Travel Postcard: 48 hours in Toronto

TORONTO (Reuters Life!) - Got 48 hours to explore Toronto during the city's annual star-studded film festival?

Reuters correspondents use their local knowledge to help visitors scope out the hottest hangouts for a lavish weekend of wining, dining, shopping and celebrity-spotting.

FRIDAY

6 p.m. - Get dolled up and decked out for pre-dinner martinis at the Avenue bar (www.fourseasons.com/toronto/dining/avenue.html) at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto's posh Yorkville district, which is celeb-central during the film festival.

7:30 p.m. - Walk a few steps to the Hazelton Hotel (www.thehazeltonhotel.com) and have dinner at chef Mark McEwan's latest restaurant One (www.onehazelton.com), which opened during last year's festival.

See and be seen on the lush 80-seat patio and feast on lobster spoons, foie gras with apricots and chocolate, and BBQ rib ravioli. Also try a vintage port digestif or the chef's signature Marky Mark gin and tonic cocktail.

10 p.m. - Have a nightcap at The Roof Lounge on the 18th floor of the Park Hyatt hotel (www.parktoronto.hyatt.com) where you're almost guaranteed to see Canadian and Hollywood A-listers in town. Sip on rich pinot noir in front of the fireplace or step out on the terrace for a view of the CN Tower, the signature structure on Toronto's skyline.

SATURDAY

9 a.m. - Head to the TIFF box office (www.tiff07.ca/boxofficeinfo/tickets) at the Manulife Center to purchase tickets for a gala screening of one of the 312 international features and shorts playing during the 10-day film festival. The box office opens at 7 a.m.

10 a.m. - Go shopping in the ritzy Bloor-Yorkville neighborhood, dubbed the "Mink Mile" -- Toronto's closest equivalent to L.A.'s Rodeo Drive or Chicago's Magnificent Mile. Be sure to check out Hazelton Lanes shopping centre (www.hazeltonlanes.com) and Canada's one-and-only luxury department store chain Holt Renfrew (www.holtrenfrew.com) and its World Design Lab to find avant-garde local designers.

1 p.m.- Nibble on a light lunch of bison tartar and watermelon marinated in sparkling wine at the iconic yellow-painted Sassafraz (www.sassafraz.ca), a favorite film festival haunt, which was destroyed by a fire 18 months ago but has since been renovated to its former bright and airy glory.

3 p.m. - Stroll over to the Royal Ontario Museum (www.rom.on.ca) and don't miss the famous Michael Lee-Chin Crystal addition which features a newly launched dinosaur exhibit and its star attraction, a 25-metre (85-foot) long Barosaurus named "Gordo," the largest dinosaur ever to go on permanent display in Canada.

If you have time after the ROM, head across the street to the Gardiner Museum of ceramic art (www.gardinermuseum.on.ca), one of Toronto's best examples of modernist architecture.

Both museums also house restaurants and hot spots C5 (www.c5restaurant.ca) and Jamie Kennedy at the Gardiner (www.jkkitchens.com/content/jk-gardiner.html).

6 p.m. - Dine at another no-expense-spared foodie favorite, Greg Couillard's Spice Room, to indulge in cuisine such as African Berber lamb and Indian tandoori shrimp."

9 p.m. - After dinner, arrive at the Visa Screening Room at the Elgin Theatre (www.heritagefdn.on.ca/userfiles/HTML/nts_1_2374_1.html) in time for a red-carpet gala premiere or a film at another venue depending on availability.

12 a.m. - Hail a cab back to Yorkville for drinks and dancing till the wee hours at Amber (www.amberinyorkville.com) and show off your moves on the dance floor of the all-white lounge.

SUNDAY

10 a.m. - Depart the film festival hub and explore Queen Street West to see Toronto's edgier side. It's worth the long walk between University and Beaconsfield Avenues to take in the hundreds of funky fashion boutiques, craft, textile and interior design stores and antique shops, as well as the landmark MuchMusic (www.muchmusic.com) headquarters and Gladstone Hotel (www.gladstonehotel.com).

1 p.m. - Stop for brunch on the rooftop patio of the stylishly revamped Drake Hotel, with custom designed rooms by local artists, fine dining restaurant, cafe, bar and basement dance club. Feast on a quirky menu of fried chicken with herb waffles and chili-cheese fries with fried eggs and freshly squeezed juices.

3 p.m. - Spend the rest of the day walking around The Distillery (www.thedistillerydistrict.com), Toronto's recently revitalized historical district, which boasts the largest and best preserved collection of Victorian Industrial Architecture in North America. Sample exotic chocolates at the SOMA Chocolatemaker (www.somachocolate.com), browse the local art galleries and make your last stop at the acclaimed Mill Street Brewery (www.millstreetbrewery.com) and sample their selection of handcrafted drafts.

(Editing by Patricia Reaney)