Toronto, the good bits

🚋Getting around

Tap a contactless card or phone on the TTC; no ticket needed. Subway: Line 2 under Bloor and the Danforth, Line 1 is the yellow U. Streetcars do the rest: 510 Spadina through Chinatown, 506 College through Little Italy, 505 Dundas, 501 Queen, 504 King, 511 Bathurst.

1Chinatown

Spadina Ave from College down to Dundas, and along Dundas

• Mother's Dumplings, 421 Spadina: handmade northern dumplings, a Michelin-listed institution
• Jian Bing Club, 413 Spadina: jianbing, the Chinese street-breakfast crepe
• Corner Crepe Co, College & Spadina: jianbing from a tiny takeout window
• Juicy Dumpling, 280 Spadina: very cheap soup dumplings
• Dumpling House, 328 Spadina: pan-fried dumplings with the lacy crisp "skirt"
• Qin's Garden, 435 Spadina: Wuxi-style soup dumplings and Jiangnan dishes
• Rol San, on Spadina: classic dim sum, open late

Ride: 510 from Spadina station

2Kensington Market

The lanes just west of Spadina: Augusta, Kensington, Baldwin

Old hippie neighbourhood: vintage shops, cheese and spice shops, painted houses. Latin American food: pupusas, empanadas, tacos. Walk straight over from Chinatown.

3The great Bloor walk

OISE (St George station) west along Bloor to Bathurst, ~25 minutes

Through the Annex: student cafés, used bookshops (BMV), Lee's Palace and its cartoon mural, the Hot Docs cinema. Ends at the Honest Ed's corner. The famous flashing discount store (pictured in 2010) closed in 2016 and is now the Mirvish Village towers, but people still give directions by it. Keep going into Koreatown.

4Koreatown

Bloor between Bathurst and Christie

Korean BBQ, fried chicken, bingsu, a big Korean grocery. Christie Pits park at the west end.

Stations: Bathurst, Christie

7Ethiopian, two strips

Bloor at Ossington, just west of Christie Pits: the original cluster, and the nearer one from Koreatown. Lalibela (869 Bloor W), Selam (812), Nazareth (969, cheap and generous).

Danforth East, Greenwood to Monarch Park: the stretch now called Little Ethiopia. Rendez-Vous (the first, 2001), Wazema (live music at weekends), Blue Nile.

Stations: Ossington · Greenwood

5Little Italy

College St between Bathurst and Ossington

Patios, gelato, wine bars. Best on a warm evening.

Ride: 506 College

6Greektown on the Danforth

Danforth Ave from Chester to Pape

Souvlaki, grilled octopus, Greek bakeries. Walk over the Prince Edward Viaduct from Castle Frank for a view down the Don Valley.

Stations: Chester, Pape

8CN Tower

Front St, a few minutes west of Union Station

Go at sunset; the glass floor is fun. Ripley's Aquarium is at its foot.

9Museums

ROM (Royal Ontario Museum): the big one, at Museum station. Gardiner: ceramics, right across the road. Bata Shoe Museum: odder and better than it sounds, at St George. AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario): Frank Gehry building on Dundas, next to Chinatown, with Grange Park behind it.

10OISE

252 Bloor St W, on top of St George station

My old grad school, the education faculty of U of T. Start the Bloor walk here.

11University of Toronto

Between Bloor and College, Spadina and Queen's Park

Wander King's College Circle, University College and Hart House, then Trinity College. Enter from Bloor by Philosopher's Walk (park C).

12The beautiful library

Caven Library, Knox College, 59 St George St

A Gothic reading room with dark wood and stone, the one that turns up on "most beautiful library" lists. It's a working theological library, so step in quietly.

13Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library

120 St George St at Harbord, attached to Robarts

Open to the public and free. Stand at the entrance balcony and look up: four floors of stacked galleries around a light well. Good exhibitions. Mostly weekdays; check hours.

14Merril Collection of Science Fiction

3rd floor, Lillian H. Smith branch, 239 College St, just south of campus

Toronto Public Library's reference collection of science fiction, speculation and fantasy: over 72,000 items, built on writer Judith Merril's donation. Non-circulating, so read in the room. Look for the griffins at the door.

★Two more libraries

Great Library, Osgoode Hall (Queen & University): a Victorian law library and arguably the finest room in the city.

Toronto Reference Library (Yonge & Bloor): Raymond Moriyama's atrium, and the Arthur Conan Doyle Collection.

FToronto Islands and the lakeshore

Take the ferry from the foot of Bay St to Ward's or Centre Island: car-free, beaches, and the best skyline view in the city. Back on the mainland, walk or cycle the Waterfront Trail along Queens Quay (the 510 streetcar runs beside it).

DRiverdale Park East

Broadview Ave, south of the Danforth

A steep hill facing the whole skyline. Bring takeout from Greektown and watch the sunset.

EDon Valley and Evergreen Brick Works

The ravine runs right through the city. Follow the Lower Don Trail or the Rosedale ravine north to the Brick Works: an old quarry turned into ponds and trails, with a Saturday farmers' market.

BTrinity Bellwoods

Queen St W, west of Bathurst

The neighbourhood's back garden. Pair it with a walk along Queen West.

AChristie Pits

Bloor at Christie, between Koreatown and the Ethiopian strip

A sunken park in an old gravel pit, with evening baseball in summer.

CPhilosopher's Walk and Queen's Park

A leafy path from Bloor, beside the ROM, down into campus; then Queen's Park around the Legislature. High Park, the big one, is off the map to the west at High Park station.