Toronto is Canada’s eastern HQ and one of the world’s epicenters for commerce and tourism. The nation’s largest city with a population of about 2.5 million, it’s a city with a distinctive international flavor that never gives up that distinct Canadian character.
Starting Out on Yonge Street
As SCTV demonstrated years ago, Yonge Street is Toronto’s main drag and arguably the heart of its tourism activity. It’s the city’s Times Square, Sunset Strip, Bourbon Street and Michigan Avenue – all while preserving a unique sense of its Canadian identity. Once termed, “The Longest Street in the World” (…It’s not…), it is one of the oldest thoroughfares in the city and home to the bustling St. Lawrence and North Markets, theaters and all of the shopping you’ll need for yourself or for souvenir hunters back home.
The most historic stretch of Yonge Street naturally lays through the heart of downtown, Old Toronto is home to the Greektown, Little Italy, Portugal Village and Little India.
From Yonge Street, stay downtown and head to the CN Tower – the city’s iconic skyline mainstay. The Edgewalk attraction atop the tower will rig you up in a safety harness and allow you to stroll around the outside edge of the crown on the Sky Pod.
Seasonal City
The weather plays a huge role in the city’s character. In the spring, summer and autumn, the city is full of street fairs and festivals that seem to pack it in for the winter at first glance. But, the savvy tourist knows better.
During the warm weather months, Toronto offers the Canadian National Exhibition is one of the world’s largest annual festivals, a sort of state fair on steroids — if Canadians ever did steroids. (Of course, they don’t because cheating is bad manners — unless you’re Ben Johnson.) The Taste of the Kingsway festival downtown offers a wide overview of the city’s cuisine, throwing in live music and a midway. Summer also allows Toronto to celebrate its ethnic diversity with a series of celebrations focused on the city’s Chinese, Greek, Ukrainian, Polish and German settlers.
If your travel schedule allows you enough time to sneak away from the city, a short ferry ride will take you to the Toronto Islands. In less than an hour, you can find yourself in a much different world than downtown — with a maritime, fishing town vibe.
Come winter, Toronto is cold. Think Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis cold. It’s Canada when the snow flies. You know what you’re getting into there. That’s why the city packs in plenty of indoor place to visit, just as the Hockey Hall of Fame – an attraction with international appeal for fans of Canada’s national sport.
The Royal Ontario Museum celebrated its 100th birthday in 2014 and includes one of the world’s most unique collections. Part natural history, part multicultural, part art, part fashion, the ROM assembles a menagerie of attractions guaranteeing you’re bound to find something of interest.
One attraction that flourishes regardless of weather is the Toronto Zoo – the largest such attraction in Canada. Home to more than 5,000 animals, the zoo prides itself on the world’s largest collection of endangered lowland gorillas.
Related: Seattle City Guide
Urban Lodges
As a major intersection of international business, culture and history, Toronto is home to all of the expected major hotel chains — including the four and five diamond variety. Still, the more unique Canadian local joints are always more interesting — and no, I’m not talking about snow covered log cabins with names like Scuttlebutt Lodge. This is Toronto, not Medicine Hat.
The most interesting downtown entry from the international hotels is the Radisson Admiral Toronto Harbourfront (lobby above). Sitting on the short of Lake Ontario in the shadow of the CN Tower, the property underwent a major renovation over the past several months to modernize its design and make it more of an outright attraction.
The guest rooms are modern — gleaming white with shining hardwood floors. Outside their accommodations, guests can enjoy The Watermark restaurant that blends seamlessly into the hotel’s outdoor pool area.
The city is also home to The Hazelton Hotel Toronto is one of the city’s most lush and exclusive five star hotels. An easy walk from the heat of Old Toronto, the Hazelton foregoes trendy, ultra-modern decor, opting for classic luxury.
My personal favorite Toronto hotel is the quirky, atmospheric Gladstone. Like the 21C Museum Hotel in Louisville, the Gladstone is part accommodation and part gallery — doubling as lodgings and as an attraction. Each room is unique, designed with its own artistic theme.
