1. Trinity Community Recreation Centre
It’s an outstanding deal: a six-month gym membership costs $90. The weight and cardio rooms are a bit on the dank side; the light-splashed indoor swimming pool is the centrepiece. Here, a historic sailboat-themed mosaic lends a certain Esther Williams allure. Tip: Quality kids’ programs—including arts and crafts in the park, ballet, soccer and tennis—are also on offer.
155 Crawford St., 416-392-0743.

2. Polka Dot Kids
Owner Mika Ikeda stocks her shop with refined, anti-Nintendo wares. Among her adorable finds are lunch boxes patterned with ladybugs and cherries ($13–$18) from the Netherlands, linen booties ($25) from Japan, and giraffe-and-elephant mobiles ($68) from France. Wooden kitchenettes and fruit-and-veggie toys look as though they’ve been special-delivered from Santa’s workshop.
917 Queen St. W., 416-306-2279.

3. Clafouti
Buttery and infallibly bronzed, the croissants here have been pronounced the city’s finest. But the petite croissanterie kick-starts other addictions with a cast of Gallic splendours: raspberry-pomegranate and fig clafoutis and duck pâté sandwiches. Tip: Don’t dawdle on weekends—croissants (550 of them) are gone by 10 a.m.
915 Queen St. W., 416-603-1935.

4. The Paper Place
Calling stock here “paper” seems almost ludicrous (like calling Versailles a home); each sheet is more objet d’art than stationery. Bookbinders, artists and brides-to-be admire handmade Nepali lotus paper in hushed reverence; silkscreened Katazome deserves to be framed; and Japanese Obonai feather paper is to tissue paper what Nobu sushi is to freezer-aisle fish sticks.
887 Queen St. W., 416-703-0089.

5. Type
At this spunky indie book shop, co-owners Joanne Saul and Samara Walbohm (both CanLit academics from U of T) offer a carefully curated collection. A back nook is devoted to an impressive selection of kids’ lit, and the basement serves as a gallery. Tip: Type hosts readings, lectures and story times for tots.
883 Queen St. W., 416-366-8973.

6. Fluf Design
In defense of languor: this pillow gallery proffers innumerable feather-filled reasons for a life of repose. Cotton-linen cushions come in REM-inducing shades of sky blue and lilac; a Danish wool variety is available in juicier shades of tomato, plum and star fruit yellow. Tip: Breast-feeding cushions ($85) are the last word in wet nurse chic.
881 Queen St. W., 416-362-3583.

7. Klaxon Howl
Owners Matt Robinson and Lena Kim, from the hipper-than-thou sartorial headquarters Delphic, stock their latest venture with aggressively cool menswear. Intended for the bar scene, not the barracks, military gear (vintage khakis with patches from Nam) attracts ironic fashion vets; waxed-cotton motorcycle jackets from Belstaff are more Che Guevara than Hell’s Angel. Meanwhile, staff (poster boys for Generation Whatever) seem more bored than bellicose.
877 Queen St. W., 647-436-6628.

8. Matchbox Garden & Seed Company
This urban garden could not be more secret (it’s on Farr’s Lane, off Walnut Avenue). Quiet as any country carrot patch, the tiny organic farmer’s market sprouts veggies, herbs and seedlings. Produce is grown on-site and picked fresh each morning. Open Thursday to Sunday.
879 Queen St. W., 416-350-9694.