World City Guide

Mini Guide of Toronto

City Overview

Toronto stands on the northern shore of Lake Ontario and the view of the city across the water is stunning and unmistakable – the CN Tower, thrusting skyward near the water’s edge, is the world’s tallest building. Framing it is a glimmering collection of skyscrapers, which give way to a dense city centre with pleasant leafy residential areas and parks, notably along the ravines that cut through the city. The capital of the Province of Ontario, Toronto is Canada’s largest city and the fifth largest in North America. A dominant force in the business and economy of the nation, it is also the cultural centre of English-speaking Canada.

Initially claimed by the French in the 18th century, it was not until the American Revolution caused hordes of United Empire Loyalists (loyal to England) to escape to Toronto that the city became an established settlement. Then known as York, the town was exceedingly British in character, functioning as the administrative capital of English-speaking Upper Canada and becoming a thriving manufacturing centre by the 19th century. In 1834, the city was renamed Toronto, a Huron Indian word meaning ‘meeting place’.

The Toronto of the 19th and early 20th centuries was a law-abiding city, where rules were made and rarely broken and where the overriding concern was making money. As such, Toronto gained a reputation as a conservative, boring enclave of Protestantism, a reputation that still dogs it to some extent today. Older residents can remember the days when the city would come to a standstill on Sundays and only a handful of the very best restaurants served wine.

Towards the end of the 1950s, a surge in the arrival of immigrants infused Toronto with new foods, new languages and, most importantly, new attitudes. Italians, Portuguese and Eastern Europeans arrived first, followed by immigrants from the Caribbean, Asia and India. They settled into what would become the city’s great ethnic neighbourhoods – Greektown, Little Italy and Chinatown. Toronto gradually developed a multiethnic North American character and shrugged off its colonial identity, although vestiges still remain, such as the English-style pubs and the ingrained habit among conservative clubs and societies of toasting the Queen before eating. There is a similar juxtaposition in the architecture of the city itself; at first glance, Toronto does not appear all that different from any other large American city, albeit a clean one, although closer inspection reveals preserved Victorian and Edwardian buildings and a profusion of neighbourhood pubs.

The Toronto of today is a lively, cultured place with hot summers and cold, dry winters. It is the most economically important city in Canada, the centre of finance, media and services, and home to more corporate head offices than any other. By night, its people indulge themselves at the city’s numerous restaurants, bars and clubs, or at the symphony, opera and theatre. More than anything, however, Toronto is defined by its citizenry – friendly, efficient and one of the most multicultural in the world.

Getting There By Air

Lester B Pearson International Airport (YYZ)
Tel: (416) 247 7678 (T1, T2 and T-New) or (416) 776 5100 (T3).
Website: www.gtaa.com

Pearson International Airport is located 27km (17 miles) northwest of downtown Toronto. Canada’s busiest and largest airport, it handles over 28 million passengers per year and is served by over 50 scheduled and charter airlines, providing service to 110 destinations in 44 countries. It comprises three terminals; the first phase of a new terminal (dubbed ‘T1-New’), which will replace T1 and T2, commencing in late 2003, is underway.

Major airlines: The national airline is Air Canada (tel: (888) 247 2262; website: www.aircanada.ca), which also operates regional flights under the Air Canada Jazz banner and low-cost flights as Tango (tel: (800) 315 1390; website: www.flytango.com). Other major carriers that serve Pearson International include Aeroflot, Aeromexico, Air France, Air New Zealand, Air Transat, Alitalia, All Nippon Airways, American Airlines, Austrian Airlines, bmi, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, KLM, Korean Airlines, Lufthansa, Northwest Airlines, Qantas, SAS and United Airlines.

Airport facilities: Pearson’s three terminals have facilities that include ATMs, bureaux de change, shops, duty-free boutiques, banks, childcare facilities, medical clinics, chapels, porters, left luggage, traveller’s aid, bars and restaurants. Free shuttle buses link the terminal buildings every eight to 15 minutes. Car hire is available from Avis, Budget, Hertz, National and Thrifty.

Business facilities: Sheraton Gateway Hotel (tel: (905) 672 7000) offers a business centre. Some business facilities are available through the various airline executive lounges. There are public Internet stations in T2 and T3.

Transport to the city: Pacific Western operates the Airport Express bus (tel: (905) 564 6333/3232 or (800) 387 6787; website: www.torontoairportexpress.com) from the airport to downtown Toronto every 30 minutes 0355–0255 (journey time – 20–35 minutes). The fare is C$14.95 one way or C$25.75 return – a shuttle bus to hotels off the main route costs C$3.25 extra.

Public bus services run by the TTC (see Getting Around) include bus 192 (the ‘Airport Rocket’) to Kipling subway station (journey time – 20 minutes), bus 58A to Lawrence West station and night buses 307 to Eglinton station (journey time – 45 minutes) and 300A, which travels along Bloor Street and Danforth Avenue.

There is also a GO Bus (tel: (416) 869 3200 or (800) 438 6646; website: www.gotransit.com) to Yorkdale and York Mills subway stations (journey time – 35 minutes), costing C$3.50. Buses run Monday to Friday 0550–2402, Saturday 0635–2402 and Sunday 0805–2402.

A number of private bus companies operate services to various destinations, including Niagara Falls. Information desks for each company are located in the arrivals area of each terminal. Licensed limousines and taxis are also available at fixed rates based on a zone system, with journeys to downtown Toronto taking approximately half an hour. Taxis cost around C$30 for destinations west of Bathurst or C$40 for the downtown core, while limousines cost C$4 more.

Toronto City Centre Airport (YTX)
Tel: (416) 203 6942. Fax: (416) 203 6741.
Website: www.torontoport.com/tcca.htm

Toronto City Centre Airport is situated on an island in Toronto harbour. Handling scheduled commercial, charter, private and corporate flights, the airport primarily services the nearby business community, offering flights from nearby destinations in Canada, such as Montreal, London and Ottawa.

Major airlines: Air Canada (tel: (888) 247 2262; website: www.aircanada.ca) is the only airline operating from here, mainly through its domestic subsidiary Air Canada Jazz.

Airport facilities: There is a restaurant at the airport. Car hire should be arranged in advance from downtown companies (see Car Hire), which will arrange for pick up at the ferry landing.

Business facilities: The Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge (tel: (888) 247 2262; website: www.aircanada.ca) provides a Xerox Business Centre for business-class passengers. Open daily 0445–2115, facilities include Internet connection, photocopying, fax, telephones, workstations and conference rooms.

Transport to the city: Air Canada (see above) operates a free shuttle bus service to the Royal York Hotel, 100 Front Street West, every 30 minutes daily 0615–1945 (journey time – 10 minutes). A two-minute ferry ride (free of charge to airline passengers) provides transportation every 15 minutes to the mainland, where taxis are available at metered rates. Ferry services operate every 15 minutes daily 0615–2300. Completion of a new bridge is set for spring 2004.

Approximate flight times to Toronto: From London is 8 hours; from New York is 1 hour 30 minutes; from Los Angeles is 4 hours 35 minutes and from Sydney is 18 hours 15 minutes.

Arrival/departure tax: Any departure taxes and airport improvement fees are included in the ticket price.

