There is now at least one bus company that does the 'airport<->downtown hotels' run. It's called Airport-something (Airporter Express might be close, but I think I'm confusing it with the Waterloo-Pearson company). Anyway, I took this thing from a hotel near the youth hostel to the airport, and it cost about $11, one way. You might have seen the buses - I think they're black or grey with a pink logo. Their mode of operation is to take everyone to a big downtown hotel (Royal York?) on a big bus, then split people up into smaller groups who are taken to their individual hotels in vans. There might be a van that heads up toward the UofT; there's certainly one that makes the circuit of hotels east of Yonge and North of Dundas. Someone else has noted that you should leave lots of time to get to and from the airport this way.

• The 401, which runs east-west and is north of the city. This is one of the widest highways I've ever seen. It has two sets of lanes, the express and collectors; the collectors are the ones with the on and off ramps.
• The Gardiner Expressway, which also runs east-west, and is mounted on stilts across the bottom of the city. If you're coming from Buffalo, you'll get onto this highway from the Queen Elizabeth Way, which runs along the side of the lake and turns into the Gardiner.
• The 427, which runs north-south from the 401 to the Gardiner. This one is on the west side of the city.
• The Don Valley Parkway. Also north-south from the 401 to the Gardiner, on the east end of town. Under construction this summer. There are two seasons in Canada: winter, and construction.

• Chinatown -- the biggest is in the Spadina-Dundas area.
• Greektown, along Danforth Avenue in the East End. This is the area where Dave and I live. Lots of neat little shops and restaurants.
• The East Indian area, near Gerrard and Greenwood, also in the East End. Accessible by bus or streetcar; not really near any subway stations. Eat amazing Indian food until you pop.
• Little Italy, along St. Clair West. Restaurants, stores, groceries. Yum.
• The Polish area, along Roncesvalles. Great perogies.
• Front Street, near where it intersects with Yonge (the longest street in the world). Not an ethnic neighborhood, but it's home to the St. Lawrence Market, which has some great cheese shops and bakeries, including one that makes wonderful Montreal-style bagels. Note that the market is not open on Sundays. Front Street also has a fantastic bookstore (fireplace with big comfy armchairs, and squeaky wood floors) called Nicholas Hoare, a few outdoor equipment stores, and some neat antique shops. It's also within walking distance of...
• Harbourfront. Harbourfront Centre has a lot of art galleries, open studio spaces for artists and craftspeople (so you can watch them blow glass and make pottery and such), interesting shops, and places to sit and watch people go by. An antique market is open on Sundays. There is also a large shopping mall at Queen's Quay (pron. "key") Terminal, and there are ferry docks for the ferries that go out to...
• The Toronto Islands. Ferries go to Ward's Island, Centre Island (the most popular tourist destination), and Hanlan's Point. A round trip ticket for any of these is $3. You can rent bicycles on Centre Island.
• The Beaches, out on Queen Street East. Hard to get to (streetcar or bus), but worth the trip. Great restaurants, terrific shopping, and a boardwalk along the side of Lake Ontario.
• Queen Street West, the "I wear black on the outside because black is how I feel on the inside" area. More neat restaurants and shopping.
• The Annex, around Bloor and Bathurst. This is the University of Toronto area, and it definitely feels universityish. Cheap food, great pubs, bits of good shopping.
• The gay ghetto, at and around the intersection of Church and Wellesley. See the mention of the GLB Resource Directory, above, for details about some of the bars and businesses in this area.
• Yorkville, at Bay and Yorkville. Near the intersection of Bay and Bloor. Full to overflowing of art galleries, incredibly expensive shops (want to spend $600 on a blouse?), and Yuppies.

• Lily Japanese Sushi, on the west side of Broadview Ave., just north of the Danforth, across the street from the Broadview TTC stop. Small place, with delicious food for cheap, and great service -- the man who made my cucumber sushi roll the other day bowed to me as I left. Go visit these people.
• Small Wonders Pet Emporium, on the north side between Chester and Broadview. We buy all our cat supplies there. Rainbow flag on the door, scritchable cats in residence, nice people behind the counter. They do grooming for dogs and cats.
• Book City, a cool bookstore with lots of magazines and remaindered (and therefore cheap cheap cheap) books, plus all the latest titles. It's just off the Carrot Common (home of the Big Carrot, Toronto's most well-known natural foods store), near the Chester subway station on the Bloor-Danforth line.
• Another Story Bookshop, west of Book City, on the north side of the Danforth. Left-leaning, with lots of progressive, liberal, feminist books, some bordering on the really flaky, but there's some great stuff here. Large children's section.
• El Pipil, on the south side between Book City and Another Story. Cool clothes, candles, earrings, kilims, etc.
• Ms. Emma Designs, a great women's clothing store where nothing is in a preestablished size. You find a garment you like; they make it fit you, and will alter it anytime afterwards. Pricey (I haven't bought much there), but the clothing is of excellent quality, all handmade in Toronto, and the fabrics are gorgeous. Someday when I'm filthy rich... There are several other Ms. Emma stores around Toronto, but I particularly like this one because of the very friendly cat.
• Mickey's Hideaway, a Tex-Mex restaurant with mostly organic ingredients. Great big portions, deadly margaritas, and black bean nachos to go swimming in. Yum.
• The Only Café, on the north side of the Danforth just west of Donlands. Great brunches, albeit very slow (their kitchen consists of two electric skillets); dozens and dozens of different kinds of beer; a number of whiskeys and Scotches; and a fantastic atmosphere. The walls and ceilings are covered with pictures of every kind, from Picasso prints to velvet Elvises to photographs of Che Guevara to the Beatles pictures from the White Album and on and on and on. On the wall of the women's room, in lipstick (over very old concert announcements and newspaper clippings): "I'm a slut, and I love it! 'Cause while you're here, I'm f_cking your boyfriend!" I love this place.