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mrjun: I'd definitely choose Toronto to visit as a tourist.
-Toronto has much larger international festivals, more in pure numbers and more ethnically, which would draw me over than the other two cities. Are you going there to see the city, or a festival it hosts.
-Better museums and more renowned ones to see.
-Better shopping.
-Toronto is much larger in area than Montreal/Vancouver so there is more to see and do across the city. As a tourist why does this matter you won't scratch the surface in either
-Toronto is closer to Niagara Falls for a quick day trip. Niagara Falls is not Toronto, Buffalo is far more advantageous for example
-More variety in food options. While important for residents, Why does variety matter when being a tourist, this is why for a tourist a city like New Orleans can fare well on cuisine.
-I can attend an NBA or MLB season game in Toronto (can't do that in Montreal or Vancouver). I can even attend an NFL season game if I wanted to (when the Bills play at Skydome certain games). Also impossible to do in Montreal/Vancouver). why would I want to do that on vacation to see the city?
-A bigger downtown.
-Though it's more expensive, Toronto has better overall public transit which is a plus.
-More touristy attractions and points of interest (CN Tower, Yonge Street, Eaton Centre, Dundas Sq, Toronto Islands, Chinatown, St Lawrence Market, the parks, beaches, shows/theater, better sports etc.)
-Higher chance of a big name act/musician stopping in Toronto on their tour, than the other two cities. while again this is good for a resident, what is this about seeing the city as a tourist
These are the same weird arguments I see for "visiting" cities in other threads, not just this one... As a tourist, there are countless cities I will go to for a weekend, as for living in a city, that list dwindles dramatically, so the whole laundry lists of stuff doesn't hold as much weight, those are what I see as benefits of living in a place.
The answer to this question depends on what someone is interested in... Do you want big city amenities and ethnic restaurants and nightlife and museums and explore hip neighborhoods? Or do you want to just relax and see some mountain and coastal scenery while staying in a sizable city with enough to do for a few days.
Vancouver is sort of like San Diego(crossed with Seattle or a little of San Francisco). It's a nice place for a vacation and it's set up for tourism in some ways. If you can afford to stay in a nice place downtown with a view of the harbor and be there on a day with good weather you can ride a bike down to Stanley Park or go for a hike in the mountains just 20-30 minutes north of downtown on the north shore. The rest of Vancouver has it's nice parts, but it's familiar to anyone who has been around West Coast cities(with the biggest difference being the mini-Hong Kong vibe in Richmond). Living in Portland I'll go up to Vancouver a few times a year at least, and it's always fun, but it's sort of a more touristy and spectacularly located version of Seattle.
Toronto just reminds me of a smaller Chicago or New York for what it's worth with all the attractions you'd commonly find in North American big cities. It's got a ton to do if you're looking for a city trip--I'd say it's probably more fun for more urbane types who are looking to explore a lot of urban neighborhoods for a few days for a trip and good restaurants and bars and that sort of thing. But it feels closer to other big cities in the US than being as unique as Vancouver or Montreal.
Montreal is very unique and cosmopolitan on it's own, especially for someone from the states(I'm going to Montreal next week)--so I'm just excited to explore more of Montreal(and the rest of Quebec). I'd still like to explore Toronto more, but Montreal just strikes me as more interesting in some ways culturally as a visitor.
I'd definitely choose Toronto to visit as a tourist.
-Toronto has much larger international festivals, more in pure numbers and more ethnically, which would draw me over than the other two cities. Are you going there to see the city, or a festival it hosts.
^Both. People travel for various reasons. Business, pleasure, events and so on. An example is the Caribana festival where TOURISTS travel to Toronto for.
-Better museums and more renowned ones to see.
-Better shopping.
-Toronto is much larger in area than Montreal/Vancouver so there is more to see and do across the city. As a tourist why does this matter you won't scratch the surface in either
^It's a general point. If you look at what cities across North America or even the globe are the most traveled, most of them are large populated cities like Paris and NYC. Toronto's size is a plus IMO for a tourists as there is more to see and do in more area among more people.
