Choose Your Own Adventure —Toronto! Post 3: New and Olde -- The Financial District and St Lawrence Market

An ongoing series of ideas for how to spend your time in the city.

Post 3: New and Olde -- The Financial District and St Lawrence Market

The financial capital of Canada, Toronto is home to a nice set of tall bank towers in its downtown core. While bustling from Monday to Friday, a weekend stroll through this area of town can be a uniquely quiet experience in an otherwise busy locale.

Start at St Andrew Station and walk east along King Street into the great canyons of the towers! The TD Centre, A great example of Mies van de Rohe's classic modern office buildings can be found near the King and Bay intersection. But don’t stick to the sidewalk! Wander though the plaza and check out the bovine grazers that call this little patch of green their home.

A neat place to visit in this area is the Design Exchange ( 234 Bay Street, M-F 10 to 5, Sat to Sun 12-5pm, Admission $5 adults, $4 seniors/students, kids under 12 free). Located in the former Toronto Stock exchange, the Design Exchange mission is to promote the value of Canadian design, through engaging and enriching programs. They feature exhibits of all sorts of design, including Architecture, Fashion Design, Urban Design, graphic design and more.

Continuing on the design theme, head south on Bay and on the east side of the street just south of Wellington, head into the BCE Place building. A soaring and majestic atrium, this little short cut will take you out to Front and Yonge Street and the famous Hockey Hall of Fame (M-F 10-5, Sat 9.30-6, Sun, 10.30-6, Admission Adults $13, Kids $9, Seniors $9, Kids under 3 & under free).

Keep heading east on Front Street into Old Town Toronto, the historic centre of the old Town of York. Front Street actually used to be the shore line of Lake Ontario back in the 18th century. Located at front and Jarvis Streets, the best part of this neighborhood is the St Lawrence Market. Dived into two markets North and South, the market is a great place to spend some time browsing, people watching and of course, eating!

The north market is open on Saturdays as a farmers market from 5am into the afternoon. Best selection can be found early! On Sunday’s the north market turns into an antique market also running from early early morning to around 5pm.

The South market boasts a collection of permanent stalls and vendors. Make sure to check it out on Saturday it is closed on Sundays. Check out our two favorites while you are there: Kozlik's, the mustard man on the east side of the market for tasty and unique mustard and Carousel Bakery on the west side of the market where you can get a classic (and essential part of a Toronto visit) peameal bacon sandwich. Taste what real Canadian bacon is like! You don’t know what you are missing!


* Swap the order of this adventure if you are an early bird to get the best the market has to offer!