Getting There By Water

The Port of Toronto (tel: (416) 863 2000; website: www.torontoport.com), overseen by the Toronto Port Authority, is located due south of the city centre and provides transportation, distribution, storage and container services to businesses in Toronto and the surrounding region. It links the city with the rest of the province and the Great Lakes states, as well as Eastern Canada and international destinations on the Atlantic Ocean via the St Lawrence Seaway. The port offers few facilities for passengers, seeing as it is primarily used for commercial storage and transportation; only a half dozen or so cruise ships stop here. There is a food court in the Queen’s Quay Terminal shopping centre, situated one block west of the dock for the Toronto Islands ferry.

Ferry services: A publicly operated Toronto Islands Ferry (tel: (416) 392 8193; website: www.toronto.ca/parks/to_islands/ferry.htm), costing C$6 return, links the city with the Toronto Islands. Departures are from the foot of Bay Street. Trips to Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake are available aboard Seaflight Hydrofoils (tel: (416) 504 8825 or (877) 504 8825; website: www.seaflights.com), three to five days per week from mid May to September (journey time – 1 hour 30 minutes, plus 15 minutes by coach); departures are from 339 Queen’s Quay West. There are plans to link Toronto to Rochester, New York, via fast ferry, although these have been repeatedly postponed over the past few years.

Transport to the city: The Port of Toronto is located at the south end of the city centre, near Union Station (rail, subway). Numerous taxi, bus and tram services are available.

Getting There By Road

An extensive network of secondary highways (designated by two or three digits, such as Highway 35 and Highway 118) and motorways (400-series highways, such as Highway 401) covers the Province of Ontario. The speed limit on secondary highways is 80kph (50mph). On 400-series highways it is 100kph (62mph). Traffic drives on the right. The minimum driving age in Ontario is 16 years. Proof of insurance is compulsory. North American and European visitors may use national driving licences, while visitors from other countries are often required to carry an International Driving Permit as well. The maximum legal alcohol to blood ratio for driving is 0.08%. Seat belts must be worn at all times.

The Canadian Automobile Association – CAA (tel: (416) 221 4300 or (800) 268 3750; website: www.caa.ca) provides a breakdown service throughout Canada and has partnership agreements with various motoring organisations, such as the American Automobile Association (AAA).

Emergency breakdown service:
CAA (416) 222 5222 (Toronto area only)
CAA/AAA (800) 222 4357 or *222 from most mobile phones

Routes to the city: Toronto is served by a number of 400-series highways. Highway 401 bisects the city north of the city centre, connecting with London and Windsor to the west and Montreal to the east. Detroit is reached via Windsor. Further north, a new toll motorway, Highway 407, operates as a northern corridor around the city. The QEW (Queen Elizabeth Way) runs along the lakefront from Hamilton and Niagara Falls to downtown Toronto. Buffalo is reached via Niagara Falls. North–south routes include Highway 400, running from Barrie to the city’s west end, and Highway 404, running from the distant suburb of Newmarket to the city’s east end, becoming the Don Valley Parkway (DVP) as it nears downtown Toronto.

Approximate driving times to Toronto: From Niagara Falls – 1 hour 30 minutes; Buffalo – 2 hours; Detroit – 4 hours; Montreal – 5 hours.

Coach services: A number of private companies operate scheduled services to and from cities throughout Canada and the USA, including Calgary, Montreal, Niagara Falls, Ottawa, Vancouver and Winnipeg. Operators include Greyhound Canada (tel: (800) 661 8747; website: www.greyhound.ca), Coach Canada/Trentway-Wagar (tel: (800) 461 7661; website: www.coachcanada.com), Ontario Northland (tel: (800) 461 8558; website: www.webusit.com), PMCL (tel: (800) 461 1767; website: www.pmcl.on.ca) and Can-ar Coach Service (tel: (800) 387 7097; website: www.can-arcoach.com). The main terminus for all of these companies is the Toronto Coach Terminal, 610 Bay Street (tel: (416) 393 7911), which has bar and restaurant facilities, luggage lockers and traveller’s aid services.

Getting There By Rail

VIA Rail (tel: (416) 366 8411 or (888) 842 7245; website: www.viarail.ca) is Canada’s national rail transport provider. VIA Rail operates from the historic Union Station, 65 Front Street West, where tickets and information can be obtained in person. Facilities include restaurants, toilets, bars, lockers, shops, ATMs, bureaux de change, a business centre and car hire from National.

Rail services: VIA Rail operates services between Toronto and a number of national destinations, including Montreal (journey time – 4–5 hours; night train – 8 hours), Ottawa (journey time – 4 hours) and Niagara Falls (journey time – 1 hour 45 minutes), as well as the USA via Niagara Falls. Both economy and first class (VIA 1) cars are available on services along the Quebec City–Windsor corridor, which accounts for 85% of Canada’s passenger rail traffic. The carriages are clean and quiet, with large windows that confer a sense of the country’s vastness, as the train passes acres of farmland and mixed conifer and deciduous forests. VIA 1 fares include a surprisingly good meal and complimentary Canadian wines. Longer distance services to Vancouver and the East Coast (changing at Montreal) offer a variety of seated and sleeper accommodation options. Union Station is also the main hub for GO Trains (see Getting Around), overland trains providing frequent commuter service to the city’s outlying suburbs.

Transport to the city: Union Station is located in the city centre and is connected to the city’s subway network. Buses, trams and taxis are readily available in the immediate vicinity.

Getting Around

Public Transport
Toronto has a well-developed public transport system, operated by two companies. Principal services in the city centre are run by the Toronto Transit Commission – TTC (tel: (416) 393 4636; website: www.ttc.ca) and include subway and rapid transit lines, as well as tram and bus routes.

Toronto’s three subway lines operate Monday to Saturday 0600–0130 and Sunday 0900–0130. The arms of the U-shaped Yonge–University–Spadina subway extend from Union in the south to Finch and Downsview to the north. The Bloor–Danforth subway connects Etobicoke in the west with Scarborough in the east, where the Scarborough Rapid Transit basically provides an eastward extension to the line. The east–west Sheppard subway serves northeast Toronto.

Streetcars (trams) and buses operate throughout the city centre approximately 0500–0030/0100 Monday to Saturday and Sunday from 0900. These are supplemented by the ‘Blue Night Network’ night services from 0130–0500.

All TTC adult ticket fares cost C$2.25, although prepaid fares are cheaper at C$9.50 for five tokens or tickets, purchased at subway stations or from newsagents. These are often handier, as exact change is required on buses and trams. Transfers are available for switching between the subway, bus and tram. A day pass costs C$7.75 and is valid for two adults or an entire family on Sundays and holidays.

GO Transit (tel: (416) 869 3200 or (800) 438 6646; website: www.gotransit.com) operates rail services from Union Station to suburban destinations to the east and west, as well as GO buses throughout the Greater Toronto Area. These commuter trains, supplemented by coaches in the outlying area, run Monday to Friday approximately 0600–2405 and weekends 0900–2445. Tickets start at C$3 and are available from GO train stations, bus terminals, transit ticket agencies and bus drivers. Ticket prices vary depending on distance travelled. Day passes, costing C$6 are also available.

Taxis
Within the city centre, taxis can be hailed at almost any time and also can be found at taxi ranks or ordered by telephone. Most taxis operate as part of one of Toronto’s major dispatching companies – Diamond Taxi (tel: (416) 366 6868), Crown Taxi (tel: (416) 750 7878) or Co-op Cabs (tel: (416) 504 2667). An initial charge of C$2.50 applies and rises according to the time and distance travelled. A five- to ten-minute trip should not cost more than C$10. Taxi drivers are commonly tipped around 15% of the fare.

