These five Toronto wellness itineraries promise R&R for your mind, body and soul.
A self-care getaway is exactly what you need right now. A weekend break designed to fill your cup is something we could all use on a regular basis.
As Canada’s largest metropolitan area, Toronto is blessed with studios and facilities where you can enjoy the latest health and wellness trends, all while reconnecting with yourself, your friends or your partner.
These neighbourhood escapes offer wellness experiences, luxe lodgings and hearty food, all within walking distance of one another, so you can maximize your step count and outdoor time while minimizing your environmental impact.
Read on for local intel on where to self-care like a pro.
Solo retreat in the Entertainment District
Wellness Experience: If you’ve been fascinated by the Wim Hoff method or The Finnish Way, plan for a few guided classes at Othership, where you’ll experience the exhilarating benefits of hot and cold therapy.
From greater mental clarity to boosting metabolism, the therapeutic sessions take you from the dry sauna to ice baths kept between 0 and 4 degrees Celsius.
Healthy Getaway Hotel: Just a two-minute walk from Othership, the new Ace Hotel is a feast for the eyes in the Entertainment District downtown.
Designed by Shim-Sutcliffe in collaboration with Atelier Ace, the hotel features cozy urban cabins as rooms with panelling composed of Douglas fir, concrete ceilings and copper accents.
Plus, it’s equipped with a Tivoli sound system, so you can easily play your favourite meditation podcast or feel-good playlist.
Nourishing Nosh: Hit up nearby plant-based chain Kupfert & Kim for a cauliflower tahini bowl as a quick lunch or a vanilla cacao smoothie post-plunge.
For dinner, book a table at Rosalinda for a lush-with-greenery space to dine on top-notch, plant-based Mexican cuisine. Their gluten-free meaty mushroom birria and warm guajillo noodles with charred red cabbage dishes are so good that even non-vegetarians may be convinced they can go strictly plant-based.
Best-friend getaway on Queen Street West
Wellness Experience: There are few people in this world you're fine with seeing you sweat buckets. At Jaybird you'll get to test your athletic abilities in a yoga or Pilates-inspired workout in a candle-lit room heated to 27 to 35 degrees Celsius. This tough, exhilarating workout will strengthen that bond with your BFF.
Healthy Getaway Hotel: The Drake Hotel—a mainstay in hip Queen Street West—has a newish Modern Wing, complete with artwork from local artists, creating a visually rich space that design lovers will relish.
For more culture to feed your soul, after dark, pop downstairs to Drake Underground, where they often host live music, DJs, poetry slams and more.
Nourishing Nosh: Fresh served plant-based food in Toronto long before it became de rigueur. Satisfy your craving for their quinoa onion rings and stellar Beyond burger at their Queen and Shaw location, a leisurely walk from the Drake.
For your essential morning fix of a matcha latte, stop into Cafe 23 to enjoy their darling backyard patio.
Couple-cation in Yorkville
Wellness Experience: If you’re obsessed with the fastest-growing sport in North America, you’ll want to come with your partner to play pickleball at Fairgrounds, the public racket club with no membership fees just north of Yonge and Eglinton.
There’s zero dress code, so don’t fret about having to pack tennis whites—just book a court online and bring your racket (they have rentals, too).
Healthy Getaway Hotel: The new W Toronto in Yorkville is a 60-minute walk to Fairgrounds (or you can easily hop on transit or rent a bicycle from Bike Share and pedal the few kilometres north to the courts).
The hotel’s design was inspired by the neighbourhoods that make up Toronto, with spaces exuding Yorkville’s hippie history and the city’s theatre district.
Nourishing Nosh: With the Mediterranean diet often considered one of the healthiest in the world, head up to the rooftop of the W to Skylight for some incredible mezze, including eggplant and pine nut sambousek and a sharak platter loaded with baba ganoush, muhammara, hummus, beet labneh and olives.
Vegans will be delighted with dinner at Planta. Their lettuce wraps featuring crispy Korean brussels sprouts, tofu, kimchi, pickled cucumber and sesame are a plant-based foodie’s dream come true.
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Romantic weekend with a new flame in Eastside
Wellness Experience: A circus arts class is undeniably fun. But you’ll also have to be a little vulnerable trying something new and potentially looking silly to your new love as you perform acrobatic feats in an aerial hammock, aerial hoop or a trapeze class at The Circus Fix, a sure-fire way to bring you two closer.
Healthy-Getaway Hotel: Stay near The Circus Fix at the Broadview Hotel. This east-end boutique hotel in up-and-coming Riverside boasts 58 rooms and fantastic views of the city skyline and the Don River from The Rooftop. And if you can’t get away without your emotional support animal, don’t fret—the Broadview is pet-friendly.
Nourishing Nosh: Stop into the Leslieville location of Nutbar to fill your grumbling belly post-workout. With a menu focused on nutrient-rich superfoods (they’re renowned for their signature organic nut milk), you’ll feel like a million bucks no matter what you order.
For dinner, feast on gluten-free laffa, hummus, and fattush salad made with the freshest veggies and grilled salmon kebabs at the Riverside outpost of Tabule.
Squad getaway to King Street West
Wellness Experience: The Lagree Method is a favourite of some of the fittest celebrities, including Jennifer Aniston and Meghan Markle, which is done on a Megaformer (think of it as a souped-up Pilates reformer). Classes at Studio Lagree will help everyone in your crew discover muscles they didn’t know they had.
Healthy Getaway Hotel: Just a seven-minute walk away from Studio Lagree’s King Street West location is the sustainably focused 1 Hotel Toronto.
From its energy-efficient heating and cooling systems and reclaimed fallen tree decor to its organic cotton linens and on-site organic composter, the kitchen is an eco-mecca with a zero-waste operation.
Nourishing Nosh: Get your group over to Ossington—an easy half-hour walk away—to Mandy’s Gourmet Salads for a salad that'll have you questioning why your homemade ones are never as satisfying (their tamari dressing is particularly addictive).
Looking for a spot for a nightcap? Get your resveratrol via a glass of pinot at the always-bustling wine bar Paris Paris.