-Toronto is closer to Niagara Falls for a quick day trip. Niagara Falls is not Toronto
^Niagara Falls is a TOURIST attraction. The question asked by the OP is "As a tourist...". Therefore a big world tourist attraction like Niagara Falls is in closer proximity to Toronto than the other two cities which is a plus for Toronto.
-More variety in food options. While important for residents, Why does variety matter when being a tourist, this is why for a tourist a city like New Orleans can fare well on cuisine.
^How is this not important? Do I want to travel to Toronto to eat McDonalds and KFC? Nope, I wanna travel to see what the city offers in the food department which reflects the citys diversity. So the fact that Toronto offers, more and a larger variety of food is definitely a plus for tourists I'm sure. Toronto also ranks higher as a food city as well than MTL and VAN.
-I can attend an NBA or MLB season game in Toronto (can't do that in Montreal or Vancouver). I can even attend an NFL season game if I wanted to (when the Bills play at Skydome certain games). Also impossible to do in Montreal/Vancouver). why would I want to do that on vacation?
^Tourists don't go to sporting events? I guess people don't go to NYC to watch tennis, or Vegas to see boxing?
-A bigger downtown.
-Though it's more expensive, Toronto has better overall public transit which is a plus.
-More touristy attractions and points of interest (CN Tower, Yonge Street, Eaton Centre, Dundas Sq, Toronto Islands, Chinatown, St Lawrence Market, the parks, beaches, shows/theater, better sports etc.)
-Higher chance of a big name act/musician stopping in Toronto on their tour, than the other two cities. while again this is good for a resident, what is this about seeing the city as a tourist
^There are lots of big acts that come to Toronto and sometimes don't even go to Montreal or anywhere else in Canada. Ask people that live by in nearby cities like Buffalo, Cleveland and so on that come to Toronto to see a Taylor Swift concert, Bruce Springsteen, Jay-Z and so while also touring the cities for a few days while they are here to make their trip well worth it. This is important to one that likes the arts, specifically music.
In addition to my answers above grapico, tourists travel for different reasons and for different lengths of time. This is why Toronto wins here IMO.
-I can attend an NBA or MLB season game in Toronto (can't do that in Montreal or Vancouver). I can even attend an NFL season game if I wanted to (when the Bills play at Skydome certain games). Also impossible to do in Montreal/Vancouver).
Having NBA and MLB teams might be a plus for people in Canada to visit Toronto, but for most Americans living in or close to any sizable metro, you might have those at home or nearby--as well as NFL or college football.
I mean I'd be more excited to see a Maple Leafs game in Toronto(just for the history of that franchise and the fact that NHL is often more fun to attend in Canada) or even a CFL game, since that's sort of unique(with the slightly varied Canadian rules). Though I wouldn't plan a vacation all the way to Toronto just to go see a hockey game or CFL, but it'd be a fun option if it was happening while I was visiting. The downside about NHL games in Canada though is the tickets are just so damn expensive.
I find this poll is strictly for North Americans primarily. If someone is coming from Europe, Asia, Australia or Africa. They will spend longer time during their vacation and most of tourist will do tour Canada and USA at the same time. If they only come to Canada they should go to Niagara Falls, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City. That will give them good 7-10 days vacation and if they going to west coast, Vancouver, whistler, Victoria ( probably Kelowna, Banff or lake Louise ) will be included in the itinerary. Most of tour companies in Asia will put Canada and USA in the same itinerary. Europeans usually travel independently, a lot of Australians go for Alaska cruise ship in Vancouver so you will see them more in the west coast.
For Americans, Vancouver and Montreal probably will give them more satisfaction compare to Toronto.
Obviously there is no middle ground and not going to see eye to eye on this. Keep on boostin.
All three cities offer something different and unique to visitors.. Anybody who knows about them would know that! In both Montreal and Toronto's case we get loads of tourists from the U.S specifically for festivals!
A tourist is not a singular entity with singular interests or requirements so I think it is a valid point that it really depends on what a tourist is interested in.. As for Niagara Falls - I think it would make for a more interesting 4 or 5 day trip to combine the Falls with a trip to Toronto which is a scant 90 minute drive from it than a 4 day trip to Buffalo and the Falls.. Sure Buffalo is closer but it does not offer what Toronto offers on the whole.
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