Limousines
Chauffeur and limousine services are available from a number of companies, starting at around C$50 per hour for a town car and C$100 per hour or more for a stretch limo. Companies include Carey Limousine Canada (tel: (416) 214 1951 or (800) 263 9566; website: www.careycan.com) and Dynasty Limousine Service (tel: (416) 493 5579 or (800) 567 0861; website: www.dynastylimoservice.com).

Driving in the City
Traffic is heaviest during the rush hours (0730–0930 and 1630–1930), particularly on the major motorways leading in and out of the city, which can make driving to the airport a longer than expected ordeal. Toronto is laid out on an easy-to-follow grid system, with a few notable exceptions, such as the Don Valley Parkway, snaking along the ravine east of the city centre. Yonge Street, allegedly the longest street in the world, is the city’s main thoroughfare, bisecting the city centre into east and west. Its junction with Bloor Street forms the city’s most major and central intersection.

Although there is a lot of street parking available, it is notoriously difficult for drivers to find a spot and many opt for the simpler although slightly more expensive option of parking in a private car park. In the city centre, these typically charge around C$4 per hour, with a daily maximum of between C$5 and C$20 and evening flat rates of between C$4 and C$9 (as high as C$15 near nightlife spots on the weekend). Canpark (tel: (416) 482 2203) operates a number of 24-hour locations in the city centre.

Car Hire
All major North American car hire companies are represented in Toronto, along with a few local ones, at numerous locations throughout the city. Those with the most central locations and accepting international reservations include Budget, 1319 Bay Street (tel: (416) 961 3932; website: www.budgettoronto.com), Discount, 730 Yonge Street (tel: (416) 921 1212; website: www.discountcar.com), Hertz, 135 Parliament Street (tel: (416) 363 9022; website: www.hertz.com), National, Union Station (tel: (416) 364 4191; website: www.nationalcar.com), and Thrifty, 191 Parliament Street (tel: (416) 868 0350; website: www.thrifty.com).

Hire charges are approximately C$40–50 per day and C$240–280 per week, not including insurance, which is charged at C$20–26. Drivers must be at least 23 years old and pay by credit card. North American and European visitors may use national licences. Visitors from other countries are often required to have an International Driving Permit as well.

Bicycle Hire
Bicycle hire in Toronto can be arranged through Cyclepath, 2106 Yonge Street (tel: (416) 487 1717; website: www.thecyclepath.com), at C$25 per 24-hour day, and Wheel Excitement, 5 Rees Street, situated just south of the SkyDome (tel: (416) 260 9000; website: www.wheelexcitement.com), at C$12 for the first hour and C$3 per hour thereafter (maximum C$28 per 24-hour day). Wheel Excitement also hires out rollerblades at the same rates. Maps and information on cycling in the city are available from the Toronto Cycling Committee (tel: (416) 392 7592; website: www.toronto.ca/cycling), which has a downloadable cycling map, and the Toronto Bicycling Network (tel: (416) 760 4191; website: www.tbn.on.ca). Riding a bicycle in the winter is not a good idea, due to possible icy road conditions (not to mention the cold).

Business

Business Profile
Toronto is the engine that drives Canada’s economy. Virtually all of Canada’s major companies situate their head offices within the city’s gleaming modern skyscrapers, including half the country’s chartered banks, as well as numerous trust companies and insurance firms. Financial service companies in the city include Sun Life and Manulife, while retailers include Hudson’s Bay Corp (the world’s oldest company) and Sears Canada, supermarket chain Loblaws, Onex Corporation (diverse industries) and, nearby in Brampton, Nortel Networks Corporation.

The unemployment rate has been rising slowly over the past couple of years, reaching 7.1% in December 2002, indicative of the sluggish economy, although still below the national average of 7.5%. Although the city historically had a strong manufacturing base, the service economy now dominates, accounting for over 70% of jobs. The city’s largest private-sector employer is the Hudson’s Bay Company, a retail giant with historic roots in the country’s fur-trading past.

Finance, however, is the city’s defining professional industry, employing about 8% of the city’s workforce and accounting for a quarter of its GDP. The Toronto Stock Exchange is the largest in the country and third largest in North America by value. The Financial District, clustered on and around Bay Street in the heart of the city centre, is marked by tall buildings, men and women in formal business attire and a constant flow of couriers and taxis. The city is Canada’s main centre for traditional media and new media companies are also flourishing in Toronto, with many start-ups locating their offices slightly west of the city centre in and around King Street – all taking advantage of the city’s advanced 100% fibre-optic telecommunications system.

Toronto is the largest convention destination in Canada. One of its many convention facilities is the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (tel: (416) 585 8000; website: www.mtccc.com), next to the SkyDome, offering over 186,000sq metres (2,000,000sq ft) of space – the largest in the country. The region surrounding Pearson International Airport, in the suburb of Mississauga, northwest of the city centre, attracts many businesses taking advantage of the proximity to the airport, particularly those with warehousing requirements.

Although not as all pervasive as it once was, manufacturing is doing well in Toronto. The largest manufacturing plants produce aeroplanes, computers, electronics and auto parts. Education is also a major employer, as Toronto is home to three universities – University of Toronto, York University and Ryerson University.

Business Etiquette
Toronto has often been ridiculed as a conservative, uptight city – Toronto the Good, as its detractors say. But while this perception is about 20 years out of date, its legacy survives in the city’s approach to business.

Torontonians are hardworking, efficient employees. A little chit chat here and there about golf or other sports is welcome but generally people like getting to the point. Men and women wear business suits and rarely drink alcohol at lunch. Entertaining is usually confined to restaurants and bars, rarely in private homes. Business cards are normally exchanged after meals or meetings, not during introductions. The giving of gifts in business situations is unusual and might be treated suspiciously. In the workplace, it is common to answer the telephone by stating one’s first and last name. Around the office, however, people – both superiors and co-workers – are usually addressed by first name. Working hours are typically Monday to Friday 0900–1700, although slight variations are not uncommon. The best time for one to visit Toronto for business purposes is between September and May, as the summer is the most popular time of year for holidays.

Sightseeing

Sightseeing Overview
Like a needle jabbing into the sky, the CN Tower dominates Toronto’s cityscape and is its most famous attraction. Since its completion in 1976, the tower has attracted company – at its foot stands the SkyDome (the world’s first retractable dome stadium), while further east is the Air Canada Centre (a brand-new, state-of-the-art hockey and basketball arena). Immediately to the north is the dense cluster of office towers that comprise the Financial District, including some architectural wonders by Mies van de Rohe (Toronto-Dominion Centre) and Santiago Calatrava (the galleria at BCE Place). Interspersed between these – and even underlying many of the buildings – are some of the city’s main shopping areas, with the theatres and nightclubs of the Entertainment District to the west, and some of Toronto’s chief tourist attractions just to the north. The latter include Toronto City Hall, a gem of modern architecture, the nearby Art Gallery of Ontario, the vast collections of the Royal Ontario Museum, and the medieval-inspired 20th-century castle, Casa Loma, which stands a bit further to the north. In the city’s west end, the enormous, sweeping patch of green known as High Park unfurls, while along the waterfront Ontario Place and the Canadian National Exhibition Grounds provide fun days out for families with children. Beyond the trail-laced ravine of the Don Valley to the east of the centre, is The Beaches, with chic boutiques and a waterfront promenade.

