12 Lesser-Known Spots To Check Out In Toronto If You Want To Feel Like A Local

This place is so much more than a farmers market. You can easily spend an afternoon here eating, drinking or just strolling around. Very Insta-worthy.

Where: Bayview/Bloor

Do you like cookies? Do you like gourmet cookies? You're welcome.

Where: 2 locations – Queen West and Church Street

You may have heard of Queen Street West where all the ~cool~ people hang out, but a bit further west of that is the land known as West Queen West... where the ~cooler~ people hang out. Bars, coffee shops and shopping are plentiful out here and definitely worth a trip.

Where: Queen Street West – from Bathurst to Gladstone

Part of the West Queen West neighborhood is Trinity Bellwoods. It's a giant park smack dab in the middle of the neighbourhood with plenty of places to sit and have a picnic, slackline or even have a drum circle... if you're into those things. Plus there's a dog park for all you dog lovers!

Where: Queen West and Strachan

The Bentway is a stretch of land located underneath a raised highway just southwest of the heart of downtown. Plenty of community events are on offer here, including an ice rink during the winter months and rotating art installations.

Where: Fort York

It can get pretty flippin' cold in Toronto during the winter months so I'm pretty sure that's why the Path was invented. It's a 30km underground path system connecting office building to office building so you don't ever need to see natural daylight. It's essentially a giant mall with tons of shopping, food and entertainment options. Fair warning, you will get lost.

Where: Downtown core

stackt is an outdoor shopping area made up entirely out of shipping containers. Grab a donut from Donut Monster, grab some gear at Puebco, and then down a cold one at the Belgian Moon brewery.

Where: Front and Bathurst

One of the coolest parts of the city is Kensington Market. It's a small neighbourhood located near Chinatown that's full of charm. It's got vintage stores, markets, coffee shops and food from around the world.

Where: Spadina and Dundas

Ward's Island is not technically its own island, but part of Centre Island, and is a short ferry ride from the main land. Centre Island is technically a tourist hot spot, but in the east end of the island you'll find Ward's Island which is a beach that locals frequent to get away from the craziness of the more touristy areas.

Where: Centre Island

Graffiti Alley is exactly what the name suggests. It's a stretch of back alleys behind Queen Street West that's full of incredible graffiti works by Toronto artists. You'll probably find a photoshoot happening here.

Where: Queen & Spadina

If you love house porn, or just want to see how the other half live, take a trip up to The Bridle Path. It's an exclusive area where the rich of the rich live – you might even run into a resident who goes by the name of Drake.

Where: Leslie & Lawrence