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I almost wrote off Toronto, but it turned out to be a brilliant choice for our girls’ trip (Picture: Getty Images) In the latest instalment of Travel Hot Takes, Lifestyle reporter Charlie Sawyer reveals why Toronto is an underrated choice for a girls’ getaway. It had never crossed my mind to consider Toronto for a girls’ trip. I imagined Ontario’s capital much as I did the rest of Canada: full of moose, maple syrup, and Justin Trudeau. But after our bestie left the UK to live out there, my closest girlfriends and I traded our annual pilgrimage to one of Europe’s summer hotspots for a visit to our dear old pal instead. And, as it turns out, Toronto was the perfect location for a truly memorable trip. Sure, it lacks the beach bars of Mykonos and the thumping nightclubs of Ibiza, but ‘The Six’ more than makes up for it in food, shopping and friendliness. From sexy locals to raucous dive bars, here’s why you should grab your girls and get going to the ‘world’s most welcoming city’. Toronto has so much to offer in the summertime (Picture: Getty Images) The best ways to spend your days in Toronto One of the reasons Toronto makes for such an excellent girls’ trip is that it genuinely has something for everyone. For shopping, there’s Queen Street West, Roncesvalles, and Ossington Avenue, all full of independent boutiques and great thrift and vintage spots. For nature and chill, there’s Toronto Island, a thing of beauty and a lovely place to sunbathe and swim. As one of Canada’s oldest queer spaces, the island is incredibly welcoming and has an amazing atmosphere. Be warned: it is known for its nude beaches. Of course, if that’s your thing, feel free to join in. Toronto is also known as the ‘City within a Park’, with plenty of green space on offer in High Park and Trinity Bellwoods, too. Toronto Island is a lovely place to chill and catch up with friends (Picture: Getty Images) For fuel after a hectic day of exploring the city, there are some of the world’s best restaurants. Check out Chubby’s, Sunny’s Chinese and North Of Brooklyn Pizza for great grub, top tier vibes and some very attractive Canadians. Finally, for a bucket list moment, there is, of course, Niagara Falls — it’s cliched, but it was one of the most incredible experiences I’ve ever had. Not only are the falls breathtaking, but Niagara as a town is so fun it feels a bit like a bigger version of Thorpe Park. Metro Travel Hot Takes People say it’s dark and dirty, but I love this troubled European city I love Turkey, but its ‘unspoiled paradise’ has been ruined by tourists The underrated Irish city that’s a ‘mini-Dublin’ with better Guinness I’ve been to 9 Italian cities, but there’s only one I keep going back to The European capital with a ‘Riviera’ 1,500 miles from Saint Tropez We donned the trademark red ponchos and forced several strangers to take pictures of us, saturated by the spray. Sure, it’s a tourist trap, but our day trip to Niagara was easily my favourite moment from the trip. If you do visit, you should make time to stop by the waxwork museum located in the centre of the town. There you’ll find some of the most disturbing and hilarious wax statues that will likely scar both your brain and your camera roll. It’s a tourist trap, but Niagara is still a great day out (Picture: Getty Images) Nights out to remember These days, as is the case in many cities, Toronto nightlife is hit and miss. On a number of occasions, we found ourselves surrounded by bored-looking city folk bobbing their heads while we screamed Justin Bieber tracks at the top of our lungs. However, we also came across some of the best dive bars I’ve ever been into. Quite accidentally, we stumbled into Badlands, an Ossington Avenue institution with sexy cowboys serving drinks and Dolly Parton music videos on repeat. Comment nowWhat did you think of Toronto? Tell us about your experience in the comments belowComment Now We line danced with strangers to country bangers and Paramore for a few hours and, as Londoners, quickly became VIPs. Another location still being discussed in the WhatsApp is Apartment 200. If you’re a fan of RnB and hip hop music coupled with comfy sofas and vintage arcade games, this is the place for you. A word of warning, though: after 11pm, the queue becomes insane so make sure you pre-drink and get there early. Save to your Notes: The best Toronto neighbourhoods Little Portugal – for trendy vintage shops and karaoke bars Koreatown – for the best food Trinity-Bellwoods – for amazing green spaces The waterfront – for the most beautiful views and walks The village – for the best LGBTQIA+ spots How expensive is it to visit Toronto? Like most twenty-somethings, our girls’ trips are always done on a tight budget, so I was anxious about what all of this would cost when the idea of Toronto first came up. But, we found that if you’re organised and book flights far in advance, you can get some decent deals. I flew with Air Transat and by taking advantage of the January sales, my return flights ended up costing just over £400. That sounds like a lot, but summer flights to Italy can easily set you back £300, so it’s all about perspective. Our group stayed in an Airbnb five minutes walk from the aforementioned Ossington Avenue, an iconic stretch of restaurants and shops that in 2022 was named one of the coolest streets in the world. It did not disappoint. Ossington Avenue has some of the coolest coffee shops and events (Picture: Getty) The house we stayed in was beautiful, modern, and reasonably priced. There were seven of us, and we each paid £340 for seven nights. Plus, the property had a garden which allowed us to film several OOTD TikToks and one highly embarrassing dance video to a song from ‘Step up 2’ involving a sprinkler. In terms of eating, drinking and paying for excursions, Toronto is more affordable than London, with food and transport approximately 23% cheaper, according to latest statistics from Numbeo. I was ready to be disappointed by Toronto. Not because I didn’t think it would be an interesting and beautiful city, but because I didn’t think it would be well-suited for the girls trip I had in mind. But, it turned out to be everything we could’ve wanted as a group and more. Next summer, skip Ibiza and head to Toronto.
