🇨🇦 4 Days & 3 Nights in Toronto｜Ultimate Guide from NYC 🛫

This is a long post—better save it for later! 🍁 Departed from NYC LGA, arrived in Toronto after about 1 hour flight. With a Chinese passport + U.S. green card. Customs asked a few questions and granted visa-free entry. Took the UP Express from the airport to Union Station, then called an Uber straight to the hotel. 🍁 Recommend staying at a hotel downtown—super convenient for getting to all the attractions. This time I stayed at the Cambridge Hotel. A bit old, but the location is perfect and service was great! Just for reference 😊 🍁 Find a TD Bank ATM near your hotel— You can use a U.S. bank card to withdraw Canadian dollars. We took out CAD $100 with a $5 fee. 🍁 Must-know tip ❗️ Highly recommend getting the CityPASS 🎟️ Buy tickets directly on the app—adult tickets are $99 USD. Each pass includes multiple attractions. Super convenient and cost-effective, all-in-one booking. CityPASS saved us so much time during this trip! 🍁 Out of all the CityPASS attractions, the best experiences were: Casa Loma 🏰 ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) 🦖 The most disappointing was the aquarium 🐟 Casa Loma—wasn’t expecting much at first, but turned out to be really fun and super photogenic! The magnet souvenirs in the gift shop are beautiful. ROM—an absolute must-visit, no question. I reserved a full day for ROM. The Chinese exhibition gallery features magnificent murals, exquisitely colored Guanyin statues, kind-faced Maitreya Buddhas, stern underworld judges, and a well-preserved money tree… After seeing these, I couldn’t help but feel emotional. Seeing these treasures from my homeland in a foreign country gave me mixed feelings… 😔 🍁 Other recommended spots: 🔹 St. Lawrence Market – Highly recommend! So much good food 🥓🧀, perfect for souvenirs. I’ll make a separate post on recommendations! 🔸 Distillery District – A cool, retro area 🍁⛪, also deserves its own post. 🔹 Nathan Phillips Square (iconic TORONTO sign 📸) 🔸 Chinatown Centre – Since NYC has Chinatown and Flushing, I just took a quick look. 🔹 Kensington Market – A bohemian retro neighborhood right next to Chinatown. Worth exploring! 🍁 Souvenirs 🎁 Food culture here is pretty similar to the U.S. The most famous items are maple syrup 🍁 and ice wine 🍷—options for every budget. I brought maple tea and chocolates for friends, fish oil for parents, and snacks for myself 😋 🍁 Wrap-up: This trip to Toronto was fantastic! Maybe it’s because I’ve lived in NYC for too long, but Toronto felt especially clean 🧼 Loved the climate here too—can’t wait for the next trip! 💙 #Toronto #TorontoLife #TorontoTravel #VisitCanada