Published January 7, 2022 · Updated September 17, 2026
Sometimes, exploring a new place doesn’t require a carefully planned vacation, a big budget, or even someone to go with.
Sometimes, all you need is an afternoon, comfortable shoes, a little curiosity—and the courage to go somewhere you haven’t been before.
On October 1, 2021, I stepped out of Bobbykins’ apartment into brilliant afternoon sunshine. It was also the first day of my one-month unlimited Presto pass for TTC buses and trains, so naturally, I told myself I was going to make the most of it.
Laag alone? No problem!
Mr. Google and Mr. Tripod were with me.
So I headed straight to Downtown Toronto.
It was my first time getting off at Union Station. At that point, it was the farthest subway station I had travelled to on my own.
When I stepped outside, I was taken aback by the skyscrapers.
I was living in the suburbs then, so everything downtown felt new to me—the crowded streets, bustling vehicles, blaring sirens and mobs of hurried people overtaking me.
I felt as though I had walked straight into one of those metropolitan city scenes I’d only seen in movies.
Unlike Niagara Falls, which I hadn’t particularly dreamed of seeing before coming to Canada, Downtown Toronto was somewhere I had eagerly wanted to experience.
And there I finally was.
I didn’t have much money to spend. I didn’t have anyone exploring with me.
But I had an unlimited Presto pass, my phone, my tripod and an entire afternoon ahead of me.
Looking back now, I realize I had everything I needed.
Exploring Old Town Toronto on Foot
If you’re also a babe on a budget like I was, Old Town Toronto is a wonderful part of the city to explore on foot without needing to spend much—or anything at all.
My little walking adventure took me through:
Berczy Park → Gooderham Building → St. Lawrence Market → Distillery Historic District
But rather than simply checking these places off a list, I invite you to experience each one a little differently.
Sit. Look up. Taste—or at least take in the smells. Walk slowly. Notice.
Because sometimes the best part of exploring isn’t how many attractions you manage to see.
It’s what you notice while you’re there.
Berczy Park: Sit for a While
Who let the dogs out?
They’re all at Berczy Park!
The famous fountain is filled with dog sculptures, making this little park especially fun if you’re a dog lover. When I first wrote about it, I suggested people-watching, soothing your soul by watching the water flow, feeding the pigeons and trying to guess the breeds of the dog statues—or the real dogs passing by.
I still think those are perfectly good reasons to visit.
But if you come here, I want to suggest something even simpler.
Sit for a while.
You don’t always have to do something when you’re exploring.
Find somewhere to sit and let Toronto happen around you.
Watch people pass.
Listen to the water.
Notice the buildings rising around this little pocket of green.
Watch the dogs tugging their humans along.
Take a photograph—or don’t.
For someone who was still getting acquainted with Toronto, sitting in a park like this and watching the city move around me was part of learning the place.
And maybe that’s something we forget when we travel.
We become so focused on seeing everything that we don’t give ourselves enough time to simply be somewhere.
Another Photo to Remember at Berczy Park
Years later, Berczy Park would give me another little story—this time during Christmas, when a simple photograph unexpectedly became something more.
→ Read: Christmas at Berczy Park: When a Simple Photo Became Something More
Gooderham Building (Flatiron Building): Look Up
From Berczy Park, walk toward one of Toronto’s most recognizable heritage buildings: the Gooderham Building, often called the Flatiron Building.
Looks familiar?
You may have seen it in photographs, postcards or movies.
The historic building sits where two streets meet, creating its distinctive triangular, flatiron shape. It was originally associated with the Gooderham family, whose name you’ll encounter again when you reach the Distillery District.
Back in 2021, I had another thought about this place:
Someday, when I can surely afford it, I’m going to have my favourite cocktail on the patio here!
But even if you’re not stopping for a cocktail—or spending anything at all—there’s something you can do here for free.
Look up.
Look at the shape of the building.
Notice the windows and brickwork.
Then look beyond it at the modern buildings surrounding it.
Old and new exist together here.
And this is one of the things walking teaches me again and again.
When we’re rushing from one destination to another, it’s easy to pass buildings, windows, signs, trees and street corners without really seeing them.
But when we’re somewhere unfamiliar, suddenly we pay attention.
Perhaps that’s one reason travel can feel so refreshing.
It wakes up our curiosity.
