Where should I stay in Toronto?

The Entertainment District between King Street West and Front Street is the right pick for a first visit. St. Andrew and Union subway stations sit within a 5-minute walk of most hotels on this strip, and the PATH, Toronto's 30-kilometre underground walkway network, connects you to Union Station without stepping outside. Toronto regularly drops to -15°C between December and February, and even in June the temperature can swing 10 degrees between afternoon and evening, so the PATH is not optional. From a hotel on John Street or Blue Jays Way, the CN Tower (opened 1976, 553 metres tall) is a 10-minute walk south, and the St. Lawrence Market is 15 minutes east. The peameal bacon sandwich at Carousel Bakery inside the market has had a line since the 1970s. Expect $120-180 USD per night for a mid-range hotel like the Hyatt Regency on King Street or the Hilton Garden Inn near the Rogers Centre (opened 1989). The neighbourhood's trade-off is weekend noise on King West, where Blue Jays and Raptors crowds fill the bars until 2am from April through October.

Yorkville, north of Bloor Street between Avenue Road and Yonge Street, is the pick if you want quieter blocks and a shorter walk to the Royal Ontario Museum (founded 1912, $23 CAD adult admission). The feel here is different from King West. Limestone townhouses line Hazelton Avenue, and the cafés along Cumberland Street still have marble tabletops and the kind of slow, unbothered service that disappeared from downtown a decade ago. Bloor-Yonge, the subway system's main interchange, is 3 minutes on foot. Hotels run $200-320 USD per night at places like the Four Seasons on Yorkville Avenue or the Kimpton Saint George. The Bata Shoe Museum (opened 1995) sits a 5-minute walk west on Bloor, and the Art Gallery of Ontario (founded 1900) is 15 minutes south through the University of Toronto campus. Mind you, Yorkville has almost no cheap dinner options. A main course at most sit-down restaurants here starts around $35 CAD, which is about $25 USD at current rates.

For stays under $100 USD per night, look at The Annex between Bloor Street and Dupont Street, west of Avenue Road. The neighbourhood runs on University of Toronto energy. Cheap Vietnamese and Korean restaurants line Bloor between Bathurst and Christie subway stations, with pho at $12-15 CAD and bibimbap bowls at $14-17 CAD. Kensington Market is a 10-minute walk south. On a warm afternoon it smells like roasted coffee beans and old leather from the vintage shops along Augusta Avenue, and the produce stalls tend to be cheaper than any downtown grocery store. Hostels and budget hotels in this area sit in the $70-100 USD range. The HI Toronto hostel on Church Street, further east near Dundas Square, currently has dorm beds at $45-55 USD. The catch is distance. You're 25-30 minutes on foot from the waterfront, and the Bathurst streetcar is not fast. If your first-day priority is the Royal Ontario Museum or Casa Loma (built 1914, a 15-minute walk north from Dupont station), The Annex works well. If you want a Tuesday night Blue Jays game at Rogers Centre, budget an extra 20 minutes each way on the subway.

Toronto hotel rates swing hard by season. January through March, downtown four-stars drop to $100-140 USD per night. June through September, those same rooms reach $180-250 USD. During the Toronto International Film Festival in early September, rates can double, so book TIFF-period hotels at least 6 weeks out. Toronto Pearson Airport (YYZ) sits 27 kilometres northwest of downtown. The UP Express train currently runs every 15 minutes from Terminal 1 to Union Station, takes 25 minutes, and costs $12.35 CAD ($9 USD). A taxi or rideshare will likely run $55-75 CAD and take 30-50 minutes depending on Highway 401 traffic. The UP Express is the better option 9 times out of 10. When you step off at Union Station, you're already inside the PATH network and one subway stop from most Entertainment District hotels. Worth noting, Toronto's subway closes at around 1:30am on weekdays, and the weekend night-bus replacements are slow. If you plan to be out past midnight, book within walking distance of wherever you're eating that night.