Toronto Neighbourhoods
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Chinatown
At the corner of Spadina Avenue and Dundas Street West. TTC: Spadina Station, then streetcar southbound. This ever-expanding area is home to ethnic Chinese from Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam and elsewhere. With a wealth of oriental shops and outdoor fruit markets, it's known for a vast selection of authentic Chinese restaurants. Toronto's second Chinatown is located in the Broadview Ave. and Gerrard St. East area.

St. Lawrence Market
Corner of Jarvis and Front Streets. TTC: Union Station, then walk east. The area — also known as the Old Town of York — is the site of the city's original market. Though popular most of the week, the market comes to life on Saturdays. Farmers, food and flowers — always a winning combination! This historic area also has numerous old warehouses that have been converted into residences, stores, restaurants and pubs.

Financial District & Underground City
Bounded by Queen Street, Front Street, Yonge Street and Avenue Road. TTC: King, Union or St. Andrew Stations. Dozens of towering glass, concrete and steel monoliths are a must-see for architecture enthusiasts. Toronto's Financial District is actually quite compact and walkable, even in bad weather. That's because of the “underground city” — 11 kilometers (6 miles) of interconnecting passageways under the streets that feature more than 1,200 retail stores and services. Street entrances to the subterranean walkway are indicated with “PATH” signage.

Queen Street West
Queen Street West, between Yonge Street and Bathurst Avenue. TTC: Queen Station, then walk or take the streetcar westbound. Queen West is one of the city's more popular shopping districts. It features trendy restaurants, cutting-edge fashion, galleries, antique shops and dance clubs. One of the landmarks is the City-TV building, a local television studio with many events that spill out onto the street.

Fashion District
Spadina Avenue between Dundas and Front Streets. TTC: King Station, then streetcar westbound. Toronto's garment district has terrific bargains on local fashions and fabric.

Harbourfront
Queen's Quay between Bathurst and Jarvis Streets. TTC: Union Station, then streetcar southbound. Before 1972, this was a wasteland of warehouses. Now it's a residential and cultural neighbourhood popular year-round. Highlights include specialty shops at Queens Quay Terminal, cultural facilities at Harbourfront Centre, a terrific lakeside walking trail, and the Harbourfront Antique Market. Cruises of the harbour and ferry services to the Toronto Islands run from the waterfront as well.

Toronto Islands
TTC: Union Station, then walk southbound on Bay Street to the Ferry Terminals. The three main islands offer a quaint summer amusement park; paddleboat and bike rentals; in-line skating paths, and grass and beaches for picnics. Best of all, there are no cars! Summer cottages from the 1920s are home for some 250 families, and feature charming English-style gardens. The Islands are a 10-minute ferry ride from the docks located at the foot of Bay Street.

Bloor/Yorkville
Bounded by Bloor Street West, Avenue Road, Davenport Road and Yonge Street TTC: Bay Station. Thirty years ago, this area was home to flower children; today it's strictly for the upper crust. One of Toronto's more elegant shopping and dining areas, Yorkville’s designer boutiques, antique shops and galleries are absolutely first-class. The area features a warren of small courtyards and alleyways, including a contemporary park located in the very heart of the neighbourhood. Make sure you visit the “Rock," a huge piece of granite trucked hundreds of miles from the Canadian Shield!

Church & Wellesley 
Area surrounding Church and Wellesley Streets. TTC: Wellesley Station, then walk east. This predominantly gay neighbourhood is host to Canada's largest annual gay and lesbian Gay Pride Celebrations. Find lots of bars, shops and restaurants, along with the Buddies in Bad Times gay theatre.

The Annex
Bloor Street between Avenue Road on the east and Bathurst Street on the west. TTC: Bathurst, Spadina or St. George Stations. So named because it was annexed to the City of Toronto in 1887, the Annex has excellent shops, restaurants and clubs. TVA’s old offices were in this area.

