Shop ’til we drop

There’s no way I’ll be returning from Toronto without some souvenirs, so we’ll be dropping by the Bloor-Yorkville neighbourhood to give our credit cards a bashing. With designer boutiques on “Mink Mile” for me and antique shops for mum it’s the ideal shopping district, especially with small courtyards and a contemporary park for people watching and recharging our batteries.

If we can squeeze some more activities in around the retail therapy we’ll definitely stroll the Bloor Street Culture Corridor to check out its cultural landmarks or visit Casa Loma, an authentic castle complete with turrets, secret passages and an escape room game (already one of my favourite things to do in London!).

Mum has always been a fan of theatre and musical performances, so we’ll try and catch an opera at Roy Thomson Hall or a classical orchestra at Koerner Hall. If we’re lucky, there’ll be tickets for the National Ballet of Canada – hopefully either for Cinderella or A Streetcar Named Desire.

Festivals are also a big deal in Toronto and we’re still trying to decide whether to centre our trip around one of the annual events. There’s the gigantic photography festival Scotiabank Contact, Luminato Festival for arts, Fringe for theatre, Toronto International Buskerfest for live music, Nuit Blanche for art or even the Toronto Caribbean Carnival, which is supposed to be an absolute feast for the eyes and the appetite. There are just so many to choose from.

I might struggle to entice mum with one of the many buzzing nightclubs in Westside, but this late-night entertainment district is also host to craft cocktail bars and hipster hangouts, which she’ll definitely enjoy – especially once I’ve treated her to a mojito or two!

Book it

Frontier Canada offers seven nights in a Chelsea room at the Chelsea Hotel in Toronto, plus a full-day Niagara Falls tour and a two-hour city tour, for £1,595pp, including flights with Air Canada and breakfast each morning. Price is based on June 2019 departures.