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"Yonge St." is *the* centre of Toronto, and gets closed down for a street-fest around July 8-10 this year

I think this is mostly between Bloor and King Streets. Going north on Yonge...

Bloor street, at Yonge and Bloor has gotten pretty upscale, and is kind of the high-fashion area (at least, that's the direction it was going when I was last there).

Further north (get on the subway... it's walkable, but it's a *long* walk) is Yonge & Eglinton, which is one of the higher priced areas for apartments. This is a good place to go for sit around in a coffee shop types.

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The best reliable Sushi in town is "Sushi-Time", at their original restaurant on Queen St. West, one block east of Spadina.

I can vouch for that! It's just down the block from where I used to work.

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While there, visit Active Surplus (upstairs next door), for weird and wonderful stuff.

Fantastic place. I was there probably once a month, just to wander through the store. I rarely bought anything, but the selection is always changing.

This whole section of Queen St. is pretty alive, day or night. There's basically a big chunk of city in this area, from King/Bathurst at the southwest corner to College and Yonge on the northeast corner that has lots of things to look at and do.

Kensington market is another draw, if you like funky fashions, a block west of Spadina, on Dundas.

The grafitti I photographed is one alley south of Queen in the same general area, beginning at Spadina St. and continuing West.

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Mountain Equipment Coop has a largish shop nearby, if you are interested in quality outdoorsy clothing or equipment at cheap prices.

It's on King, just east of Spadina. Before buying anything there, also check the prices of the shop across the street -- it can be just as cheap. Note that to buy anything at MEC, you have to be a member, which will cost you $5.

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Are you into mountain sports -- climbing, hiking, whatever? No mountains near Toronto, but the Niagra Escarpment is a longish cliff band that has much more to it than just the famous waterfalls.

Or if mountain biking is your game, the best place to go is Hardwood Hills, near Barrie, about an hour and a half north. It's a x-country ski/mountain bike resort. They rent bikes and helmets.