Toronto is known as a city of neighbourhoods and many of these are a short distance from the Financial District’s towers. Unlike many major North American cities, Toronto has a thriving, vital, leafy downtown that keeps home owners and families from fleeing to the suburbs. The city’s most affluent areas are Rosedale and Forest Hill – pleasant for walks and people-watching. Yorkville, a hippy enclave in the 1960s, predictably went chi-chi in the 1970s, today offering elegant cafs and restaurants, a Prada store and even a postmodern park. Spadina Avenue is home to Toronto’s Chinatown, arguably North America’s best due to Toronto’s enormous Chinese community. Danforth Avenue is home to Greektown. Toronto has the highest population of Italians outside Italy and many of them have made their homes in Little Italy, west of the city centre. Near the University of Toronto, the Annex is a trendy, popular neighbourhood known for its lively nightlife and cultural scene. The area around Church and Wellesley streets is home to the city’s out and proud gay and lesbian village.

Tourist Information
Tourism Toronto
Suite 590, 207 Queen’s Quay West
Tel: (416) 203 2500 or (800) 363 1990. Fax: (416) 203 6753.
E-mail: toronto@torcvb.com
Website: www.torontotourism.com
Opening hours: Mon–Fri 0830–1700.

Ontario Travel Centre
Level 1, Eaton Centre, 220 Yonge Street
Tel: (905) 282 1721 or (800) 668 2746. Fax: (905) 282 7433.
E-mail: info@ontariotravel.net
Website: www.ontariotravel.net
Opening hours: Mon–Fri 1000–2100, Sat 0930–1900, Sun 1200–1800.

Passes
The Toronto Museum Passport includes entry to the Royal Ontario Museum, Fort York, as well as seven smaller attractions. At a cost of C$25 (concessions available), the pass is available from participating museums or TicketKing (tel: (416) 872 1212 or (800) 461 3333; website: www.ticketking.com).

Key Attractions

CN Tower
At a height of 553m (1815ft), the CN Tower is the world’s tallest building and the defining symbol of this lakefront city. On a clear day, it offers stunning views of up to 120km (75 miles) across the surrounding cityscape and Lake Ontario. A glass-fronted elevator ride leads to the main section – at an equivalent to 114 storeys high – where a terrifying glass floor enables visitors to stare 342m (1122ft) straight down. A more leisurely view can be had from the revolving 360 Restaurant on the floor above. Another set of elevators leads to the SkyPod, 33 storeys further up. There is also a group of entertainment venues at the base of the tower, including two motion-simulator rides.

301 Front Street West
Tel: (416) 868 6937. Fax: (416) 601 4722.
Website: www.cntower.ca
Transport: Subway Union.
Opening hours: Sun–Thurs 1000–2200; Fri–Sat 1000–2300.
Admission: C$16.99; C$23.99 (including SkyPod); concessions available.

Casa Loma
Toronto seems an unlikely location for a castle but, since 1911, the soaring battlements of Casa Loma have lent an element of magic to the city. The 98-room castle was completed in 1914 by Sir Henry Pellatt, a charismatic financier, industrialist and philanthropist, to be his home. Financial ruin forced its sale years later and the castle eventually became the popular tourist attraction it is today. The castle is a bizarre hybrid of a medieval-style stonework exterior – replete with turrets and battlements – and an early 20th-century interior. Highlights include the splendidly carved Oak Room, secret passageways and pseudo-Gothic Great Hall, which has 18m-high (60ft) ceilings. The two-hectare (five-acre) gardens are open between May and October.

1 Austin Terrace
Tel: (416) 923 1171. Fax: (416) 923 5734.
E-mail: info@casaloma.org
Website: www.casaloma.org
Transport: Subway Dupont.
Opening hours: Daily 0930–1700 (last admission 1600).
Admission: C$10 (includes self-guided audio tour); concessions available.

Art Gallery of Ontario
Canada’s premier art gallery, the AGO, contains 50 galleries displaying temporary exhibitions and a large permanent collection of international art. The ground floor houses a European collection covering the Italian Renaissance, Flemish Masters, 17th-century French painting and the Impressionists, right through to 20th-century works by Chagall and Picasso and beyond. The gallery’s greatest attraction, however, is the Canadian section on the first floor, featuring a cross-section of work from the Group of Seven, a group of early 20th-century painters whose work embodies the sublime beauty of Canada’s boreal wilderness. The gallery is also home to the world’s largest collection of Inuit art, as well as of works by Henry Moore, in the Henry Moore Sculpture Gallery. It is worth allowing extra time to visit The Grange, a restored 19th-century house, situated adjacent to the gallery.

317 Dundas Street West
Tel: (416) 979 6648. Fax: (416) 204 2711.
E-mail: information@ago.net
Website: www.ago.net
Transport: Subway St Patrick.
Opening hours: Tues, Thurs and Fri 1100–1800, Wed 1100–2030, Sat and Sun 1000–1730.
Admission: C$12 (special exhibitions might cost extra); free Wed evenings; concessions available.

Bata Shoe Museum
The Bata Shoe Museum is the only museum of its kind in the world. Housed in an equally unique building shaped, appropriately enough, like a shoebox, the museum owns some 10,000 items of footwear, dating as far back as 4500 years. Pieces range from Elvis Presley’s loafers and Queen Victoria’s ballroom slippers to 19th-century beaded Native American shoes and leather broad-toed Tudor shoes.

327 Bloor Street West
Tel: (416) 979 7799. Fax: (416) 979 0078.
Website: www.batashoemuseum.ca
Transport: Subway St George.
Opening hours: Tues, Wed, Fri and Sat 1000–1700, Thurs 1000–2000, Sun 1200–1700.
Admission: C$6; concessions available; free first Tues of month (winter only).

Royal Ontario Museum
The entrance hall alone is reason enough for one to visit the ROM – two massive Native Canadian totem poles from British Columbia flank the stairs, underneath a beautiful golden mosaic ceiling. Deeper within, the museum offers a seeming mishmash of different collections. The exhibits representing East Asia include a renowned collection of Chinese art, with wall paintings, snuff bottles and ceramic head cushions, as well as the only complete example of a Ming tomb in the west. Other levels handle the life sciences, the ancient Mediterranean and a Canadian heritage collection. Some galleries might be unavailable during the ongoing C$200-million expansion (designed by Daniel Libeskind).

100 Queen’s Park (Bloor Street West at Avenue Road)
Tel: (416) 586 5549 or 8000 (recorded info). Fax: (416) 586 5863.
E-mail: info@rom.on.ca
Website: www.rom.on.ca
Transport: Subway Museum.
Opening hours: Mon–Thurs and Sat 1000–1800, Fri 1000–2130, Sun 1100–1800.
Admission: C$10–16.50 (depending on whether or not there is a special exhibition); free Fri 1630–2130; concessions available.

Ontario Science Centre
The Ontario Science Centre was opened in 1969, with a mission to ‘open minds to science by creating environments that excite curiosity, inspire insights and motivate learning in science and technology’. This difficult task is successfully accomplished with over 800 fascinating exhibits. Themes explored in depth include the ‘Human Body’ and the ‘Information Highway’. Interactive exhibits include piloting a spacecraft or touching a Van der Graaf generator to make one’s hair stand up on end. An Omnimax Cinema offers a 24m (79ft) domed screen.

