Best thing I stumbled on during my free day in Toronto. It's a hive of art, maker spaces, and…read moredesign. There's a cafe on the north end and two retail shops with fun stuff that are the equivalent of museum gift shops. Completely free!

One of my favourite places to visit in the city, always a rotating blend of art to experience,…read moregorgeous building, and has the best location of Dark Horse Espresso in Toronto.

It feels like a secret spot! Hidden in a little side street behind Queen West, this two-floor cafe…read moreis on the southwest edge of Trinity Bellwoods park. I wish there was more seating. Meanwhile, there is a small section of the cafe, right at the front window, that is dog friendly. I tried the London Fog, and it was really good, but I paid almost $9 for it, which was pretty pricey, no? I wish they had more to eat. I think if they even had some Japanese hand-held food like onigiri or cheese tarts, that could be really good.

A cool open concept cafe that has lots of seating as well as loft area for a cozier catch-up…read moresession with a friend/date. Also a great spot for working/studying. They also do workshops which was intriguing. I would love to look more into that and see what they have to offer. I ordered an iced Americano and it was okay. It had citrus notes which I'm not a big fan of but I think I should've specified which coffee beans I wanted. P.S. If you're visiting during the winter, please be careful. The sidewalks around this area and leading up to the cafe were not really salted so we were literally walking on ice.

Graven Feather is a relatively new addition to Queen St W. I happened upon it by chance when a…read moremodest sandwich board stopped me in my tracks. Graven... feather? Following a short flight of stairs I was led down into a wee little basement gallery. This brightly lit and warm space is serves double-duty as a gallery and studio space. The lovely lasses working there told me they are planning on hosting workshops on screenprinting and lithography. Sounds neat. The gallery, though small, was full of oil paintings. They are presently showcasing the work of Kari Minchin, though they change up the artist frequently. There were also some cool gift-ables, like handmade notebooks, greeting cards, and these truly brilliant screen-printed calendars. When I was there they had just put out a limited edition of the calendars which featured artistic embellishment and accents on each month. Those will probably get snapped up pretty quickly. A very pretty shop. I need to bring my kid sister here. Obligatory Title Pun: CARVE out some time and get DOWN here. Menu Readability: Their guestbook in a graph-paper notebook was a nice touch. Need to mention: Check the calendar on their website for events and workshops. What this place teaches me about myself: Is there an Association of Twee? I'd like to be the treasurer.

My first CMYE! (Stands for "Community Manager Yelp Event"!)…read more This event transported me back to the days of art class! ... and printing presses! I haven't done any "crafty" hands-on artwork since high school! So this was exciting! The studio is this cute quaint haven tucked downstairs at one of the tiny shops along Queen St. West. The venue is an extension of Artscape. We were immediately greeted with warmth and enthusiasm by the instructors, who happen to be local artists; Jessica Bromley Bartram, Pam Lobb, and Erin Candela. The instructors were extremely sweet, friendly and informative about the process, and the use of the presses. Every student there learned quickly, and used the machines it like a pro! Provided for us were textured paper, ribbon, lace, q-tips, popsicle sticks, and paints in the colors of blue, red, and green. I'm sure other colors are available upon request. Then it was time to get dirty! (Oh behave! You know what I mean!) Lessons today were Letter Presses and Monoprints! I was so delighted to see the vintage press machines! We commented on how ODD it felt to create anything hands-on these days! Sigh ... The Letter Press is the use of block letters and characters (think large metal block stencils) to create type on paper. Monoprinting meant creating positive & negative shadows & color to create a pattern. We used fabrics & paints & other scrap materials to etch patterns on an ink medium. I thoroughly enjoyed the light music playing in the background! Nice soothing touch to add to the ambiance! Given the small space, it felt spacious with it's open concept, all-white minimal decor and bright lighting! For such a small space, the maximum group size is 8 people. Any more and there wouldn't be enough room, or time, for everyone to enjoy every station! Cost is typically $25 for a class, materials is extra. Our class tonite was $35 per person, including material. Yay! (NOTE: CASH ONLY) I felt I didn't have enough time, but that just means I was having TOO much fun! I highly recommend letting your inner artist loose here! It's a fabulous way to spend a relaxed and inspired afternoon with the boyfriend, (or in my case, husband), mom, sister, or catching up with an old friend! I'm so happy Toronto has this hidden gem! Awesome job, Vivek S.!!! Now I'm feeling the yelptitude!

Charming cafe with some seating, and some local products. Two level flooring with stairs…read more They also run some events in there. We came by at the end of one of those events. We got some drinks, and looked around the products display. Very friendly. They have Babyccino drink, a bit of the frothed up milk from a regular (adult) beverage, free for the little ones. So thoughtful to have the little ones feel included with drink in hand! My daughter enjoyed hers .

