooooal!
Take a Moment
Faces of Toronto
Red Rocket
Past Perfection
Water Lust
The Artist’s City
Living the Green Dream
York Region and North Toronto
Mississauga Marvels
Vine Country
Discovery Walks
Neighbourhoods of Greater Toronto
Listings
Visitor Resources
2009 Event Calendar
Parting Shot
Toronto Tourism Magazine 2009
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