770 Don Mills Road
Tel: (416) 696 1000 or 3127 (recorded info). Fax: (416) 696 3166.
E-mail: webmaster@osc.on.ca
Website: www.ontariosciencecentre.ca
Transport: Subway Eglinton, then bus 34; subway Pape, then bus 25.
Opening hours: Daily 1000–1700.
Admission: C$13 (exhibitions); C$10 (Omnimax Cinema); C$18 (both); concessions available; on-site parking costs C$7.

Toronto Zoo
Situated on a sprawling 287-hectare (710-acre) forested piece of land next to the Rouge Valley, in the suburb of Scarborough, the Toronto Zoo is the fourth largest zoo in the world. The collection of over 5000 animals is truly international, since the zoo features pavilions named Africa, the Americas, IndoMalaya, Australasia and the Malayan Woods. Underwater exhibits showcase polar bears, South African fur seals, beavers in their dens and otters swimming at eye level.

Meadowvale Road, two kilometres (one mile) north of Highway 401
Tel: (416) 392 5900. Fax: (416) 392 5863.
E-mail: torontozoo@zoo.metrotor.on.ca
Website: www.torontozoo.com
Transport: Subway Kennedy, then bus 86A; subway Sheppard-Yonge, then bus 85B or 85D; bus routes vary at the weekend.
Opening hours: Daily 0900–1930 (mid May–early Sep); daily 0930–1630 (early Oct–early Mar); daily 0900–1800 (early Mar–mid May and early Sep–early Oct); last admission one hour before closing.
Admission: C$18; concessions available; on-site parking costs C$8; extra charges apply for some activities.

Fort York
Fort York harks back to the days when Toronto, then as British as afternoon tea, was named York. As a colony, the city occasionally had to deal with revolutionaries to the south, so Fort York was founded in 1793 to ensure British control of Lake Ontario. Most of the buildings, however, date from 1814 because, during the War of 1812, the evacuating British blew up the gunpowder magazine – an explosion so unexpectedly large that it killed ten of their own men, 250 advancing Americans and destroyed a good deal of the fort. Highlights of Fort York include blockhouses, barracks, officers’ quarters, costumed staff and period demonstrations.

100 Garrison Road, off Fleet Street
Tel: (416) 392 6907. Fax: (416) 392 6917.
E-mail: fortyork@toronto.ca
Website: www.toronto.ca/culture/fort_york.htm
Transport: Subway Bathurst, then tram 511.
Opening hours: Daily 1000–1700 (late May–early Sep); Mon–Fri 1000–1600, Sat and Sun 1000–1700 (early Sep–late May).
Admission: C$5 (concessions available).

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.

Tours of the City

Walking Tours
Walking tours of Toronto are available from Toronto Footsteps (tel: (416) 483 5483) and A Taste of the World (tel: (416) 923 6813; fax: (416) 532 0554; e-mail: info@torontowalksbikes.com; website: www.torontowalksbikes.com), who also offer bicycle tours. True to its name, A Taste of the World offers the ‘Kensington Foodies Roots Walk’, a three-and-a-half-hour Saturday morning stroll through historic Kensington Market, sampling both the sights and the local delicacies. Tours cost from C$15 (ghost and literary walks) to C$35 (food walk) and are frequently sold out – advance reservation is recommended.

Guided tours of the city’s natural heritage are available from Toronto Field Naturalists (tel: (416) 593 2656; website: www.sources.com/tfn). Architectural walks are available from Unique Views (tel: (416) 531 7770).

There are also a variety of signposted, self-guided walks that wind through the city’s many parks and green spaces. Alternatively, visitors have the option of exploring the vast labyrinth of interconnected shopping areas that underlie downtown’s office towers. The ten-kilometre (six-mile) PATH network (website: www.toronto.ca/path) links shopping, services and entertainment venues between the two branches of the Yonge–University–Spadina subway, south of Dundas Street.

Bus Tours
Grayline Tours (tel: (416) 594 3310; website: www.grayline.ca/toronto) runs hop-on, hop-off tours of the city centre in open-topped double-decker buses and turn-of-the-century trolley buses. A full circuit lasts two hours and costs C$31 (concessions available). The best places for passengers to hop on board are 123 Front Street West (corner of University Street) and the corner of Yonge Street and Dundas Street (visitors should call ahead, seeing as tickets are not available at all stops). Toronto Hippo Tours (tel: (416) 703 4476 or (877) 635 5510; website: www.torontohippotours.com) offers an ‘amphibus’ (amphibious bus) from May to October. Departing from 151 Front Street West (corner of Simcoe Street), the hour-long tour of the city takes in the CN Tower, the SkyDome and Toronto City Hall before entering the water at Ontario Place for a half-hour tour around Toronto’s harbour. The cost is C$35 (concessions available).

Excursions

For a Half Day

McMichael Canadian Art Collection: Situated 40km (25 miles) northwest of the city centre, in the picturesque village of Kleinburg, the McMichael (tel: (905) 893 1121 or (888) 213 1121; website: www.mcmichael.com) possesses one of the largest collections of 20th-century Canadian art. Works on permanent display include many by the country’s most prominent painters – Emily Carr, Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven – in a body of work matched in spirit by the gallery’s forested setting. The gallery also has a strong collection of contemporary First Nations and Inuit works. Temporary exhibitions are hosted throughout the year. Although it is possible for one to visit the gallery by public transport, travel by car is recommended (the route is along Highway 400). The gallery is open daily 1000–1600 (November–April) and daily 1000–1700 (May–October). Admission costs C$15 (concessions available) and parking is an additional C$5.

Elora: A pleasant, pastoral town situated approximately 100km (60 miles) from Toronto, Elora was founded by settlers harnessing the water of the Grand River to power their mill, in the 1830s. The mill still survives, functioning these days as the Elora Mill Country Inn. The town itself offers shopping, restaurants and horse-drawn carriage rides, although its real appeal is as a base from which to explore the surrounding countryside. The Elora Gorge is a three-kilometre-long (two-mile) scenic limestone gorge lined with cedars. Entrance is C$3.75 (late April to mid October); camping permits and inner tube hire cost extra. The surrounding landscape – picturesque, gently rolling fields – is home to various Mennonite communities, a religious sect similar to the Amish, whose members have chosen to live without technology. They can often be seen travelling along the side of the road in horse-drawn wagons and their quaint farms make for soothing roadside scenery. Although coach transport is available, getting there by car is recommended (the route is along Highway 401, then Highway 6 through Guelph, then County Road 7 to Elora). Further details are available from the Elora Information Centre (tel: (519) 846 9841; website: www.ferguselora.com) and the Grand River Conservation Authority (tel: (519) 846 9742; website: www.grandriver.ca/parks/parks.cfm).

For a Whole Day

Niagara Falls: World-renowned Niagara Falls has attracted visitors since the first human inhabitants set eyes upon it and is now one of the most popular tourist destinations in North America. Although Niagara is not the highest waterfall in the world, it carries a staggering 168,000 cubic metres (219,600 cubic yards) of water per minute over a drop of 51m (167ft). The surrounding town of Niagara Falls (tel: (905) 356 6061 or (800) 563 2557; website: www.discoverniagara.com) is a notorious honeymoon destination, although a tad on the kitsch side. It offers lots of activities for the visitor, including a casino, the Skylon observation tower and boat tours of the falls aboard the Maid of the Mist (tel: (905) 358 5781; website: www.maidofthemist.com) at a cost of C$13 (April–October). Niagara Falls is located 130km (81 miles) west of Toronto and can be reached by car, coach, train or a hydrofoil and coach trip (see Getting There By Water). Further information on the falls is available from the Niagara Parks Commission (tel: (905) 371 0254 or (877) 642 7275; website: www.niagaraparks.com).