If You Want to Stay a Little Longer
If you’re ready to sit down after exploring this corner of Old Town Toronto, Hothouse, right across from the Gooderham Building, is another place I’ve visited months after.
One of its dishes even inspired an unexpected reflection about women, identity, and embracing the different sides of ourselves.
→ Read: Bruschetta or Capriccio: An Ode to Strong, Independent Women
St. Lawrence Market: Take In the Flavours of the City
Stepping into St. Lawrence Market felt strangely familiar to me.
It was like stepping into a world I had previously known only virtually.
Old meets new here—and somehow, both worlds coexist.
When I first visited, I couldn’t afford to shop for fresh meat and produce or taste all the must-eats I was curious about.
So naturally, I wrote another little promise to myself:
Someday, when I can again surely afford it…
But exploring a market doesn’t have to begin with buying something.
Walk through it slowly.
Notice the colours.
Listen to the conversations around you.
Look at what’s displayed on the counters.
Smell the food being prepared.
Watch people doing their ordinary shopping.
Because a city isn’t only made up of landmarks.
It has flavours, smells, routines, conversations and everyday life.
Markets allow us to glimpse that side of a destination—the life happening underneath the tourist attractions.
And sometimes the memories we carry home aren’t grand ones.
They’re the smell of something being cooked, the chatter of strangers, a colourful display of food or simply the feeling of discovering a place for the first time.
Another Old Town Memory
Some of my memories of this part of Toronto happened around a table, too.
One of my early Toronto dining experiences happened nearby at The Old Spaghetti Factory—a little celebration that, looking back, became about much more than the food.
→ Read: The Old Spaghetti Factory Toronto: A Little Celebration in a New Country
The Distillery Historic District: Walk Slowly
Speaking of distillery magnates, my walk eventually led me to the Distillery Historic District, once home to the Gooderham & Worts Distillery.
Its historic brick buildings and cobblestone streets immediately made this part of Toronto feel different.
When I first walked onto those cobblestones, I wrote that it felt like being inside a 19th-century film.
And yes, for the third time that afternoon, I had another dream:
Someday, when I can truly afford it, I’m going to sit here and enjoy a fancy dinner al fresco—the Parisian way!
But whether you’re having that fancy dinner or simply wandering through without spending a penny, there’s something else worth doing here.
Walk slowly.
Feel the cobblestones beneath your feet.
Look at the brick buildings.
Notice the art.
Look through windows.
Turn down little passageways.
Watch how the light falls between the buildings.
This is what I enjoy most about exploring places on foot.
You notice transitions.
One street feels modern and busy.
Turn another corner and suddenly you’re surrounded by history.
Walk a little farther and you might find art, a quiet courtyard or something unexpected.
When you’re inside a car or rushing toward your next destination, these little changes can disappear.
Walking lets you experience the spaces between the attractions.
And sometimes, that’s where the beauty is.
The Distillery District Still Captures My Heart
Of all the places I visited that afternoon, the Distillery District is one I would return to again and again.
The cobblestone streets that once made me feel as though I had stepped into another time eventually became familiar. I would see the district in different seasons, under Christmas lights, and through different chapters of my life in Canada.
And yet, familiarity didn’t make it less beautiful.
It simply gave the place more stories.
Years later, when I gathered the Ontario destinations that had stayed with me, the Distillery Historic District naturally became one of my 20 Beautiful Places in Ontario That Could Capture Your Heart.
→ Explore: 20 Beautiful Places in Ontario That Could Capture Your Heart
What started as one budget-friendly afternoon exploring Toronto had quietly become part of a much bigger journey across Ontario.
What I Didn’t Realize I Was Learning to Notice
When I originally wrote about this adventure in 2021, I wasn’t thinking about any of this.
I was simply excited.
I wanted photographs.
I wanted to wander.
I wanted to experience more of Toronto.
And because I was a babe on a budget, I was also dreaming about all the things I might be able to afford someday.
Reading those words now makes me smile.
Because although I couldn’t afford the cocktails, market treats or fancy al fresco dinners I imagined, I was experiencing something I didn’t have to pay for.
I was learning how to notice.
The architecture.
The people.
The contrast between old and new.
The little park surrounded by tall buildings.
The cobblestones beneath my feet.
The energy of a city I was slowly beginning to understand.
Travel has a wonderful way of doing that.
