It's always refreshing to see Toronto experienced through the eyes of an outsider, and can serve as a reminder of some impressive things that locals often take for granted.

Daphne Hansell, an American tourist who recently spent a weekend in Toronto to attend a conference, had much to say about the city in a recent thread shared on X.

Her review of Toronto touched on some common points the city is known for, like its food scene and decent transit service, as well as other factors that contribute to the interwoven urban, cultural and social tapestries that define this complicated but great city.

after much prompting, here are my urbanist takes from a weekend in Toronto: https://t.co/AcGy9vWTX5

— daphne (@DaphneRHansell) August 20, 2024

Hansell says that her favourite part of Toronto overall was the architecture, which is a notable comment about a city that has been gradually absorbed by monolithic and mostly featureless condo towers.

To start, by far my favorite part of the city was the architecture. The mix of old pretty lowrise buildings with all the new highrises was just gorgeous. So many of the new builds were visually interesting too. walking around was so fun.

— daphne (@DaphneRHansell) August 20, 2024

Her next favourite thing about Toronto was, unsurprisingly, the food scene — which, like Toronto's cultural mosaic, can take your taste buds on a trip around the entire world in just one day.

Food: second favorite part of the city
-we ate many meals at the conference but everything else we ate was crazy good
-we had the best vegan sushi of my life at Planta
-it was so easy to find good stuff, everywhere we went had amazing options
-I could do a thread just on food tbh pic.twitter.com/tow7vH0h4e

— daphne (@DaphneRHansell) August 20, 2024

Locals will complain endlessly about the city's transit woes, but to many outsiders, the TTC is, at the very least, "ok."

Bus:
-only took short distances but they were clean and basically on time

Streetcar:
-wish i'd had a chance to ride but alas didn't need to. looked so cute though, seemed mostly grade-separated?

Biking:
-also didn't bike anywhere, but downtown had impressive bike lane coverage

— daphne (@DaphneRHansell) August 20, 2024

That being said, Hansell did note that getting around "on the subway or near downtown was a breeze," though trips outside of the core were "trickier" and even resulted in her opting for an Uber.

Getting Places:
-anything on the subway or near downtown was a breeze
-trying to get further out to go to a friend's place was trickier, would have to take the subway to a pretty infrequent bus. ended up ubering for like 15CAD, basically only double metro fair for 2 people

— daphne (@DaphneRHansell) August 20, 2024

Locals will be quick to point out the decline in Toronto's quality of life in recent years, and the evident signs of addiction and mental health crises on our streets. But, compared with some U.S. cities, it's really not even on the same radar screen.

Quality of life:
-felt safe almost the entire time but had Matt there and also wasn't out super late
-some visible homelessness, but honestly less than I expected for a city of the size.

— daphne (@DaphneRHansell) August 20, 2024

Hansell says, "Overall: I really liked Toronto," adding that their hotel was near Church-Wellesley "and the neighborhood vibes were amazing."

"I would love to go back and explore more," she added.