We continue our Hidden Toronto series (last week was hidden eats) with a roundup of the city's best overlooked parks, unusual classes and secret spaces.
Clandestine classes
You’re never too old to head back to the classroom, be it for meditation or, um, eye fluttering
Flirting workshops
At Good For Her, Harbord Street’s bookshop devoted to lit and more for the ladies, Coco La Creme hosts a three-hour workshop on how to flirt. P.S., she also does slightly more scandalous classes too.
175 Harbord St.
Meditation lessons
Get schooled on how to meditate and find your inner Buddha at Shambhala.
670 Bloor St. W.
Mixology lessons
At Hopson Grace’s above-shop studio, those keen on perfecting the rules of civility can take workshops on mixology and more. Manners 101 will prep kids for all upcoming social events.
1120 Yonge St.
Community sailing club
Not quite your average white-threads-and-champagne sailing club, the Toronto Island Sailing Club owns an assortment of sailboats, sprinkled with a few power boats for good measure. Cough up just $465 a year for good old-fashioned fun on the water — without a side of pretension.
torontosailing.com
Conspiracy culture
Touting itself as the only bricks-and-mortar bookshop in Canada dedicated to conspiracies, this paranoid Bloordale space has been questioning all since 2006. There are no biases here — everything, from aliens to the Illuminati to the CIA, is examined under a metaphorical microscope.
1344 Bloor St. W.
Intimate parks
Every one is familiar with Toronto's grander parks, but sometimes smaller is better.
Canoe Landing Park
Renaissance man Douglas Coupland spruced up drab downtown condoland with a gigantic red canoe, perfect for, yes, canoodling in.
Toronto Music Garden
World-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma worked his design hand to co-create this park inspired by pictorial elements in a cello suite composed by none other than Bach.
Under-the-radar arts
Take in art in all its forms at these rare spots.
Stephen Bulger Gallery
This fine art photography gallery is a two-for-one deal. It’s also home to Camera, a small screening room backed by Atom Egoyan with space for 50 along with a lounge and a fireplace.
1026 Queen St. W.
Bau-xi Photo
Blink and you’ll miss this tiny photography gallery perched across from the AGO behemoth. Look for Cara Barer’s prints of books she’s transformed into hypnotizing shapes.
340 Dundas St. W.
Secret rooms & tunnels
These subterranean T.O. spaces lurk beneath and behind.
King Edward Hotel
In the hotel’s basement reportedly lies access to an unfinished tunnel, built at the start of the 20th century. As legend has it, the plan was to connect the hotel with the Gooderham & Worts Distillery staff from the Flatiron building during Prohibition — or to bring folks to Union.
37 King St. E.
Sewage tunnels
T.O.’s underground empire features tunnels that are both wide and high enough for humans to walk through with ease. Although the subterranean network isn’t easily accessible, with permission and the guidance of a city worker, it is feasible — though it may take some persistence.
Google offices
Who knew that the Toronto offices of Google have a secret room accessible only by means of a secret bookcase? Open sesame by tilting the correct book, and voila, the bookcase swings open to reveal a hidden chamber.
111 Richmond St. W.
Hush-hush finds
Secret menu item
Mama Rosa’s 7 Numbers is one of our go-tos for authentic Italian eats. Ask for the Lornello platter — a veritable smorgasbord of grilled fish, shrimp and squid on a bed of rapini. It may or may not have been named after our publisher.
516 Eglinton Ave. W.
Makeup
Hidden away in the basement of the Yonge Eglinton Centre is one of Korea’s biggest beauty secrets. Holika Holika touts BB creams, CC creams, snail masks and all the other things the Koreans thought up first.
2300 Yonge St.
Tatami room
Looking to pair a rather clandestine dining experience with your sashimi? Sake Bar Kushi offers its patrons a private tatami room, so you and your dining partners can duck into it and nosh in a super intimate setting.
257 Eglinton Ave. W.
Shisha lounge
Outfitted with rich chocolate leather couches and Persian carpets, 70 Down is a luxe spot to indulge in some hookah smoking, which feels slightly illicit — even if it’s not. Gather friends, try flavours like pomegranate and relax.
70 Yorkville Ave.
Doughnuts
Summerhill’s Room 2046 is a café, design shop and clothing boutique. But did you know it dishes out doughnuts from Parkdale’s sassily-named Glory Hole come Thursdays? Bite into a tasty chai crûlée or banana cream round.
1252 Yonge St.