When we’re somewhere unfamiliar, we naturally pay closer attention.
We look up.
We wander.
We wonder.
We notice.
The challenge is learning to bring that same curiosity home with us.
Because beauty isn’t only waiting in destinations we’ve never visited.
Sometimes it’s already around us—we’ve simply stopped noticing it.
Want to Practice Noticing More?
You don’t need a trip to Toronto—or a trip anywhere—to practice seeing your surroundings differently.
That’s why I created The Beauty Around You: A 7-Day Journey to Slow Down and Notice More.
It’s a gentle seven-day journey designed to help you pause, pay attention and rediscover the beauty hiding inside ordinary days.
No plane ticket.
No expensive itinerary.
Not even an unlimited Presto pass.
You simply need to start looking.
→ Begin the 7-Day Journey
Maybe I Was Exploring More Than Toronto
There’s another part of this old story that means more to me now.
Laag alone? No problem! Mr. Google and Mr. Tripod are with me!
I wrote that jokingly.
At the time, I didn’t think of taking the subway downtown alone as some brave act of independence.
I had Google.
I had my tripod.
I had my Presto pass.
And I wanted to explore.
So I went.
But I was also living through a much bigger transition.
Canada was still new to me. I was learning a new city, building a different life, and figuring out who I was going to become in this unfamiliar chapter.
I couldn’t have known it then, but little adventures like this were helping.
Every subway ride somewhere unfamiliar made the city feel slightly less intimidating.
Every place I explored became another piece of Canada that no longer felt completely foreign.
Every afternoon spent wandering by myself reminded me that I didn’t always have to wait for someone else before experiencing something new.
Maybe becoming doesn’t always happen through one enormous, life-changing moment.
Sometimes it happens quietly.
We take a different train.
Walk an unfamiliar street.
Sit somewhere we’ve never sat before.
Look up.
Notice something beautiful.
And little by little, the world feels larger—and we become a little more willing to step into it.
Your Next Adventure Doesn’t Have to Be Far Away
If you’re navigating a transition yourself—a new city, a new season of life, a career change, a relationship change, or simply one of those periods when you’re wondering what comes next—you don’t necessarily need a grand adventure to begin moving forward.
Explore somewhere nearby.
Walk a street you’ve never walked before.
Visit a park you’ve passed a hundred times.
Bring your camera.
Or leave it at home.
Sit somewhere for ten minutes without rushing away.
Look up at a building you’ve never really noticed.
Walk slowly.
Pay attention to what catches your eye.
You might discover a beautiful place.
You might notice something you’ve been overlooking.
Or perhaps, somewhere along the way, you’ll discover something about yourself.
One Last Thing About Those Photos…
My photos from that afternoon surely don’t do justice to the real sights and feeling of Old Town Toronto.
I only had the front camera of my phone and its timer—with Mr. Tripod doing his best!
You can check out my vlog below to see more of my no-penny-spent adventure on that sunny afternoon in Downtown Toronto.
And here’s something that makes this old story even sweeter to look back on:
I was later featured by Old Town Toronto after winning one of their holiday contests.
Thank you very much, #OldTownToronto.
Funny how a place you once nervously explored by yourself can eventually become part of your story.
For more about Old Town Toronto, visit their website here.
Continue Your Journey
If you’ve reached the end of this walk with me, where you go next depends on what you’re looking for.
Explore Somewhere
Ready for another adventure?
Discover more of the Ontario destinations, small towns, waterfronts, historic neighbourhoods and nature escapes that have become part of my journey.
And Toronto isn’t only a city I enjoy exploring on foot. Some of my favourite memories here have come from the experiences hidden behind its historic façades and theatre doors.
One of them was finally seeing Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in Toronto—a little dream I had put off until the timing was finally right.
→ Read: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in Toronto: A Magical Night to Remember
Notice Something
Maybe you don’t need another destination just yet.
Carry the curiosity of travel into your everyday life and discover the beauty hiding in nature, changing seasons, quiet routines and ordinary moments.
Become Something
Sometimes the places we explore and the things we notice reveal something about our own lives—where we’ve been, what we’re learning and who we’re becoming along the way.
→ Reflect on Meaningful Stories
And if you’re ready to start noticing more right where you are:
→ Download The Beauty Around You: A 7-Day Journey to Slow Down and Notice More