World City Guide

Further Distractions

The Distillery Historic District
The collection of 44 stone and red-brick buildings that began life as the early 19th-century Gooderham and Worts Distillery – once the largest in the British Empire – has been re-cast as a new arts and cultural district to rival the likes of Boston’s Faneuil Hall and Vancouver’s Granville Island. What is perhaps the best preserved example of Victorian industrial architecture on the continent is now a brick-paved pedestrian precinct of restaurants, galleries, boutiques, cafs, artists studios and a brewery, enlivened throughout the summer by a host of cultural and arts festivals and events. One-and-a-half-hour tours of the site cover themes like architecture, galleries, cinema – which was, for many years, used as a location for shooting films – and a brewery tour. These are available by calling in advance (tel: (416) 597 0965 or (866) 821 6422).

55 Mill Street (corner of Parliament Street)
Tel: (416) 364 1177. Fax: (416) 364 4793.
E-mail: jb@thedistillerydistrict.com
Website: www.thedistillerydistrict.com
Transport: Bus 65 or 72; tram 504.
Opening hours: varies according to individual venue.
Admission: Free; C$8 (tours).

Toronto Islands
Located in Toronto Harbour, facing the downtown skyline, the Toronto Islands have long been regarded as a place for leisure and relaxation. The islands did not become islands, however, until 1858, when a storm caused a rift between the then peninsula and the mainland. Over the years, the main islands – Ward Island, Centre Island and Hanlan’s Point – were popular resort areas and included the baseball park where Babe Ruth hit his first professional home run. In the last 50 years, as a 230-hectare (568-acre) public park, the islands have become popular picnicking places. Facilities include designated picnic areas (with fire pits), wading pools, softball diamonds, beaches, a farm, plenty of restaurants and the Centreville Amusement Park. Today, the islands offer an ideal outdoor environment in which to take a waterside walk, relax at a caf or enjoy an unparalleled view of the city’s skyline. The islands are only accessible by ferry.

Toronto Harbour
Tel: (416) 392 8195 or 8193 (ferry information).
E-mail: parks@toronto.ca
Website: www.toronto.ca/parks/to_islands/island_index.htm
Transport: Subway Union, then any southbound bus or tram to Toronto Island ferry terminal.
Opening hours: Centre Island ferries daily 0800–2345 (summer), Mon–Fri 0900–2300, Sat and Sun 0800–2345 (spring and autumn); Hanlan’s Point ferries Mon–Fri 0900–2230, Sat and Sun 0800–2315 (summer), Mon–Fri 0800–2215, Sat and Sun 0815–2130 (spring and autumn), Mon–Fri 0900–1545 (winter); Ward Island ferries Mon–Fri 0635–2330, Sat and Sun 0635–2345 (summer), daily 0635–2330 (spring and autumn), daily 0635–2345 (winter).
Admission: Free; C$6 (return ferry ticket).

Centreville Amusement Park
Centre Island
Tel: (416) 203 0405.
E-mail: info@centreisland.ca
Website: www.centreisland.ca
Opening hours: Mon–Fri from 1030 (17 May–1 Sep); daily from 1030 (May and September).
Admission: C$23.

Paramount Canada’s Wonderland
Located in the northern suburb of Maple, Canada’s Wonderland is, as its name suggests, an amusement park. Although not on quite the same scale as a Disney or Universal outfit, it nevertheless features over 200 attractions on its 134 hectares (330 acres) of landscaped grounds and eight-hectare (20-acre) waterpark. Rides include Cliffhanger, Drop Zone, Top Gun, Scooby-Doo’s Haunted Mansion and Shockwave. The latest attractions include the Psyclone ride, where visitors are swung around at the end of a giant pendulum, and the Sledge Hammer, which pummels riders with accelerated jumps and free-falls. Also new is the Nickleodeon Central theme area for kids.

9580 Jane Street (Highway 400, exit 33)
Tel: (905) 832 7000. Fax: (905) 832 7419.
E-mail: info@canadaswonderland.com
Website: www.canadas-wonderland.com
Transport: GO bus from Yorkdale or York Mills stations.
Opening hours: Daily 0900–2200 (Jun–Aug); Sat and Sun 0900–2000 (May, Sep and Oct).
Admission: C$51.91 (unlimited access); C$29.24 (grounds admission only); concessions available.