Northern Night Life
Unfortunately (or fortunately if no publicity is bad publicity), the beautiful city made the most headlines in the last couple of years for its circus clown of a mayor, Rob Ford – the man who admitted smoking Crack while in office. Of course, before we all judge his worthiness for office, it should be acknowledged that he insisted he only succumbed to the illegal narcotic because he was falling down drunk at the time. So, while out enjoying one of the city’s many bars or nightclubs, keep an eye out for His Honor.
Sticking to Old Toronto will provide an endless series of spots where you can grab a craft beer or cocktail. Keep an eye out for the Bier Markt, SPiN Toronto and The Panorama Lounge.
While out on the town, keep in mind that Toronto is a Hollywood of the North with a lot of film and television productions doing business there to save money on production incentives. That amps up the likelihood that you’ll see a celebrity or two in the city’s swankier climbs.
Canadian Culture
To make this simple, if it’s not Canada’s national government (…See Ottawa…) or something obnoxiously French (…See Montreal…), anything officially The ______ of Canada is usually based in Toronto. And, a tourist can easily venture to many of Canada’s most prominent cultural venues.
Toronto is the home base for the National Ballet of Canada, the Canadian Opera Company, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Canadian Stage Company, the Toronto Centre for the Arts and the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts.
One surprising, off the radar Toronto stop has to be Casa Loma. Since the city didn’t have any castles of its own, a wealthy financier decided to build his own in the early 20th Century. While serving as a center the Toronto social scene through the 1920s, the hour became a public attraction in the 1930s. Its art collections and unique history help to create one of the more unusual museums in the city.
Because I selfishly mentioned SCTV earlier, I should throw in a plug for Second City Toronto – the improv and sketch comedy troupe that gave the world Dan Aykroyd, Joe Flaherty, Gilda Radner, John Candy, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Andrea Martin, Dave Thomas and Martin Short.
Eating Ontario Style
A Canadian journalist once told me that Tim Horton’s is Canada. He insisted If any traveler wanted to know the country and its people in the shortest amount of time possible, all he or she would have to do was sit down in any Tim Horton’s north of the U.S. border, grab a bear claw and a coffee and simply listen to the locals who gather there. You can take in a big slab of the Canadian collective character over a couple donuts.
But, the Toronto culinary reaches far beyond the homey, everyman confines of Horton’s. Downtown is home to plenty of upscale dining spots. Gourmet pizza is on the menu at Paese. while the seafood lover in you should head over to The Chase. Multiple sources I asked list Bar Buca as the best spot for Italian food in Toronto.
My personal favorite Toronto restaurant is Le Select Bistro. The joint started small before booming due to big world of mouth helped it expand to a much larger venue on Wellington Street West. With a menu that favors France, every dish on the menu benefits from a commitment to fresh ingredients and local food sourcing. Whether you opt for seafood or beef, most of what ends up on your platte originated nearby as the restaurant’s crew spends a chunk of time researching and exploring local farms and food companies.
I would recommend the Lapin – or rabbit for American types.
More than Hockey
The NHL’s Maple Leafs are kings in Toronto and throughout much of Ontario. And, no, I don’t know why they’re not the Leaves, but it’s Toronto’s beloved team, so grammar be damned. The team’s support approaches religious fervor. For American equivalents, visit any Green Bay Packers, St. Louis Cardinals or SEC football game. However Toronto is not just a hockey town.
MLB’s American League Toronto Blue Jays play in a beautiful downtown ballpark – Rogers Centre. The Raptors thrive as Canada’s only NBA franchise, and there’s always talk of the NFL wanted to add a full-time Toronto franchise along with a London team sometime in the near future.
But, for a sports experience more unique to the country — if in season — go take in curling. No, I’m kidding. Instead, hit a Toronto Argonauts Canadian Football League game at the park they share with the Blue Jays. The Canadian version of American football (not the insipid funeral march they call soccer) Is all helmets, pads, tackles and touchdowns. Except the game enhances scoring and pace. The CFL plays on a field that’s both wider and longer than an NFL gridiron, opening the game up for more scoring. Teams also get only three downs to make first, forcing a faster pace. Players may be smaller and not as skilled as higher paid NFL guys, but Argo fans don’t mind.
