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Building a Community
Strengthening the City
The Inside Story Newspaper bringing you only the best of Queer Toronto has to offer.
Things to do & places to go
in the Queer West Village
A village guide for new residents The thing about the Queer West Village Toronto, is that it is ever changing, since it's not built around a row of gay bars. Nor advertised as a tourist destination. Along Queen West in Parkdale and Trinity Bellwoods, there are storefront galleries, cafes and restaurants opening almost weekly. The new 19-room Drake Hotel has a credible bohemian atmosphere with a performance space that offers an eclectic array of talents nightly as well as a coveted perch on its crowded rooftop terrace, where young queer hipsters sip martinis and lounge on divans while old movies are projected on a white-washed brick wall (1150 Queen St W. www.thedrakehotel.ca The century-old Gladstone Hotel, newly renovated, with 52 rooms and art galleries. There are three bars, melody room, art bar and ballroom, including the hottest country and western dance scene in town (1214 Queen St W, www.gladstonehotel.com). The Gladstone also host Java Knights for a youngish queer literary crowd.
Gallery District: Further west on Queen Street, the locals have taken to calling this section West Queen West or Queen Street West West. As mainstream shops push west past Spadina, bohemia is also forced to forge west, but this is great news for this part of town as new galleries, restaurants and shops pop up almost weekly.
Our Queer West neighbourhood includes
The Museum of Contemporary
Canadian Art 
(MOCCA) which has taken up residence
in this hot part of town at 952 Queen Street West. A new black box theatre,
Ossington Avenue Alley Theatre, has opened at the back
of Lennox Contempory Art Gallery just the lastest addition
to the burgeoning Queer West Art and Design District
Where there are over 40 small galleries. Queen West: For
decades, Queen Street West has traditionally been home to Toronto’s
artistic community. It’s the destination for the stylish and fashionable,
with tons of shops, nightclubs, and restaurants. East of Spadina, one
can find more mainstream stores, but there’s lots of brilliant
independent shops as well. West of Spadina, where the rent is lower
and tenants are incredibly fresh, visitors can find some great designers,
used record shops, crazy junk shops and other fun stuff. Either way,
you’ll find plenty to see.
Mirvish Village: One of the city’s most illustrious and respected characters is “Honest” Ed Mirvish, who started his career in the 1950s with a no-frills department store at the corner of Markham and Bloor streets – Honest Ed’s. Even blocks away, neon signs race and advertisements touting bargains hit you from every direction. Always a strong supporter of culture and the arts he established the Royal Alexandra Theatre on King Street and introduced a row of adjacent restaurants for theatre patrons (now known as the Theatre District) and he also developed Mirvish Village, a block-long area of art galleries, restaurants, and bookstores at Bloor and Bathurst. See our Queer West Village Toronto Photo Library for other views of our beautiful village.
Toronto's queer west end is home to
a whole range of Eastern European restaurants - Russian, Ukrainian,
Polish and Hungarian - that serve well-priced, filling fare. Caribbean,
Central and South 
American restaurants, and often
offer a good deal and a large, satisfying and often spicy meal. Other
places include weird hybrids like Chinese-Peruvian, Japanese-Brazilian,
and any number of vegetarian and wholefood eateries to cater to any
taste or fad. Restaurent
guide
The Queer West Village Toronto can be a wonderful place to visit with children . Obvious attractions include museums, numerous parks, and ferry boat rides, as well as the simple pleasures of just walking the streets, seeing the street entertainers and taking in the shopping scene. Free events, especially common in the summer, range from puppet shows and nature programs in the city's parks to storytelling hours at local libraries and bookstores. In addition, many museums and theaters have specific children's programs.
