12 hours in Toronto

When my mum and I visited Buffalo and Niagara Falls in 2018 (and met up with our American bestie, Annabelle), we got a $1 Megabus to Toronto for the day. We had about 12 hours to see the main sights on our list – Yonge-Dundas Square, Nathan Phillips Square, Graffiti Alley, the Royal Ontario Museum and CN Tower. It was March and freezing cold, even in our thermals. So far, after our travel plans were disrupted by the Beast from the East™, this trip hadn’t gone exactly to plan…

Crossing the border was surprisingly quick and simple – and, as you can see from the photos, thoroughly unexciting. We knew when skyscrapers began to rise around the highway that we were nearly there. Once we arrived in Toronto, my mum and Annabelle were glad to find a Starbucks near the coach station. I was glad to hear Skydiving by Lights. You never hear her on the radio in England!

We found Yonge-Dundas Square quite easily. It’s only five minutes in a straight line from the coach station. I’d read that it’s ‘just like’ Times Square and it’s definitely similar, but it’s not Times Square. Nor should it be! That also comes with a plus side – there were no scammers or salesmen.

Our next stop was Graffiti Alley. On our way, we accidentally found the Toronto sign in Nathan Phillips Square. The square was full of ice skaters. Toronto’s clean streets were more akin to a British city than anywhere we’d been in America – a sort of cross between the two. The CN Tower rose tall above the city, visible from every gap between buildings.

I didn’t expect much of Graffiti Alley, but it was actually one of my favourite parts of the day. Neon colours and art from surreal to political filled every inch of the surrounding walls. I would like it, wouldn’t I? I’m a Falmouth graduate. Seriously, though, the artists who did this are incredible. It’s not easy. I did some spray painting as a teenager and the people who now live in our old house still hide the bins.

My mum was interested in the architecture of the Royal Ontario Museum, so that was our next stop. The route took us through Chinatown, where we acquired appropriately cheap souvenirs. I took some photos of the museum, too, since I bothered walking all the way there. We planned to eat our one not-so-cheap lunch at a vegan restaurant up there, but it closed for the afternoon by the time we arrived. Instead, we caught the subway back downtown and ate at Chipotle, where I had no idea what was going on but went with it.

I hadn’t yet acquired any shark merchandise on this trip. My search could not be halted. There was an aquarium close by. It closed for an event in about fifteen minutes. We got very lost in the skywalk and ended up walking about three times the distance we needed to. A woman approached us as we hurried up the aquarium steps.

‘Hey, guys…’

‘BUT THE GIFT SHOP IS STILL OPEN, RIGHT?’

‘Oh… yeah, of course!’

So that was how we had security let us into an aquarium, a few minutes before it closed, by the exit door just for the gift shop. I knew when I spotted sequins that I had found Toronto the Shark. Mission accomplished.

Before the sun set, we went up the CN Tower. One level was shut, and there were 3-4 rows of people sitting by the available window. Some were filming the sunset, others had their backs to the view and I’m not sure why they were still there. My mum couldn’t see and had to sit down. Because of the closed level, entry to the SkyPod was free, so I joined the line. I was rewarded for the wait with stretches of glittering city lights, only fading out when they met Lake Ontario or the horizon. The sheer size of the city, and the height at which I looked out at it, were staggering.

So we actually ticked everything off our list! Other than being too late for lunch, nothing really went wrong. We even had some spare time, so we got a bus to Polson Pier to see the skyline at night. There, we found T&T Supermarket! A real supermarket! Food! Rushing in 15 minutes before it closed, we bought a couple of microwave meals, a bargain pack of seaweed, cactus fruit and a huge box of cakes for $2. I had found a very random supermarket in Canada. My life was complete.

We then got thrown out of a parking lot while trying to photograph the skyline. There was probably a better view further down, but at this point we were so tired and cold we settled for a more friendly parking lot.

I was thinking that a pretty photo of the skyline would be a fitting end to our day, but no. A fitting end was finding T&T Supermarket and being thrown out of a parking lot. Overall, those 12 hours in Toronto were a resounding success and I’d definitely recommend the day trip to anyone visiting Buffalo.