Toronto

For a weekend in the city, Toronto works best from Yorkville. Four Seasons and Park Hyatt stand a few streets apart, close to the Royal Ontario Museum and the galleries of Hazelton Avenue; dinner, a performance at the Four Seasons Centre or the Royal Alexandra and a late brunch fill two days easily, and a birthday or anniversary feels properly marked without leaving the province.

Toronto is Canada’s largest city and one of the most diverse in the world. A lakeside skyline, neighbourhoods shaped by communities from every continent, a celebrated film festival and an exceptional dining scene make it a city of energy, openness and quiet sophistication.

Toronto began as the small colonial town of York and grew into Canada’s financial and cultural capital. Its towers rise over the northern shore of Lake Ontario, with the Toronto Islands lying just offshore, and the CN Tower marking the skyline; Union Station remains its hub. The Financial District, the Distillery District and St. Lawrence Market show the city’s layers.

Its character lies in its neighbourhoods: Yorkville with its galleries and boutiques, Kensington Market, Little Italy, Chinatown, Leslieville and Queen West, each with its own food and pace. The Royal Ontario Museum, the Art Gallery of Ontario and a dense theatre and music scene give the city real depth and range.

Late spring through early autumn is Toronto at its best. Summer fills the patios and the islands, with Pride in June, Caribana in late July and early August, and the Canadian National Exhibition at the end of summer. In September the Toronto International Film Festival brings premieres, stars and very full hotels, and booking early is essential.

Autumn is crisp and colourful, with day trips to Niagara and Prince Edward County wine country. Winters are cold and snowy but well managed, with the underground PATH network, skating at Nathan Phillips Square, Winterlicious in the restaurants and the city’s opera, ballet and symphony seasons in full swing at the waterfront and downtown.

In Yorkville, Four Seasons Hotel Toronto and Park Hyatt Toronto, fully renovated in 2021, face each other across a few streets of galleries and boutiques. Downtown, The St. Regis Toronto and Shangri-La Toronto rise above the Financial District and University Avenue, while the Fairmont Royal York has faced Union Station since 1929.

Yorkville suits shopping and the Royal Ontario Museum; the Financial District suits business, the waterfront and the theatres. LVXVRY books them through Four Seasons Preferred Partner, Hyatt Privé, Marriott STARS & Luminous and Accor Preferred — at the official hotel rate, with the privileges each programme attaches to the stay — and advises on and arranges stays at Shangri-La Toronto.