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Sometimes it’s fun to act like tourists in your own city. Toronto is the capital of Ontario for a reason. It’s filled with so many attractions, restaurants, and activities—you’d never be able to see it all. So where do you start?
Spending a couple of days in the city is the ideal way to visit Toronto. You can visit over and over again and do something different every time. On this weekend in Toronto, I went to see the Royal Ontario Museum, the Hockey Hall of Fame, and a play by Mirvish.
Itinerary Overview
Day 1: A day at the Royal Ontario Museum
Day 2: Morning at the Hockey Hall of Fame and a Mirvish Play
Day 1: ROM and Big Eats
Morning
After breakfast, take the GO train into the city, driving in Toronto is incredibly nervewracking and you’ll just be stuck in traffic all day. The GO train is reliable and offers different ticket options to fit your budget. You can also park at most GO stations for free for 48 hours.
Arrive at Union Station and walk to your hotel if it’s nearby or switch to the TTC and take the subway to the closest stop to your hotel. I decided to stay at the One King West Hotel due to its proximity to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
What to Know About One King West:
One King West is a stunning historic boutique hotel on King Street. Its location is ideal for those visiting downtown Toronto. The building was originally built in 1914 and is a former bank. I chose to stay in one of the Historic Suites with an Interior View. The room was gorgeous and also offered a small kitchenette. This hotel is a hit with architecture and history lovers! I definitely plan on staying at One King West for future visits to Toronto.
Afternoon
After checking in to your hotel, take the TTC and get off at Museum Station. Museum Station is a key part of visiting the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). It’s so different from any other subway station and features copies of historical artifacts like Greek columns, Indigenous totem poles, and Egyptian obelisks. Spend as much time as you can at the ROM, its collection is massive and you need to spend at least a few hours here to make your visit worth it.
What to Know About the Royal Ontario Museum
The Royal Ontario Museum is the largest in Canada, and the most visited, boasting a yearly average of 1 million visitors. I made the mistake of visiting the ROM on the Saturday of Easter weekend. I could not comprehend the amount of people in the building and highly recommend going on a quiet weekday instead so you can enjoy the museum properly.
Must See At the Royal Ontario Museum:
Ultimately the must-sees at the Royal Ontario Museum are dependent on the areas of history you enjoy, but here are mine:
Galleries of Africa: Egypt
Ancient Egypt was my favourite area of history as a child. The Mummy movies were literally why I majored in history, though I never did anything as epic as Rick and Evie. The ROM’s Egyptian galley showcases the many dynasties of Egypt from the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt to the Ptolomies.
The most interesting artifacts in the ROM’s Egyptian collection are the sarcophagi. Take the time to learn about the mummification process and the journey to the afterlife. There are also actual mummies on display, from mummified cats and alligators to humans. Remember that the mummies were once people, be respectful when viewing them. Make sure to step inside the full-scale reconstruction of the inner chapel of the Tomb of Kitines. You can touch the walls of the tomb and see the magnitude of Egyptian hieroglyphics and art.
Gallery of Greece
Classical and Bronze Age Greece are another of my favourite periods in history. The ROM’s Greece collection spans the entire Mediterranean from Italy in the west to Türkiye in the east. See if you can identify some of the busts, admire the red and black figure Amphora jars, and look for the model of the Athena Parthenos.
James and Louise Temerty Galleries of the Age of Dinosaurs
Dinosaur skeletons are always cool to look at, there are six completed fossils of duck-billed dinosaurs on display! Don’t miss Gordo – a Barosaurus skeleton and the largest real fossil dinosaur skeleton mounted in Canada. The ROM also has a massive collection of dinosaur skulls. Keep in mind that this seems to be the busiest exhibition.
There are thousands of artifacts on display throughout the Royal Ontario Museum. You won’t have time to fully immerse yourself in every exhibition in a singular visit, so choose a few to visit on your first trip to the museum, and return and see some more!
Bonus Tips for the ROM
- Check the Royal Ontario Museum’s website to see if any exhibitions will be closed during your visit. Some are usually under construction. I didn’t do this and missed a few artifacts I wanted to see.