The surrounding region offers winery tours, while the nearby town of Niagara-on-the-Lake (tel: (905) 468 1950; website: www.niagaraonthelake.com) is home to a wealth of theatres, tree-lined 19th-century streets and picturesque inns. The main draw for many visitors is the annual Shaw Festival (tel: (800) 511 7429; website: www.shawfest.com), which has specialised in the plays of Bernard Shaw and his contemporaries for the last four decades.

Algonquin Provincial Park: For many visitors, Algonquin Provincial Park (tel: (705) 633 5572; website: www.algonquinpark.on.ca) captures the archetypal Canadian boreal landscape – shimmering blue lakes, towering pines and granite rock faces carved by the retreating glaciers. The park was established in 1893, in a rugged, beautiful region of southern Ontario – located 300km (186 miles) north of Toronto – and quickly became popular with canoeists and outdoor enthusiasts. For a day trip, it is probably wisest for visitors to take in the natural beauty from Highway 60, which runs right through the park, offering a decent chance for a deer or moose sighting. For a more active experience, visitors could take one of more than a dozen hiking trails, while for educational input there is a Visitors Centre, located on Highway 60, 43km (27 miles) from the west gate and 13km (eight miles) west of the east gate. The centre is open weekends only in winter and daily the rest of the year. Individual transportation is recommended for travelling to and around the park. The park is accessible daily 24 hours; camping is possible all year round and permits are required – these should be booked in advance, especially during the peak summer dates. There is a C$12 vehicle entry fee and camping permits cost extra.

Sport

Toronto is first and foremost an ice hockey town, so it comes as no surprise that the Hockey Hall of Fame, BCE Place, 30 Yonge Street (tel: (416) 360 7765; website: www.hhof.com), is located here. The city lives and dies according to the success and failure of the Toronto Maple Leafs (tel: (416) 703 5323; website: www.mapleleafs.com), one of the NHL’s most historic franchises. The Leafs play at the Air Canada Centre, 40 Bay Street (tel: (416) 815 5500; website: www.theaircanadacentre.com), as do the Toronto Raptors (tel: (416) 366 3865; website: www.raptors.com), the city’s professional basketball team. The Toronto Blue Jays (tel: (416) 341 1234; website: www.bluejays.com) is the city’s professional baseball team, competing in the same American League division as teams like the New York Yankees. The team plays at the SkyDome, 1 Blue Jays Way (tel: (416) 341 3663; website: www.skydome.com), the world’s first retractable-dome stadium – considered a marvel of beauty and engineering when it was built but slowly gaining the status of a dysfunctional eyesore. During the July to November Canadian Football League season, the Toronto Argonauts (tel: (416) 489 2746; website: www.argonauts.ca) also plays at the SkyDome.

Tickets for single games for any of the above teams are best purchased from Ticketmaster Canada’s sportsline (tel: (416) 872 5000; website: www.ticketmaster.ca).

Canadians are a sports-loving people. In summer months, Torontonians can be found outdoors – jogging, swimming, cycling, walking, playing any number of team sports or having a game of tennis. In winter months, the public tennis courts are iced over and become outdoor community rinks, where anyone (who can skate) is welcome to play in one of the impromptu games of ice hockey. The City of Toronto Fun Guide (website: www.toronto.ca/parks/torontofun.htm), available at any recreation centre, details the activity options available around town.

Fitness centres: The YMCA, 20 Grosvenor Street (tel: (416) 975 9622; website: www.ymcatoronto.org), is a very large, modern venue situated in the heart of the city centre, offering facilities such as a sauna, whirlpool, pool, squash courts and a weight room for C$15 per day.

Golf: Although the season is defined by an icy winter, golf is an immensely popular sport in the city and there are over a hundred courses in the greater Toronto region. Within the city, visitors can play at the Don Valley Golf Course, intersection of Yonge Street and William Carsen Crescent (tel: (416) 392 2465; website: www.toronto.ca/parks/recreation_facilities/golfing/donvalley.htm) for C$50–55 for 18 holes. A short distance northwest of the city centre, in the suburb of Brampton, Lionhead Golf and Country Club, 8525 Mississauga Road, Brampton (tel: (905) 455 8400; fax: (905) 455 5815; e-mail: info@golflionhead.com; website: www.golflionhead.com), is a public course offering two 18-hole courses – its ‘Legends’ course is considered the most difficult in the country. The price of play is C$125–160, or C$75 after 1700. Most central is City Core Golf, 2 Spadina Avenue (tel: (416) 640 9888; website: www.golfcitycore.com), a driving range and green that is only a short putt away from the SkyDome. Play costs C$24 per hour.

Skating: With ice hockey as the national sport, it is not surprising to find many Torontonians enjoying a leisurely skate during the winter. Next to Toronto City Hall, Nathan Phillips Square is iced over when the temperature drops. There is also a rink in the fashionable Hazleton Lanes shopping mall in Yorkville. Information on the city’s ice rinks is available (tel: (416) 338 7465).

Swimming: During the summer, Toronto’s beaches attract large crowds to walk, rollerblade and cycle along the meandering boardwalk or frolic in the blue waters of Lake Ontario. Outdoor swimming pools are also popular. Gus Ryder Sunnyside Pool, Budapest Park, 1755 Lakeshore Boulevard West (tel: (416) 392 6696), and the Riverdale Outdoor Pool, Riverdale Park, 550 Broadview Avenue (tel: (416) 392 0751), are two such options and both offer free entrance. Indoor swimming can be found at the YMCA (see above). Information on the city’s pools is available (tel: (416) 338 7665).

Tennis: Tennis courts in the downtown area are open to the general public until 1700, after which time various clubs take over. Tennis courts are located in Lytton Park and Otter Creek Park, on Cheritan Avenue.

Shopping

Thankfully, Toronto has not succumbed to mall culture to the same degree as its neighbours in the USA – most malls tend to be firmly located in the suburbs, although there are a number of shopping concourses at the bases of the larger downtown office towers, linked by underground passageways. The one important mall that has managed to take root downtown is the Eaton Centre, located at the intersection of Yonge and Dundas streets (website: www.torontoeatoncentre.com). The Eaton Centre is a mall for non-mall types – lots of shopping in a more soothing environment, with a huge fountain, a ceiling that is a vast barrel vault of windows and a famous sculpture of flying Canada geese.

As a vital, densely populated hub, the city centre is filled with open-air shopping streets, each with its own character. Queen and College streets attract style-conscious 20- and 30-somethings. Fashions are original, often with an emphasis on obscure labels, both domestic and imported. Queen Street West also offers a variety of furniture shops, some offering cutting-edge modern designs and others displaying second-hand pieces from ten to 50 years old. There have been some signs of gentrification, sparking the now hip ‘West Queen West’ district, beyond Spadina and Bathurst streets. Yorkville features more upmarket shopping – Prada, Versace, Louis Vuitton – including Holt Renfrew, 50 Bloor Street West (website: www.holtrenfrew.com), the Canadian equivalent to New York’s Saks or London’s Harrods. Yonge Street offers shopping of every variety from its beginnings near the waterfront right to the northern edge of the city.

