Toronto, The Distillery Winter Village

Every year starting in November Facebook and Instagram gets flooded with pictures and videos of people attending the Toronto Distillery Winter Village. This year I finally caved and went, here's what I found.

Photo Credit : V.Gray

I have wanted to go to the Toronto Distillery Winter Village for a few years. However I have never had the time and have not wanted to attend on weekends because of the size of the crowds. My sister and I met in the big city on a Tuesday and spent an afternoon walking through the shops, enjoying the breweries and taking in the sites.

Picking the day.

If you look up the Distillery Winter Village their website is well laid, one of the best points was they do advertise the free entry times. We spoke about doing a weekend trip and attending the market at night to see the lights. After doing a bit more research weekends evenings are busy and there is an entry fee (starting at $10 CAD up to $45 CAD). If you enter the market between 10 am and 4 pm (any day of the week) it is free. If you plan on staying or entering after 4 pm you must purchase a ticket (all tickets have to be purchased in advance from their website and there are some rules).

We decided on a Tuesday around lunch time. This gave us free entry and from online stats smaller crowds, which would mean shorter wait times for sites, entry into the small shops and restaurants.

Anothing big factor in our decision was weather, both of our local weather called for clear skies, mild temperatures and overcast for the day. Toronto called for similar weather, however due to being right on Lake Ontario the weather does change quickly in Toronto. It did end up snowing all day while we were there but nothing that worried us.

Getting there.

We both took the GO train into Toronto, my sister from Burlington (Lakeshore West) and myself from Durham College Oshawa (Lakeshore East) meeting at Union Station in Toronto. The trip into the city is about 1 hour from either direction, if everything is running properly and on time. This did put a time limit on our time in Toronto as the last train to Burlington is 5:21 pm.

The train was quick and easy, we both purchased our tickets in advance online for around $24 CAD round trip. Taking the train saved us from Toronto traffic, trying to find parking in the city, we did not have to worry about road conditions (construction in the city and snow) and limited our shopping purchases (what you buy you have to carry and take back on the train).

The Distillery Winter Village.

Photo Credit : V.Gray

The Village is about a 2 km walk from Union Station (Google says 30 minutes, we did it in about 15 minutes) taking from Front St W to Parliament St starting at the West Gate with the Heart of Christmas. We walked the entire market in about 20 minutes going from the West to the East gate, hitting the lanes in between.

Photo Credit : https://www.thedistillerywintervillage.com/Map

Photo Credit : https://www.thedistillerywintervillage.com/Map

We walked the Village first to pick where we wanted to grab a drink/snack and see what stores we really wanted to go into. I am a snack/experience person, I scouted out a restaurant's and my sister is a very enthusiastic shopper who wants to hit EVERY shop.

Started at Mill Street Brewery having a drink and a small dip for a snack, chatting up on life and planning our next few stops. Mill Street was busy, but worth the wait. The service was good, the beer was tasty and our snack was prefect.

We agreed to continue down Black House Mews to Case Goods Lane carrying up Trinity St to our next snack stop. We did hit a few shops and "experiences" along the way.

Experiences are different points marked on the map throughout the Market to take pictures at. Coming on a Tuesday we did not have to wait in any lines to snap these quick pictures which was great.

We did run into some influencers doing shoots and making their content which was interesting to see (I had no idea how much equipment and thought went into their posts) and one kind of enough to help us and snap this picture for us.

Our next and final snack spot in the Market was the Spirit of York on Trinity St. My sister had mentioned liking this place and we decided it would be a good spot.

Photo Credit : An Influencer

This Distillery was outstanding! The atmosphere was calming and welcoming, the drinks were delicious and the food was superb. Finishing off our afternoon walking through a few small cute shops, around 3:30 pm we started walking back towards Union Station.

How much time.

We spent a total of 3.5 hours in the Village and this was more than enough time to see and do everything we wanted. We did not go during peak times, listed online. This advantage gave us not having to wait in any lines, pay an entry fee and getting us in and out of all shops and restaurants in good time.

If you went on the weekend at night, I am sure the lights are stunning and very magical. But this will come at a cost, you will have to wait and this will change how long you spend in the Village and wait.

Our 3.5 hours in the Village was more than enough for me, I was not drained or over crowded and was still enjoying my afternoon by the time we left. This is all depending on you as an individual and how you like to experience events.

The Distillery Winter Village.

Now that I have crossed the Distillery Winter Village officially off of my bucket list, the question comes up: would I do it again? I have seen this now, so honestly no I would not go again this year. I may consider going again in the future to meet my sister for an afternoon or take our niece for a day in the city. For me, I would not be making this a yearly tradition as I know some of my friends do.

Again I am sure if it was a very different experience at night with the Christmas lights and crowds, the atmosphere would be very different. I enjoyed the weekday afternoon and if I was to go again I would probably plan for this time again.

If this is something you are looking at doing, you should go and try it at least once.

Cheers!

**Please note that all opinions and views expressed in this post are my own, from my own experiences. If you would like to see more pictures follow me on Instagram vikki.gray **