Canada
City overview
Toronto is Canada's largest city, home to about 3 million people on the shore of Lake Ontario, with world-class museums, a lively waterfront and Niagara Falls within day-trip range. It also has one of North America's largest Jewish communities, about 187,000 people across the Toronto region. Orthodox life runs along Bathurst Street, from Forest Hill and Bathurst–Lawrence north through Bathurst Manor and North York into Thornhill, a corridor lined with shuls, kollels, kosher restaurants, bakeries and groceries and covered by a community eruv. Downtown, where most hotels are, has a Chabad house but little kosher food and no eruv, so observant visitors often base themselves uptown.
Toronto, ON
Rabbi
Rabbi Mendel Chaikin and Chanie Chaikin
Phone
416-546-9770Website
https://jewishdt.comA Chabad centre and shul for Toronto's downtown core, founded in 2006 by Rabbi Mendel and Chanie Chaikin. Shabbat and Jewish-holiday morning services are held at 345 Adelaide St W, and the centre's site has visitor pages on kosher food and nearby hotels.
Getting Around
Public transit
The TTC runs Toronto's subway, LRT, streetcars and buses.
An adult fare is $3.30 when you tap a PRESTO card, credit or debit card, or phone (cash is $3.35). Children 12 and under ride free, and card taps include a two-hour transfer. Line 1 (Yonge–University) is the observant visitor's backbone. Its western branch runs right along the Bathurst corridor, through Cedarvale (formerly Eglinton West), Glencairn, Lawrence West, Yorkdale, Wilson and Sheppard West. Line 5 Eglinton, which opened on February 8, 2026, crosses midtown and meets Line 1 at Cedarvale and Eglinton. GO Transit commuter trains and buses fan out from Union Station on distance-based fares. In Thornhill, York Region Transit and Viva buses connect to the TTC, and under One Fare the transfer is free when you pay by PRESTO or card.
Rideshare
Uber and Lyft both operate in Toronto.
At Pearson Airport, the licensed rideshare providers are Uber, Lyft and Hopp, and each has designated pickup zones at Terminals 1 and 3. Uber Black and Lyft Lux pick up at Door A.
Car rental
A car is useful for Thornhill and day trips.
Highway 407 ETR has no toll booths: cameras photograph your licence plate and bill you per trip. Without a transponder you also pay a camera charge and an account fee. With a rental car, the bill goes to the rental company, which passes it on with its own fees, sometimes months later. Highway 401 is the main east–west route across the city's north end. Winters bring snow and ice from roughly December to March. In the city, Green P municipal lots and the Green P app are the easiest way to park. Note that the 400, 401 and 407 highways are outside the eruv.
Toronto Pearson (YYZ) is the main airport, in Mississauga, northwest of the city. The UP Express train leaves Terminal 1 every 15 minutes and reaches Union Station downtown in about 25 minutes. A ticket is $12.35, or $9.25 with PRESTO or a card tap, and kids 12 and under ride free. From Terminal 3, take the free Terminal Link train to Terminal 1. To reach Bathurst & Lawrence, the TTC 52A Lawrence West bus runs from both terminals to Lawrence West Station in about 50 minutes off-peak, for a single TTC fare. Taxis and limos charge flat rates. Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ) sits on Toronto Island at the foot of Bathurst Street, minutes from downtown. Porter and Air Canada fly there, and the airport now has U.S. Preclearance. You reach it by pedestrian tunnel or a free 90-second ferry, and a free shuttle runs to the Fairmont Royal York by Union Station.
Good to know
Late spring through early autumn (May–October) is the most comfortable time to visit, with July averaging about 22 °C (72 °F), while winters are cold and snowy, with January averaging about −4 °C (25 °F) and roughly 120 cm (48 in) of snow a year.
Stay uptown for Shabbos if you can: there is no eruv downtown and little prepared kosher food there, while the Bathurst corridor has both. Check the eruv status every Friday at torontoeruv.org or on 416-350-2879. Downtown hotels use electronic key cards and many high-rises have no Shabbos elevator, so make arrangements with your hotel in advance. Tap your own credit card or phone on the TTC; there is no need to buy a PRESTO card for a short visit. Ontario adds 13% HST to most prices at the till. Pack for real winter if you visit between December and March.
Toronto is generally safe for visitors, but take normal big-city care with bags and phones on transit and in busy downtown areas. Emergency (police, fire, ambulance): 911. Toronto Police non-emergency: 416-808-2222, or *TPS (*877) from a mobile phone. York Regional Police non-emergency (Thornhill): 1-866-876-5423. Hatzoloh Toronto 24/7 emergency line: 416-256-1000; Hatzoloh covers the Bathurst corridor from Eglinton to north of Highway 7, makes sure 911 has been called and gives care until paramedics arrive. Bikur Cholim Toronto (hospital support): 416-783-7983, or after hours 416-831-6757.
Local time
4:06 AM
+4 hrs from NYC
Plug
Type A/B
120V
Currency
Canadian Dollar
Pick a place on the map or search an address or hotel to see what is kosher around it.