This is the cutest little hub. I've seen their Instagram but had never visited before. A couple of…read moreus were having lunch at the neighbouring Cryin' Ryan's so we made our way over for some tea / coffee afterwards. They close at four however patrons were still inside. We asked if they were still serving and the lovely lady behind the counter said no problem. I ordered a Chaga Chai. They have so many local treasures and items for sale in this store. My favorite hot sauce Purple Tongue, they have art, crocheted items, crystals, soaps, candles etc. I'd definitely come back and explore both the shop and their menu.

My first trip here was during Nuit Blanche last year. It wasn't as packed as I expected it would be…read morewhich was nice. Since then I've popped in a couple times to check out what they have hanging. Unfortunately, my current salary does not allow me to buy anything here that fits my tastes. But it's fun to look!

Excellent gallery. It is nice to see galleries that support the photographic arts as well as other…read morefine arts. The staff at this gallery was very friendly and greeted me when I came in. I really dislike galleries that are too snooty to even say 'hi'. Granted not everyone that comes in will make purchases but a little kindness always goes a long way. They have a basement as well that houses many large works.

Parkwood National Historic site is a great place to visit for their well informed tours of the…read moremansion, their beautiful gardens to admire, and/or at their tea House cafe near the fountains for afternoon tea or lunch. Who knew deep in our history, GM company started with the McLaughlin family. This museum is a gem in the middle of Oshawa, Ontario, that is a must visit at least once.

This review is based off a garden lunch visit. TLDR: Grounds are gorgeous but food isn't worth it…read more Yes - The grounds are gorgeous - tons of green space and beautifully managed landscape and gardens. It's a fantastic ecosystem for bees and small animals. Didn't love how far the bathroom was from the tea house/ garden restaurant (literally was offered a go cart ride), so go before you think you really need to. Service at the tea house was alright. Despite having many staff, it felt a bit hard to flag them down at times. We noticed too that they weren't too kind to people who didn't have reservations despite having a few empty tables that stayed empty for our entire dining time. I felt they could have offered to make a reservation with them on the spot or just apologized. Not everyone knows about this spot until they are on the grounds for a walk. The food itself wasn't really worth it. We ordered a few mocktails which were wildly sweet, but refreshing for this hot hot day. We ordered the poke bowl and it was pretty good. A lot of fresh veggies mixed in the bowl and flavour was light. Good and refreshing for a hot summer day by the beautiful garden fountain. The salmon soba noodles was not quite the same. My salmon was a bit dry which is either because it was over cooked or just refrigerated for too long. It's served cold. The soba noodles did not hold well. You can see in my photos that the noodles were basically just stuck in these hard chunks. Not twirlable at all and quite stiff. It was not great.. I was very disappointed. At that price point, you'd think they could atleast whip up fresh noodles for you. It was even more disappointing that they didn't even apologize or make any offers to salvage the experience. They just didn't seem to care much. It's a beautiful place but they're certainly not a great dining experience. It is incredible as an idea though so maybe just make a reservation to have a drink by the fountain.

This is a nice little coffee shop that serves a variety of drinks and pastries. The inside is…read morerelatively spacious and quite clean. I tried the hojicha iced latte which was quite nice. The flavors were mild and it was not too bitter.

Always come here for their selection of muffins!…read more Love their pumpkin crumble, their blueberry crumble, and their raspberry crumble. If you're like me and a muffin lover, through and through, this is one place you may have already visited. As they tend to be usually sold out of muffins mid day. They have a rather spacious dining room. An upper area with lots of natural light and features art on the walls from a local artist. Their downstairs dining room is also very spacious and light too. The energy balls they sell are rather tasty as well and can be swapped easily as a meal replacement. Love that there is a good, a safe distance between their washrooms and where people eat because washrooms in any establishment can be a scary place. It is important to keep that as far away from where people eat as possible. And the location of the washrooms at the Slanted door is very ideal and private. This is a very popular spot as there are always people sitting in, having meetings, hanging out with friends, working, etc. Last summer they were selling coffee lemonade, which was mentioned as a trend at the time. I was intrigued by the concept of lemon and coffee together so I tried it out. Yet I can't say I would try it again. It really wasn't for me. A nice place to change the ambiance of the day- to-day. And watch the goings on of bloor street.

The premier museum in Canada for art from the Group of Seven and associated artists. Tucked in a…read morebeautiful forested area by the Humber River Valley. Great place to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon. The grounds are huge - went to the museum first. Well organized - all the exhibits are in a linear circuit with the Group of Seven landscape paintings near the beginning - grouped by painting location. Lots of native art - especially on the second floor. Make time to walk around the grounds whether it's a short hike to the cemetery and sculpture garden or a more extensive jaunt around the Humber River behind the museum. Parking is current seven dollars. Every third Sunday is free. This museum will Be shutting down for 2-3 years for renovation later this year...

I love this museum! Amazing selection of oil paintings and historic art pieces with focus on…read moreindigenous life. Place is clean and well maintained. Staff are amazing and friendly. Outdoors is great for hiking as well. Great for all ages. A must visit.