Driving in Toronto is ok. We just had a major storm so it's little crappy out there but overall the streets are bare and there is very little snow. I don't think you need to do anything to your tires. But then again it depends on where you are coming from-i guess (Are you planning on driving throught Northen Ontario?)

As far as cool places to check out you should visit Kensington Market and China Town both very close to the other. Good food and shopping.
Have a safe trip

I second the recommendations for Kensington Market and Chinatown for food and shopping. Those are both around the Spadina/College/Dundas area. Other neighbourhoods worth checking out might be Queen St West of Spadina (which used to be a funkier area a while back but has now become a bit gentrified. Rotate This is a good music store on Queen West that sells a lot of tickets for upcoming shows), the Danforth east of Broadview (which supposedly holds the North American record for the largest number of restaurants within a single kilometre), Little India on Gerrard near Greenwood, also some of the more popular tourist destinations like Yonge & Dundas or Yorkville, depending on what you're looking for.

Hopefully all this snow will have melted by the time you get here. One thing to watch out for if you're driving here is the parking police. They are relentless. If you park on the street, make sure to read the signs carefully as to what hours you can/can't park, and make sure your meter doesn't run out!

In terms of entertainment, a good starting point would be to pick up a Now or Eye magazine -- they are available for free throughout the city & have a lot of general listings for music, movies, shows etc.

enjoy your trip!

Ya there are plenty of burners here...just slow on the website update

Send a message to burnt@googlegroups.com (now or later) and we'll hook you up :)

There's going to be an awesome circus show on Friday night www.dotanddribbleproductions.com/a...tm
(I'm in it!)

Places to stay? F the hostels, check out www.couchsurfing.com

I didn't read the other posts about the weather...but Toronto is much milder than Buffalo...that's where you may want to watch out for on weather reports

Sadie

Many thanks to all of you!
Your feedback was very helpful-I'm map-questing as we speak...

OMG- I'm going to try really hard to get to Abnormals Anonymous! It looks awesome!

Thanks again!

A whole row of buildings along Queen W just burned down a couple of days ago ;(

I forgot to also mention earlier that the Annex area around Bloor and Bathurst is also a good area for eating and shopping. Lee's Palace is a great no nonsense bar where many bands played gigs to intimate audiences before they hit it big later on. I spent most of my student years hanging around there.

Thanks for all your suggestions!
Sadie- Hope your cold has subsided and you're feeling better.

I ended up falling in love with the Kensington Market area as there was such great organic food, and the anarchist bookstore was a wonderful surprise!
(was looking for Uprising which has since closed, but this new one was a great find!)
One of the highlights of my day was petting the kitty that lives in the Rasta shop where Uprising used to be.

Chinatown was also interesting, if not a bit dirty and smelly, and I liked the vintage shops on Queen St.

Toronto is a lot more interesting than I had thought it might be, even if your gas is around $5 a gallon!

Thanks again!