For new west end dwellers, there are attractions galore,
there's the Canadian National Exhibition.and
beautiful. Also, keep an eye to the sky for the Canadian
International Air Show Labour Day Weekend in September. Lake Ontario,
with its long waterfront park, board walk and bicycle paths is 10 minutes away. The historic Sunnyside Bathing Pavilion has a free outdoor swimming pool
and the Sunnyside Cafe; with beach-side tables is a pleasant place to
dine during the summer, as the sun sets over Lake Ontario. Take a ferry
boat ride to Hanlan's Bum Beach Hanlan's Point Beach a.k.a. "Bum Beach"
West side of Toronto Islands. The Clothing-option region of Toronto's
Hanlan Beach, appropriately nicknamed "Bum Beach." Watch knights in
battle, amazing horsemanship all year round. Be a part of the 11th century.
Experience Medieval Times. Good fun for all ages at the Medieval
Times How about Caribana,
Canada's largest street festival, is a West Indian carnival that lasts
for 18 days. It ends on the first Monday in August and features a fantastic
parade of music and dance the Saturday before. How about road rage at
the Molson
Indy: West Toronto When: Second weekend in July Where: Exhbitiion
Place. Since 1985 the world's best Indy drivers race around an outdoor
track at speeds of up to 300km/hour. The annual Queer West Fest and Mad Pride Festival in early June. Royal
Winter Agriculture Fair a huge annual fall event, very educational
and more fun then you might think
There is beautiful High Park with its 400 acres of trees, Grenadier Pond, rose
gardens, zoo and duck ponds. During July and August, take in the (pwyc)
play " The Dream in High Park," outdoor
Summer Theatre by The Canadian Stage Company is presented each evening.
In the middle of High Park you will find the newly renovated
Grenadier
Cafe and Teahouse the summer patio seats 300. A winter place for some
cross country skiing. There is also Dufferin Grove Park at Dufferin &
Bloor Street West, home to the Dusk Dances and Paper and Clay Theatre.
If gardening is your thing visit
Centennial Park Conservatory, 15 Elmcrest Road, Etobicoke, open
year 
round. Three
greenhouses offer 12,000 square feet of interesting plants. For something
really unique, Humber Bay Butterfly Habitat
for native butterfly species. Humber Bay Park on the Lakeshore Etobicoke.
Spend a day at Historic Fort York early 19th-century
Canadian army life on Garrison Road, off Fleet near Bathurst Street.
Wild Water Kingdom - Attractions for young and old, including Seven Story Speed Slides, Tube slides, a children's interactive playground, a half-acre tidal wave pool, mini-golf, batting cages, Caribbean Cove -- our tropical paradise, hot tubs, and much more! 7855 Finch Ave. W. north west Toronto.
The Toronto Islands Park
that boasts of lovely boardwalks, tennis courts, picnic areas, an amusement
park, beaches, yacht club, restaurants and much more. Take 
a lovely boat ride on one of
the Toronto Island Ferries at Harbourfront to one of three Toronto
Islands. Just a few minutes from the busy Queer West Village. Ferry
Fares round trip are $5 for adults, $3 for students under 19 years old
and seniors and $2 for children under 14 years old. Ontario
Place Toronto- is an internationally acclaimed cultural, leisure
and entertainment parkland located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The
complex extends throughout three man-made islands along the Lake Ontario
waterfront and has lots of rides, attractions and entertainment located
in the heart of the Queer West Village.
Take in a play while you're here at Equity Showcase
at 651 Dufferin at Dundas St W. or The Village Players,
2190 Bloor West in Bloor West Village. Visit Queen Street West Art District with more than 40 small galleries,
Bathurst St. to Roncesvalles Avenue. Spend a day at Woodbine Entertainment
is the most famous name in Canadian race course history. The track is
home to the $1 million Queen's Plate, North America's oldest continuously
run stakes race.
Toronto
named as one of the top 10 shopping destinations in world by American Express.
Some of best affordable shopping malls in Gay Toronto are located
in the West Village: Woodbine Centre 500 Rexdale Blvd. (Etobicoke),
Dufferin Mall, 900 Dufferin
Street,
Dragon City Shopping Mall Chinatown, Spadina at Dundas, Sherway Gardens - Etobicoke on the
Queensway and Yorkdale
Shopping Centre Dufferin & 401 Highway. Use Toronto Transit
System street maps and routes to get around.