The bounty of the vast Canadian landscape can be appreciated at St Lawrence Market, at the corner of Jarvis and Front streets (website: www.toronto.com/stlawrence). Here, visitors can take in the sight of piles of fresh fish laid out on beds of ice, pick among butcher shops, choose between delicatessens, bakeries and a host of fruit and vegetable shops overflowing with produce. The market is open Tuesday to Thursday 0800–1800, Friday 0800–1900 and Saturday 0500–1700. Across town, Kensington Market, tucked in just behind Chinatown (west of Spadina Avenue, between Dundas and College streets) gives a sense of the city’s multicultural make up, with residents from over 30 cultural backgrounds. The market has been around since the 1790s and its narrow streets are filled with fruit stands, butcher shops, cafs, Asian markets and local fashion designers. Normal shopping hours (see below) are observed.

Good gifts and Toronto souvenirs are Canadian and Inuit art, local designer threads, Hudson Bay blankets and maple syrup products.

Apart from offering a wealth of good shopping, Toronto is of particular interest to the international traveller, due to the relative weakness of the Canadian Dollar. Shopping is available seven days a week and stores are generally open 1000–1800, although it is common to find some open as late as 2200, especially on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. In addition to the 7% Goods and Services Tax (GST), a provincial sales tax of 8% is added to the listed price of most purchases. The GST portion can be redeemed by non-residents for purchases and short-term accommodation totalling over C$200 (minimum C$50 per individual receipt). The Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (tel: (902) 432 5608 or (800) 668 4748; website: www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/visitors) should be contacted for further information and forms. Private companies offer the same service but charge a fee.

Culture

Although Toronto has a reputation as a place of business, it has much to offer the visitor interested in soaking up some local culture – notably its vibrant theatre scene. Toronto has the third most theatres of any city in the world, after London and New York, showing everything from high-budget musicals to experimental fringe theatre.

Toronto’s role as the cultural capital of English-speaking Canada is also evident in its major performing arts companies, with ballet, opera and the symphony all well represented during a season that generally runs from September to April. Foremost among the many classical music companies who play at Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe Street (tel: (416) 872 4255; website: www.roythomsonhall.com), is the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Further east, the Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts, 1 Front Street East (tel: (416) 393 7469; website: www.hummingbirdcentre.com), the largest multi-use facility in the country, is home to the Canadian Opera Company and the National Ballet of Canada, as well as numerous touring acts.

The Toronto International Film Festival is world-famous – now the second largest in the world, after Cannes – but is only one of dozens of annual events and festivals that celebrate the diversity and creativity of Toronto’s citizens in a variety of media.

In addition to the daily newspapers, the free weeklies, NOW (website: www.nowtoronto.com) and eye (website: www.eye.net), have listings for major events and obscure fringe offerings. Tickets for most cultural attractions can usually be bought through Ticketmaster Canada (tel: (416) 870 8000; website: www.ticketmaster.ca). Tickets for many of the big musicals are available from TicketKing (tel: (416) 872 1212 or (800) 461 3333; website: www.ticketking.com) or in person (Tuesday–Saturday 1200–1930) from the T.O.Tix half-price ticket booth, at the southeast corner of Yonge Street and Dundas Street (tel: (416) 536 6468; website: www.totix.ca).

Music: The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (tel: (416) 872 4255; website: www.tso.on.ca) performs over 125 concerts every year at Roy Thomson Hall (see above), attracting guest performers of international acclaim. The Canadian Opera Company (tel: (416) 363 8231; website: www.coc.ca) has received growing audiences in recent seasons. The city has, for several years, been investigating plans to build its own opera house. For now, however, opera can be appreciated at the Hummingbird Centre (see above).

Theatre: The city’s Theatre District is focused on King Street West, slightly north of the CN Tower. Built in 1907, the Royal Alexandra Theatre, 260 King Street West, is an old, spacious Victorian theatre that shows musicals along with the occasional piece of serious theatre. The nearby Princess of Wales Theatre, 300 King Street West, shows similarly popular fare, generally bringing touring versions of major West End and Broadway shows. Both venues are run by Mirvish Productions (tel: (416) 593 0351; fax: (416) 593 9221; e-mail: info@mirvish.com; website: www.mirvish.com) and should be booked through TicketKing (see above). The Canon Theatre, 263 Yonge Street, restored to its exquisite 1920s design and for many years the Toronto home of Phantom of the Opera, is now also a part of the Mirvish stable.

For a more local flavour, the Poor Alex Theatre, 296 Brunswick Avenue (tel: (416) 923 1644), is one of the best venues offering innovative new theatre. The Tarragon Theatre, 30 Bridgman Avenue (tel: (416) 531 1827; website: www.tarragontheatre.com), specialises in new Canadian writing. The St Lawrence Centre for the Performing Arts, 27 Front Street East (tel: (416) 366 7723; website: www.stlc.com), is home to the Canadian Stage Company (tel: (416) 368 3110; website: www.canstage.com), producers of modern Canadian plays and productions. Near the waterfront, the Du Maurier Theatre, at the Harbourfront Centre, 231 Queen’s Quay West (tel: (416) 973 4000; website: www.harbourfront.on.ca), was built as an ice house in the 1920s but was renovated into a modern theatre, showing musicals alongside more serious pieces, in 1992.

Further information on drama in the city is available from the Toronto Theatre Alliance (tel: (416) 536 6468; website: www.theatreintoronto.com), which represents over a hundred local companies.

It is worth getting out of the city for two of the country’s most important theatre festivals – the Shaw Festival (website: www.shawfest.com), held in Niagara-on-the-Lake (see Excursions), and the Stratford Festival (tel: (800) 567 1600; website: www.stratfordfestival.ca), in Stratford, two hours’ drive southwest of Toronto. As the name suggests, the focus at the Stratford is on the works of Shakespeare, although the repertoire also includes more recent works by Canadian and international playwrights like Albee and Chekhov.

Dance: The National Ballet of Canada (tel: (416) 345 9686; website: www.national.ballet.ca), the country’s best known dance company, finds its home in Toronto at the Hummingbird Centre (see above). The company’s most popular show is the annual Christmas production of The Nutcracker. One of the best spots for Canadian and international contemporary dance is at the Harbourfront Centre, 231 Queen’s Quay West (tel: (416) 973 4000; website: www.harbourfront.on.ca).

Film: In recent years, Toronto has gained the nickname ‘Hollywood North’, due to the large number of American films that are shot on its streets and in its buildings. Around 40 American feature films are shot in Toronto every year. Recent successes include Angel Eyes (2001), American Psycho (2000) and X-Men (2000). A number of television series, including the US version of Queer as Folk, are also filmed in the city. Among the films where Toronto actually plays itself are The City (1999), Forever Knight (1992) and Exotica (1994), directed by University of Toronto alumnus Atom Egoyan. Honeymooning couples might want to avoid the noir-ish Marilyn Monroe and Joseph Cotton thriller, Niagara (1953), although the spectacular falls do compensate for the acrimony between the newlyweds.

Every September, Toronto is flooded with celebrities and film types; patios are overrun with bruschetta and canaps, as film buffs line up to see major releases and arthouse works from around the world during the Toronto International Film Festival (tel: (416) 968 3456; website: www.e.bell.ca/filmfest).

