WHERE TO EAT
Vaulted ceilings, angular walls, and black aluminum-framed windows frame the Royal Ontario Museum's C5, where everything's crisp and modern, down to the personalized tasting menus of roasted squab, smoked octopus, and indigenous elk strip loin steak (100 Queen's Park; 416-586-7928; entrées, $19-$35). For a loftier, whitewashed aesthetic, try Chinese at Lai Toh Heen. Chef Henry Wu's red-walled resto has become known for a menu of dim sum made from truffled seafood, foie gras, and bacon-wrapped prawns (692 Mount Pleasant Rd.; 416-489-8922; dim sum, $2-$4). More familiar Asian fare is found at Chinatown's 500-seat Bright Pearl Seafood, which serves steaming small plates and jasmine tea from wheeled carts (346 Spadina Ave.; 416-979-3988; dim sum, $3-$5). And from the Daniel Boulud of Toronto, Jamie Kennedy, comes the minimal, organic Jamie Kennedy Gardiner, where the curly-haired chef serves his iteration of the local specialty, poutine (a street snack of french fries, gravy, and cheese curd), alongside a sommelier's pairings from the expansive cellar (111 Queen's Park; 416-362-1957; entrées, $12-$20). Round off an evening by romping to the Gladstone Hotel's Melody Bar; its stately wood-paneled walls and alabaster ceilings belie the wild weekend karaoke nights, which draw a hip-ster hodgepodge to Queen Street West (1214 Queen St. W.; 416-531-4635; gladstonehotel.com). The newest in dining? The Harbord Room (89 Harbord St.; 416-962-8989; entrées, $14-$22).

WHERE TO STAY
The modish Yorkville hood's Four Seasons is culturally convenient (the Four Seasons' own performing arts center is just two blocks away) and reputable, known for an opulent lobby filled with silk tapestries (416-964-0411; fourseasons.com; doubles, $233-$306). Featherbeds and Frette linens make the Park Hyatt, across the street, another reliable choice (416-925-1234; parktoronto.hyatt.com; doubles, $222-$288). Around the corner, the Victorian-era Windsor Arms has been consistently ranked tops by Condé Nast Traveler readers (416-971-9666; windsorarmshotel.com; doubles, $214-$229); it's a stone's throw from Libeskind's Royal Ontario Museum. And design's tops at the new Hazelton Hotel, with its cool granite decor (416-963-6300; thehazeltonhotel.com; doubles, $307-$408).