North York: things to do and places to meet

North York is a city in its own right and was one until 1998. It has its own downtown along Yonge, its own civic square, and some of the best food in the GTA on streets that tourists never reach. Nothing here is a novelty; it is where a lot of Toronto actually lives.

3 places to meet here

These are the public places Churr suggests for a first meeting in this part of the city. Each one was picked for being easy to find, easy to describe, and easy to leave.

• Downsview Park

  An old airbase turned into fields. Enormous, flat and never full.

• Earl Bales Park

  A ski hill in winter and an amphitheatre in summer, on the same slope.

• Mel Lastman Square

  Right on top of the subway, with a rink, a stage and somewhere to sit.

Free things that happen here anyway

No calendar required — these run all year, or near enough.

• Mel Lastman Square, which has a rink in winter and a programme of free things in summer.
• The Don Valley trails north of Sheppard, which are quieter than anything downtown and just as green.
• The length of Yonge from Sheppard to Finch, for food that is worth the subway ride on its own.

What’s on free across Toronto this week →

Meeting people in North York

The advice that works everywhere works here too: pick something that repeats, go six times before you judge it, and be the one who suggests the next thing. The longer version →

Or let your twin do the suggesting. Churr introduces you to people in your part of Toronto with a first thing to do already agreed.