Cabbagetown
East of Parliament Street, between Wellesley Street and Dundas Street East. TTC: College, then streetcar eastbound. Once a working-class enclave, Cabbagetown is now a gracious neighbourhood of renovated Victorian homes and lovely parks. Highlights include the turn-of-the-century Riverdale Farm (site of the original Toronto Zoo) and Allan Gardens, with its botanical collection in a beautiful Victorian-style greenhouse.

Rosedale & Forest Hill
Adjacent neighbourhoods located north of Bloor Street, between Yonge Street and the Don River. Home to many of Toronto's most established (and monied) citizens, these park-like districts feature winding streets lined with magnificent homes of impregnable solidity, well-tended gardens and secluded parks.

Little Italy 
College Street between Euclid Avenue and Shaw Stret. TTC: Queen's Park Station, then streetcar westbound. This lively neighbourhood (actually more Portuguese) is the spiritual home of Toronto's Italian community, which has for the most part migrated further north. It's packed with trattorias, trendy restaurants and cafés and a few more traditional poolhalls. Like Greektown, Little Italy's sidewalks are jammed on weekends, especially in the summer, when all of Toronto, it seems, is sipping espressos on outdoor patios. (see also Corso Italia.)

Indian Bazaar
Gerrard Street, around Coxwell Avenue, Greenwood Avenue and Main Street. TTC: Coxwell Station, then streetcar southbound on Main Street. Find Indian food restaurants, grocers and shops that specialize in traditional saris and brightly-coloured scarves.

The Beaches
Queen Street West between Coxwell and Victoria Park Avenue. TTC: Queen Station, then streetcar eastbound. Antique shops, clapboard cottages and quirky stores and restaurants typify the Beaches. The beachside boardwalk is crowded with joggers, dog-walkers and picnickers, and the beach itself is packed in the summer. Home to students, professors and media types, the Beaches has a laid-back attitude unlike anywhere else in town.

Little Poland
Roncesvalles Avenue between King Street West and Dundas Street West. TTC: Dundas West Station. An enclave of Eastern European and Russian residents, this area specializes in traditional cuisine, plus bakeries, cafés, and special events from the “old country.” St. Casimir’s is the largest Polish church in Canada.

Portugal Village
Area bordered by Trinity Bellwoods Park, College Street West, Spadina Avenue and Ossington Avenue. Toronto's large Portuguese and Brazilian community is focused in this neighbourhood, with dozens of bake shops, restaurants, cheese stores, and fish markets, especially along Dundas and College Streets. The community is also well represented in Kensington Market.

Koreatown
Bloor Street West between Bathurst and Christie Streets. TTC: Bathurst Station. Shops stocking exotic herbs, acupuncture centres, and Korean restaurants abound here, although few Koreans actually live in the area.

Caribbean
Eglinton Avenue West between Marlee Avenue and Keele Street. TTC: Eglinton West. Traditional West Indies foods and fashions with reggae and calypso music stores.

Etobicoke “eh-toe-bi-coh”
This area lies between the airport and downtown. Although primarily residential, there are several excellent shopping centres and specialty shops in the neighbourhood. It also contains the beautiful James Gardens, Humber river parklands and the multi-faceted Centennial park.

Scarborough
Situated east of downtown, Scarborough includes the fantastic Scarborough Bluffs, dramatic cliffs rising from Lake Ontario. It also features wonderful hiking through the Rouge River Valley and the famous Toronto Zoo. The Chinatown in Agincourt has grown steadily in the last 20 years and features restaurants, grocery stores and other chinese-owned businesses.

Peel
Features include: the Living Arts Centre in Mississauga; the Dixie Outlet Mall; The Sega Playdium, and the rolling Caledon Hills.

York
Features include: the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, home to the celebrated Group of Seven; historic Unionville, and Lake Simcoe, in the heart of Ontario's cottage country.

Durham
Features include: Parkwood Estate & Gardens, a 55-room mansion with breathtaking gardens, and Ganaraska Ranch, with horseback riding available through an 11,000-acre forest.