Top Spots For People Watching  

We don't want to admit to creeping but we have to confess our love for some good people watching. Not the kind that requires binoculars, night vision goggles, or measuring the parameters around locations that will legally allow us to violate restraining orders. We're talking about the joys of observing human nature at its finest. 

Oh come on. You know you do it too.

So whether you come clean or not, your secret's safe with us and we've got a few tips on where to go for the ultimate people watching experience:

Coffee shops 
Cafes and coffee lounges are some of the best places to observe people because their atmosphere is so casual and laid back that it practically encourages you to sit down with a good cup of coffee and just watch. We go to coffee shops to study, write, read, chat, or just relax to some mellow music. Whether we're taking note of peoples mannerisms and behaviour inside the shop or through glass windows looking out at passersby, there's no denying that a comfy chair with a book and a latte is the perfect location to sit back and spectate.

Food courts 
There's such a busy, frantic vibe to shopping centres with everybody zig-zagging all over the place, talking, laughing, chasing children. It's hard not to be mesmerize by so much commotion going on at once. If you take a break from your retail spree to grab a burger and sit in the food court, you'll be right in the middle of all the buzz and you're sure to witness a few entertaining mishaps.

Parks 
Take your dog to the dog park for a run or bring a book with you to sit on a bench. Here's what you're bound to see: adorable pups playing in the grass with their owners, young couples attacking each others' faces, young couples attacking more than each others' faces, young couples being attacked, if you're in the park around 2 am. Okay, disregard that last one. Really, though, people go to parks to appreciate nature and get some exercise so you're either catching them in their most pensive state or in their friskiest mood. Maybe you'll even join in an impromptu game of frisbee?

Downtown city walks 
A Friday night walk through the heart of a big city is prime territory for spectacle. There's something magnetic about the energy of a crowd who is collectively celebrating the weekend by roaming the streets in search of live music and a few drinks. In Toronto, Nathan Philips Square is a great public gathering place with events year round and skating in the winter.

Image from MorgueFile

Courtney Gilmour
		About the author:
		Courtney is a published writer, stand-up comic, and shameless Internet enthusiast. She holds a double bachelors degree in English Literature and Communication Media Studies, specializing in semiotic theory, however she doesn't get Shakespeare and has never won a game of Scrabble. Currently she lives in Toronto and works as a writer for WOMAN.CA.
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