If you like New York City, try Toronto

Like the largest city in the United States, Toronto, Canada’s largest, offers a wealth of cultural and culinary attractions, but in a smaller area where Airbnb lists private rooms at $46.

“In Toronto, you can have an intimate experience with culture on the highest level through events or exhibits that would be completely packed in other cities,” said Mia Nielsen, the director of Art Toronto, the annual international contemporary art show, which runs from Oct. 25 to 27.

In addition to cultural institutions such as the Art Gallery of Ontario (admission, 25 Canadian dollars or about $18.90; free for people ages 25 and under), she recommends the Power Plant (free), a contemporary art gallery, for mounting “thought-provoking and rigorous shows,” and artist-run centers, nonprofit art spaces supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, such as Mercer Union (free). She also recommends the newly expanded Museum of Contemporary Art ($10) where “Age of You,” a group show on the theme of technology’s impact on culture, will open on Sept. 5.

Between shows, hit a Syrian cafe or Chinese noodle shop. Just over half of Toronto’s population, 51 percent, is foreign born and the city counts 230 nationalities, a source of great culinary diversity.

“The prices pale in comparison to the New Yorks, San Franciscos and Chicagos of the world, but the value is there,” said Franco Stalteri who, since 2009, has been hosting periodic pop-up dinners with globally renowned chefs like Fergus Henderson called Charlie’s Burgers. “We benefit from a vast multiculturalism I’ve never seen anywhere else.”