- Don’t touch any artifacts on display unless signs indicate you can interact with the object. This can cause damage to the artifacts over time.
- While photography is allowed for most of the permanent collection, be mindful of any “no photography” signs. Flash photography especially can also damage artifacts over time. Selfie sticks and tripods are also not allowed within the museum.
Next, take some time to have an early dinner. We took the TTC down Bloor and went to Sarang Kitchen, a Korean Fried Chicken restaurant!
About Sarang Kitchen
Sarang Kitchen specializes in Korean Fried Chicken, but they’re known for being inclusive and working to break down barriers faced by the neurodivergent community. They also have a variety of vegetarian options and use halal chicken.
They also follow the “Hospitality Included” model, which means guests do not tip staff. Instead, the food prices ensure that both front-of-house and back-of-house staff are paid equitably. Instead of tipping, Sarang Kitchen asks guests to leave a positive review online.
Our Menu
We ordered a few different appetizers in addition to our main entrees because it all looked so delicious and we wanted to experience Sarang Kitchen fully. My boyfriend and I shared the Truffle Mushroom Loaded Fries, which were so crispy and topped with portobello mushrooms. We also shared the Snowed Under Cheese K-Dogs, which were Korean cheese dogs sprinkled with even more cheese.
For our main dinner, my boyfriend had a fried chicken platter with the Choice Bro sauce, which came highly recommended by our waiter. I chose to eat the fried cauliflower and picked the Sweet As sauce, which was sweet of course, but also savoury and spicy.
Overall I found Sarang Kitchen to be an incredible restaurant experience, and different from any restaurant I had tried before. I hope to see more restaurants incorporating the principles Sarang Kitchen have implemented because they benefit everyone!
Evening
While there are many places to go out in Toronto, we decided to stay at our hotel. One King West is so beautiful and we wanted to experience more than just our hotel room. We decided to watch the Toronto Maple Leafs game in the hotel lobby, which doubles as Teller’s Bistro & Bar.
Take a menu and enjoy drinks while watching the game on their large television. I had a virgin spritz that I’m still thinking about. We were still on a truffle kick and ordered the Truffles Fries topped with Parmigiano Reggiano, and White Truffle Oil. We also shared the Kettle Chips with a rich bleu cheese sauce.
Day 2: Hockey and Live Theatre
Morning
Daily Ritual Cafe
Wake up and have breakfast at the Daily Ritual Cafe, which is located within the One King West Hotel. We shared the Breakfast Wrap and the Belgian Waffles and of course, had iced lattes. Place your order at the cafe bar, take a table number to the hotel lobby and have your breakfast brought to you!
What to Know About The Hockey Hall of Fame
After breakfast make your way to the Hockey Hall of Fame, only a 5-minute walk from One King West Hotel! The Hockey Hall of Fame is a quintessential experience for any Canadian. The exhibits take you from the very beginnings of the sport, to how ice hockey has evolved and grown over the last century and a bit. There are also some artifacts from iconic moments. The exhibits are typically not very crowded and you can re-enter throughout the day with a hand stamp.
Take a photo with the Stanley cup
The Stanley Cup is the most coveted trophy in ice hockey and it makes its home at the Hockey Hall of Fame. You can take your own photos with it but for an extra fee, you can get a professionally taken photograph and prints of it!
There are 3 versions of the Stanley Cup. The original 1892 bowl Stanley Cup a.k.a. the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup is on display in Lord Stanley’s Vault, along with various championship rings and old bands of the Stanley Cup. The Presentation Cup is the Stanley Cup used by the NHL, and the Permanent Cup, which is on display when the Presentation Cup isn’t available. The Presentation Cup is always at the Hockey Hall of Fame unless on the road with a winning NHL team.
Afternoon
Catch a matinee showing of a Mirvish play. We happened to catch Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead starring Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd of The Lord of the Rings fame! While this show is no longer playing in Toronto, all Mirvish productions I’ve watched have been sensational. You can’t go wrong with any of them!
That’s it for our Toronto itinerary! Do you like playing tourist in your local city?
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