Want a cheap and easy way to get away from noisy and busy Toronto? Easy. Make your way to the waterfront and hop onto the ferry for a short fifteen-minute ride, direction Toronto Island. Yes, the boat will be packed but trust me, once you arrive, after the crowd disembark, you will feel you are on another planet. Even Centre Island, the most popular island, is quiet, green and big enough for large groups of tourists—and car-free!
The only group of islands in the western part of Lake Ontario, the Toronto Islands are located just offshore from the city centre. Today, it’s a popular recreational centre and a quick getaway from the “mainland.”
Just the ferry ride can wow even the most blasé tourist—the views of Toronto’s skyline is amazing. That alone is worth the $7.50 ride!
Mark was too young for most of the Centreville Amusement Park (and, ahem, I was too cheap to buy tickets to the attractions) but he did enjoy the carousel and the playground. The weather was stormy but it didn’t rain (the travel gods were with us!) and we were able to enjoy a long walk around the island, the marina, the pier and the beach.
Wow, c’est vraiment cool ça! 🙂 Pourtant j’ai fait mes études en tourisme et je suis même déjà allée à Toronto et je savais même pas qu’y’avait une île :/ La honte! 😀
Ca a l’air superbe sur l’île et tu as une vue imprenable sur les gratte-ciel! 🙂 Merci Zhu pour la découverte 🙂
C’est pas un endroit si connu finalement, sauf des gens de Toronto! À découvrir en tout cas 😉
Belles photos! Et même si je suis originaire d’une ville à 1 heure de Toronto, je n’ai jamais visitée ces îles! Mais peut être lors d’un prochain voyage (pendant le beau temps!)…
Merci! D’où viens-tu?
St. Catharines 🙂
Ah yes, that’s pretty close!
I love your pink nail varnish! We have never done this, but my brother did and said it was so amazing, really need to go there!
Pedicures are my drug, I admit it 😆 Plus Mark loves my painted toes, it keeps him busy (lame excuse, I know!)
Wow, I had no idea this place existed. That would have been fun to explore on our (not so many) day trips to Toronto!
Add it to your list for the net time you are around up North!
Ooooh! Great tip! My parents are off to Toronto for the first time at the end of the month to visit my youngest sister, and I’ll be heading there as well next summer, so I’m collecting all the Toronto tips you have. 🙂
Milsters
Cool! Don’t hesitate t email me or check out the Snapshots of Toronto section for more ideas 😉
Ah, the islands. This is one area of Toronto that I failed to explore while I was still living nearby. I guess I always spent time hanging out with my friends that most of my Toronto stays were more social than sight-seeing in nature.
Don’t feel bad: we went to Toronto dozens of times and only visited twice!
I always wondered where photographers take their pictures of the Toronto skyline… now I know.
Yep, that’s the place I guess!
Cool, I was JUST there yesterday! I was so surprised that this kind of place exists so near to Toronto, and how you can stand on this island, looking at the Toronto skyline, and you’re right: you feel like you are on a different planet! It’s totally worth a visit. Great for walking and escaping and seeing something different. My friends and I spent ages at the farm. I loved the baby goats and piglets!
Funny you’ve just visited as well! Did you like the skyline from the boat? I could ride that ferry over and over for just that!
I did not explore much when I was there but I did enjoy the skyline when I took the bus from the airport to the city 😀
Nice photos Zhu 😀
Thank you! There is so much to see in Toronto, especially for tourists, that you will need to come back to check out Toronto Island!
It looks like a nice place to relax 🙂
Definitely!