Toronto: 10 fun things for weekend visitors

Tourists aboard the trolley on the street of Toronto (Tourism Toronto / May 16, 2008)

There's so much to love about Toronto: the Tim Hortons doughnut shops on every corner, the tidy walking paths linking the neighborhoods, the parks, the ketchup-flavored potato chips.

You get the point: Toronto isn't fringy, but it's clean, polite and easygoing. And it's great for all ages.

It's true that the exchange rate is not what it used to be. But it's as easy to love the full-price Toronto as much as the discount version.

Take it from someone who has visited Toronto 137 times. Really.

Here are 10 things to love - and see - in Toronto, from someone who's been there.

1. Cheap designer stuff. Americans can't go into Holt Renfrew any more and take home the second floor at a 52 percent exchange. But we can go to Winners (winners.ca), Canada's answer to TJ Maxx. Burberry, Prada and Lilly Pulitzer regularly pop up at these outlets, located throughout the city.

2. Hip movie district. If you want to be with people who are, as Ben Stiller says in "Zoolander," "really ridiculously good-looking," go to the Distillery. Locals know it as Hollywood North because of the proliferation of movies filmed there, " Cinderella Man" and "Chicago" to name two. The Distillery, just north of Lake Ontario, is a 13-square-acre rehabbed Victorian industrial area filled with bars and restaurants. Toronto's first pedestrian area, the Distillery is definitely for people in their 20s or 30s.

3. A college town feel. The Annex, a neighborhood bound by Bathurst Street, Avenue Road, Dupont Street and Bloor Street, is filled with youthful chic and academic types, due to its proximity to the University of Toronto. Writer Margaret Atwood lives there, as does actress Rachel McAdams. Numerous low-key restaurants and small boutiques thrive, but the real beauty of the Annex lies in its placid residential atmosphere.

4. U of T. At 8 a.m. in Queen's Park, watch folks practicing tai chi amid the awakening University of Toronto campus (www.utoronto.ca). Bordered by Queen's Park Crescent East and West, UofT boasts seven small residential colleges, all housed in beautiful gothic buildings. University College's chapel is especially memorable, but my favorite is the impeccably landscaped and academically rigorous Trinity College, where, in the tradition of Cambridge and Oxford universities, gowned students walk to their formal dining hall daily at 6 p.m.

5. Royal Ontario Museum. Everyone includes the Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park on the must-see list. And the Crystal, the jarring exterior that's the new symbol of the museum, is too intriguing to resist. Make a trip just to see the fully outfitted bat caves, surely the creepiest exhibit ever. There are also interactive, hands-on galleries to please the smallest of children. You may want to stroll through the taxidermist's dream gallery of stuffed mammals. If staring at glassy-eyed beasts doesn't thrill you, look into the typewriter exhibit. Admission is $20 ($14-$17 kids and seniors). Entrance is free 45 minutes before closing every day.

6. LCBO stores. I know I should not glorify the purchase of alcohol, but Liquor Control Board of Ontario stores are so cute, so clean, that they make buying wine almost adorable. Even their cheap wines have great names (Wolf Blass! Henry of Pelham!).

7. Outdoorsy shopping. For outdoor gear, go to the Mountain Equipment Co-op, 400 King St. W. A marriage of Moosejaw to L.L. Bean, the MEC is enormous, cool and so PC. For a $5 membership, you get to vote in all sorts of important elections regarding the co-op's fate, like how many types of snowshoes or freeze-dried tofu products it should carry. You name it, this store's got it: The array of canoe paddles is the country's best.

8. Yonge Street. A drive down Yonge, ending at the water, is a real testimony to the power of small business in North America (downtownyonge.com). For miles and miles, there's nary a big box to be found. Yonge is a lengthy strip of boutiques and cozy restaurants. Some are family friendly, like Petit Pied, a tiny European shoe boutique for toddlers, while some, ahem, not so much. But on-street metered parking is no problem and the profusion of Second Cup, Canada's version of Starbucks, ensures that there are many restrooms along the way.

9. Where the famous eat.Sassafraz is a popular restaurant and watering hole. Located in the Yorkville area, Sassafraz can probably guarantee two things - a nice lunch and someone famous at the next table. Rod Stewart, Courteney Cox and Ellen DeGeneres have all dined there. While Sassafraz isn't cheap, its casual atmosphere makes it a nice family spot. (You can always split a hamburger.) Located at 100 Cumberland. Reservations for dinner are a good idea.

10. Caribbean Canada. What says Canada more than a Caribbean festival in the summer? Caribana makes Mardi Gras look like a pretender: The floats are huge; the costumes are extreme, tall and colorful. Toronto is home to sizeable immigrant island population, and June is its time to let steel drums pound well into the night. This year's dates are June 15-Aug. 3 around Toronto's Exhibition Place, on Lake Ontario, and Lakeshore Boulevard.

IF YOU GO

GETTING THERE. Toronto is about 500 miles from Long Island, at least 8 1/2 hours by car. American Airlines, Continental and United are among the airlines that offer daily nonstop flights between New York and Toronto. Airfare starts around $300.

AT THE BORDER If you don't have a passport, you need to present a birth certificate and driver's license at the border. Children need birth certificates.

TRAINS. Amtrak trains run daily from Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan to Toronto. The trip takes about 12 hours, involves at least one connection and costs $92 and up, amtrak.com.

GETTING AROUND. The subway is clean, fast and convenient. Bus and streetcars are available, as are taxis. See torontotourism.ca for more information.

Related topic galleries: Courteney Cox, Colleges and Universities, Long Island, Trinity College, Connecticut, Yorkville, Ellen DeGeneres, New York