Down at the corner of Bloor & Better on a nice afternoon? Grab a tasty takeout lunch from L’Express, Scaccia or bloorstreet market and make your way to one of these perfect picnicking spots:

Queen’s Park
Walk south on Bay and west along St. Joseph and you’ll come upon the backside of Ontario’s provincial parliament building  and one of the nicest parks in downtown Toronto.

There are plenty of benches and shady spots to grab a seat and enjoy the day. Alternatively, you can sit under the impressive statue of King Edward VII perched atop his horse. You’ll get a great view of the park from the north side of the statue’s base, and you’ll learn where it stood before it came here. Eddie came a long way.

Front Campus
Just west of Queen’s Park is the University of Toronto, and this gorgeous patch of green grass is the campus’s emerald.

It’s where the annual graduation ceremony happens (Convocation Hall sits on the south end), where many of the school’s intramural sports take place, and where you can find students from all over the world hanging out. Be mindful of the flying Frisbees.

The Cumberland Street Rock
Probably Yorkville’s most iconic landmark, this stylized structure sits just outside the Bay Street subway station. It’s the perfect people-watching perch, especially if you like watching the highly styled strut their stuff. Space on the rock fills up quickly, so we recommend going toward the beginning or end of the lunch rush. You can sit on the benches around the rock, but it’s not the same.

The Indigo Courtyard
If time is of the essence and you can’t walk that far, you can find a spot in our gorgeously manicured mini-square just outside Indigo’s main doors. Eating alone? The magazine section of the store is just inside the doors. We’re not sure if they planned it that way, but it’s certainly convenient.

Great food & a great spot to enjoy it: that’s Bloor & Better.