Quiet places for meditation downtown

Why do you need quiet? Consider finding a place, perhaps in a shopping mall, to sit quietly, eyes open, attending to the breath AND to the various shapes and forms passing across your field of vision. Attend to the sounds: let them wash over you like waves. Attend to your physical sensations. All the while you just look like a normal person sitting on a bench, so any self-consciousness would have a hard time attaching itself to actual experience. Learning to meditate in the midst of noise and activity, eyes open, is perhaps the most useful tool in a city-dwelling householder's meditation practice.

You can also practice mindfulness while you eat your lunch.

Another possibility is to make use of the beautiful labyrinth beside Eaton Centre. Obviously you would have to bundle up in cold weather, but a mindful walk through a labyrinth is an excellent meditation. Again, eyes open, allowing sights and sounds to simply pass through your awareness rather than trying to block anything out.

Hope these ideas are helpful to you. Good luck with your practice!