Toronto

Three days between the CN Tower, Kensington and Ward's Island

Toronto takes three days. Start at St. Lawrence Market, walk Front Street to the CN Tower in the morning, then ferry to Ward's Island and the Centre Island boardwalk. Give day two to the ROM and the Bata Shoe Museum on Bloor Street, and day three to Kensington Market, Chinatown and the Distillery District.

Day one, the lakefront. Eat breakfast at St. Lawrence Market, then walk west along Front Street past the Flatiron-shaped Gooderham Building to Union Station and the CN Tower; go up in the morning, before the tour groups. After lunch, take the ferry from the foot of Bay Street to Ward's Island and follow the boardwalk to Centre Island, staying until the sun drops behind the towers. Dinner can be in the Distillery District, a short streetcar ride east.

Day two, the museums. The ROM opens the day: dinosaurs, then the Asian galleries. Walk a few blocks west along Bloor Street to the Bata Shoe Museum, then ride Line 1 down to St Patrick for the AGO and its Henry Moore rooms. In the evening, walk west into Chinatown on Spadina Avenue and on into Kensington Market for a drink on Augusta Avenue.

Day three, east or south. Take Line 2 out to Pape or Chester for a late breakfast on the Danforth, then continue to the Beaches and walk the boardwalk along Lake Ontario. The other choice is Niagara Falls: leave early on a GO train or a tour and be back by night. Book CN Tower slots in advance from June to August, when walk-up waits get long.

Peameal bacon, Hakka chilli chicken and Danforth souvlaki

Plan Toronto meals by neighbourhood. The one local classic is the peameal bacon sandwich, best at the St. Lawrence Market stalls on a Saturday morning, with butter tarts from any Ontario bakery. Spadina's Chinatown does dim sum, Kensington Market packs taquerias and Jamaican patties, and the Danforth grills souvlaki.

The city has no single cuisine, so plan meals by neighbourhood. Start with the one local classic: a peameal bacon sandwich, thick slices of cornmeal-rolled back bacon on a soft roll, best at the St. Lawrence Market stalls on a Saturday morning, when the farmers' market fills the north building too. For something sweet, look for butter tarts at any Ontario bakery.

Spadina Avenue's Chinatown does dim sum at lunch and noodles late at night. Kensington Market, next door, packs Mexican taquerias, Jamaican patty shops and bakeries into a few streets. On the Danforth, Greektown means grilled souvlaki and long patio dinners, while Little Portugal on Dundas West is all charcoal chicken and pasteis de nata. The Indian-Chinese Hakka style, with chilli chicken and Manchurian sauces, is a Toronto speciality best found in the plazas of Scarborough. Gerrard Street East has Little India, and Eglinton Avenue West still has Caribbean roti and jerk shops. Downtown, Ossington Avenue and King West carry the most talked-about dining rooms; book Thursday to Saturday a few days ahead.

Winterlicious, Caribana and the Lake Ontario calendar

The lake shapes the year. January averages about 0C by day and minus 7C at night, and the wind off the water makes it feel colder, so winter visits revolve around the PATH, museums and skating at Nathan Phillips Square under the City Hall arches. Late January and early February bring Winterlicious, when hundreds of restaurants run set-price menus to fill quiet weeks.

Spring warms quickly: April reaches about 12C and May about 19C, and High Park's cherry trees usually flower in late April or early May. Rain is spread evenly through the year, around 70 to 80 mm a month, so there is no true wet season.

July and August average 26 to 27C and are often humid. This is festival season: Pride runs through June and ends with a big parade, Summerlicious repeats the restaurant deals in July, and the Toronto Caribbean Carnival (still widely called Caribana) peaks with its parade along Lake Shore Boulevard on the August long weekend. The Canadian National Exhibition then runs at Exhibition Place until Labour Day. September, at about 22C, belongs to the film festival, and the first weekend of October usually brings Nuit Blanche, an all-night contemporary art event across the city.