The waterfront: things to do and places to meet

The waterfront is Toronto’s best argument for itself. Nine places along it, from the Bentway under the Gardiner to Cherry Beach at the east end, and almost all of them are free, open and busy enough that you are never the only person there. The lake does a lot of the work in a first conversation.

9 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.

• Harbourfront Centre

  Something free is almost always on, and the lake is right there.

• Sugar Beach

  Pink umbrellas, white rocks, and no reason to stay longer than you want to.

• Roundhouse Park

  Steam engines and lawn under the tower. Easy to find, hard to be late to.

• Sherbourne Common

  Water channels, a rink in winter, and almost never crowded.

• The Bentway

  Under the Gardiner, which means shade in July and shelter in November.

• Ontario Place grounds

  The west island paths: lake on both sides and nobody in a hurry.

• Cherry Beach

  Sand, dogs and the best sunset downtown. Bring a jacket after six.

• Toronto Islands

  A ferry is a built-in icebreaker. Check the last boat back before you agree a time.

• Tommy Thompson Park

  The spit: five kilometres of birds and rubble, and no traffic at all.

Free things that happen here anyway

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

• Something free is nearly always on at Harbourfront Centre, and the lake is right there either way.
• Sunset at Cherry Beach, which is the best one downtown. Bring a jacket after six.
• The Martin Goodman Trail, which runs the whole shoreline and which you can join anywhere and leave anywhere.

What’s on free across Toronto this week →

Meeting people in The waterfront

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.