Landmarks for Locals
Ah, city landmarks. Those touristy things that get rammed during high-travel seasons and underused the rest of the year, right? Not if you're a proper local and familiar with some of the non-touristy landmarks that pepper your hometown, like these gems that we have right here in Toronto...
Yorkville Rock
The Yorkville Rock is a 650-tonne piece of the Canadian Shield. It's a popular hangout during the warmer months for locals on lunch breaks, after-work meet and greets with the crew, and late-night gelato noshing. Grab a seat on this historic piece of Canadian terra on Cumberland, just west of Bay Street.
Graffiti Alley
Graffiti is an integral part of Toronto's street culture. It's so impactful that the city even endorsed a legal consortium to showcase their work in this famed alley, which runs just south of Queen West between Spadina and Portland. You'll see a few true treasures of work here as well as the type of graffiti that typically warrants its ban; it's worth the slow wander through nonetheless. For a preview, check out tiltedplane's Flickr B&W graffiti alley photos.
Brick Works
This spot has gained a lot of steam in the past few years thanks to the constant 'greening' of programs and facilities and also the integration of social media pundits imbuing our feeds with Evergreen Brick Works taxonomy. There's the Sunday market – always fantastic – but even during the less busy hours, Brick Works is a great place to grab a seat and take in some good, old fashioned rural excellence within city limits.
The Rocks in the Beaches
Summer nights are a perfect time to visit the outposts by the boardwalk on the water. Disclaimer: We do not endorse any risk-taking measures; however, there have been, uh, reports that people sometimes like to walk out on the rocks and grab a seat with bottles of varying types of liquids. Again, this is not an endorsement, just a so-you-know sort of thing...
Church of the Holy Trinity
If you walk in the Eaton Centre entrance off Yonge, sandwiched between Roots and Sears, and head straight through the exit on the opposite side of the lobby, you'll pass the Church of the Holy Trinity. The CHT is a calming backdrop for a late lunch spent outside, where you can almost imagine you're somewhere in Europe, your office is miles and miles away, and your troubles quieted for a few minutes of welcome peace.
Image by seemsartless.com
Image by Bret Culp
