We are excited to return to Toronto for a stop on our 2021 global Fleurs de Villes ROSÉ floral trail. This is our fifth visit to Canada’s biggest city, and we will be stopping in the heart of town in the Bloor Yorkville neighbourhood from this August. We’re excited to introduce you to our pink-themed ROSE couture mannequins and installations. A portion of our proceeds will support the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the Breast Cancer Society of Canada.  

STAY: hotels in Toronto  Four Seasons Hotel, The Andorre House with Constantine restaurant

SHOP: The heartbeat of the city is the bustling Bloor Yorkville neighbourhood. Global designer boutiques open here first in Canada and you’ll find everything from Dior to tk, plus a terrific mix of affordable stops to get the look. Holt Renfrew is a popular meeting place and their Holts Cafe 

DINE: Over the past few years, Toronto has developed a reputation as a fascinating place to dine. Gourmet takeout at Pusateri’s and Eataly, plus tktktktk  Cafe Boulud in the Four Seasons Hotel and Holts Cafe  

CULTURE: Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) if it’s open

BLOOM: Our Rolodex of Fleuristes in Toronto is extensive! The city’s best participating in our floral trail and happy to craft a bouquet for someone special. tk local floral studios will be participating in our trail and a handful will stay to sell fresh blooms at our flower market on Sunday 

How to get here: Fly into Pearson International Airport and take the UP Express downtown. A one way ticket is just $6.20 and zips you past traffic straight downtown to Union Station. Rental cars are easily available but UBER and the subway system are fast and efficient in the downtown core. 

Fleurs de Villes’ inaugural Toronto floral trail bloomed in August in the lush Bloor Yorkville neighbourhood. Stretching from Charles Street in the East to Avenue Road in the West, this lively area is treasured as the heartbeat of the city. Here, you’ll find the luxurious Yorkville Village, iconic department stores, chic global boutiques (and the city’s brand new Eataly food emporium) along the famous “Mink Mile” … and for five days in early August, more than 30 floral installations for Fleurs de Villes.

Flowers festooned doorways, decorated swings, packed cars and covered dramatic mannequins in key spots throughout the area. “Fleurs de Villes added an uplifting pulse to the heart of the city,” says Briar de Lange Executive Director of the Bloor Yorkville Business Improvement Area (BIA). “They felt like a sign of hope.” 

The timing couldn’t have been better, noted de Lange. The city had only just moved into phase 3 of loosened COVID restrictions and the floral trail was one of the only events happening in a city starved for colour and celebration. “The tour spread joy across the area, and in a smart socially distanced manner that made people feel comfortable. It gave everyone a lift and we all needed that this summer.” The mix of indoor and outdoor highlights encouraged traffic to flow throughout the neighbourhood which gave customers an opportunity to discover new shops and stop by forgotten favourites. Indoors, masked customers posed for flower selfies. Outdoors, their bubbles admired the profusion of flowers on swings and doorways. Cameras from the city’s morning shows and news programs competed with selfie sticks from customers clutching their maps of the installation.

Citing her favourite exhibit - an explosion of flowers under the hood of a sexy Alfa Romeo in a Yorkville courtyard (floral creation by TBC florist) – de Lange described the creative challenge the florists were given as “thought provoking and incredibly complex. It represented a brief moment of time in art.”

“Flowers make people happy,” says de Lange, echoing Fleurs de Villes philosophy. She’s already looking forward to next year’s Fleurs de Villes trail in May, an annual event that her neighbours will be marking on their calendar.

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