As far as seeing a film in Toronto goes, it is customary for one to purchase tickets at the cinema, which means arriving early if the film is likely to sell out. Seating is always done on a first-come, first-serve basis. Cineplex Odeon (website: www.cineplex.com) and Famous Players (website: www.famousplayers.ca) operate the vast majority of Toronto’s mainstream cinemas, with locations throughout the city. The Bloor Cinema, 506 Bloor Street West (tel: (416) 516 2330; website: www.bloorcinema.com), is popular for arthouse and more obscure international films. Cinmathque Ontario, at the Art Gallery of Ontario’s Jackman Hall, 317 Dundas Street West (tel: (416) 923 3456; website: www.bell.ca/cinematheque), shows a mixture of English-language and subtitled films.

Cultural events: Still known to may Torontonians by its former name (Caribana), the Toronto International Carnival (website: www.torontointernationalcarnival.info) is the city’s annual summer celebration of Caribbean culture and is one of the largest cultural events in North America, attracting hundreds of thousands of people. Taking place in the last two weeks of July, the festival features parades, extravagant costumes, food and music. Late June sees the Pride Week gay and lesbian celebration, culminating in the over-the-top Pride Day Parade (website: www.torontopride.com), one of the largest in the world. Summertime also sees the annual Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival (website: www.tojazz.com), which brings famous jazz acts from all over the world to the city’s concert halls and bars, in late June. The International Festival of Authors (website: www.readings.org) takes place at the Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queen’s Quay West (tel: (416) 973 3000), in late October. The festival attracts authors both local and international for readings, lectures, talks and awards.

Literary Notes
Toronto is home to two of the English-speaking world’s most talented and well known writers, Michael Ondaatje and Margaret Atwood. Not surprisingly, their home city features directly in much of their literature. Ondaatje’s In the Skin of a Lion (1987) follows the early history of Toronto, including the building of the Bloor Street Viaduct and the R C Harris Waterworks. Atwood’s Cat’s Eye (1988) also finds the city as its setting, telling the story of a woman painter returning to Toronto for a retrospective of her work, which brings on a re-examination of her own and her city’s past. Other famous Torontonian writers include recently acclaimed Anne-Marie MacDonald, whose Fall on Your Knees (1996), a story of love, abuse and incest on Canada’s east coast, won the Commonwealth Prize, and Anne Michaels, whose Fugitive Pieces (1997) tells the story of an ageing Holocaust survivor’s life and friendships in Toronto.

The famous American author, John Irving, has a particular fondness for Toronto, spending much of his time in the city. His novel, A Prayer for Owen Meany (1989), is concerned with a private school for girls in Toronto. And it was also in Toronto that a young American writer, Ernest Hemingway, got his big break – as a journalist on the Toronto Star.

Nightlife

Toronto’s nightlife is yet another aspect of urban life that defies the city’s staid reputation. This was recently helped, in no small part, by the provincial government’s decision to extend drinking hours until 0200, while nightclubs and after-hours clubs often stay open until dawn. Mixed drinks and pints tend to come in around the C$5 mark and admission is often charged at nightclubs but never at normal bars unless a band is playing. A few self-consciously trendy nightclubs may have no-jeans, no-trainers policies at the door. Since it is illegal in the Province of Ontario to serve alcohol and not serve food, bars can often be considered places to eat as much as to drink. The legal drinking age in Toronto is 19.

The free, alternative weeklies, eye (website: www.eye.net) and NOW (website: www.nowtoronto.com), provide the latest information on club nights and gig listings, while Xtra (website: www.xtra.ca) covers the gay scene.

The most common nights for locals to spend on the town are Thursday, Friday and Saturday, although enthusiastic crowds can usually be found on most other nights. The most popular area for bars and clubs is in the heart of the city centre, slightly west of the Financial District, around the Theatre District on King and Queen streets. For a more ethnic feel, Little Italy offers Italian-flavoured bars and clubs that tend to attract a cooler, more refined crowd in search of pasta, properly mixed drinks and better music. Greektown offers a slew of Greek restaurants and bars that import something of a Mediterranean festive feel even on the darkest of winter nights. Local pubs and bars playing a hockey or baseball game on television can be found almost anywhere and are great spots for a plate of chicken wings and a beer.

Bars: British visitors will feel at home in the many pubs that dot the city, showing up on street corners and in the more commercial neighbourhood high streets. The Madison Avenue Pub, 14 Madison Avenue, is something like a super-pub, taking up four floors within two converted Victorian houses. The Rebel House, 1068 Yonge Street, a neighbourhood favourite, serves a range of good beer and uncommonly good pub food. For a taste of the excellent lager and ale at the city’s best brew pubs, try the Granite Brewery, 245 Eglinton Avenue East, or the Steam Whistle Brewing Company, 255 Bremner Boulevard, directly south of the CN Tower.

Little Italy’s Bar Italia, 582 College Street, is a stylish and trendy cocktail bar with reasonably priced and tasty pasta, which attracts the good-looking weekend crowd. The Rivoli, 332 Queen Street West, attracts a slightly more alternative crowd. One side of the bar serves fusion cuisine, the other cocktails, while concerts, club nights and spoken-word events take place in the back and there is a large pool hall upstairs. Further west is the Gypsy Co-op, 817 Queen Street West, comfortable as a bar/lounge/restaurant earlier in the day or as a nightclub later on. One of the friendliest gay bars in Toronto is the boisterous Woody’s, 465 Church Street. A sense of the country’s ice hockey obsession can be experienced at Wayne Gretzky’s, 99 Blue Jays Way, owned by one of the game’s greatest players ever and a monument to his success on the ice.

Casinos: There are no licensed casinos in Toronto. However, there are three government-run casinos elsewhere in the province. The nearest is Casino Niagara, 5705 Falls Avenue, Niagara Falls (website: www.casinoniagara.com). The casino offers slot machines, blackjack, roulette, baccarat, Caribbean stud poker and craps. Patrons must be at least 19 years of age and must possess government-issued identification as proof of age. There is no dress code.

Clubs: Richmond Street is home to many of the city’s biggest and best-known clubs. Joe, 250 Richmond Street West, has taken over one of the city’s longer-standing venues (Whiskey Saigon) and now offers a lounge and rooftop patio in addition to nights of house and retro hits at its School Disco night. Not far away is Roxy Blu, 12 Brant Street, known for modern R&B, garage and house, as well as high-profile DJs occasionally flown into town. A young, tapped-in crowd finds its home at Sound Emporium, 360 Adelaide Street West, for electronic music, trance and breakbeats. Chilled-out spots include Ciao Edie, 489 College Street, filled with retro-funk furnishings, and Fluid Lounge, 217 Richmond Street West. On the eastern edge of the city centre is The Guvernment, 132 Queen’s Quay East, a massive warehouse rigged with an industrial-strength sound system that pumps out progressive house and trance Saturday nights until dawn. Gay clubs are scattered throughout the Church and Wellesley area; one of the biggest is the three-floor complex at 418 Church Street, The Barn and its adjacent Stables.

Comedy: Toronto is home to what is probably North America’s most famous comedy club chain, The Second City. The Toronto branch, situated at 56 Blue Jays Way (website: www.secondcity.com), however, is of particular pop-cultural significance, seeing as it experienced a golden age in the late 1970s. It witnessed the beginning of the careers of future Hollywood greats, such as Dan Aykroyd, Mike Myers and Martin Short. Toronto’s other big venue is Yuk Yuk’s Comedy Cabaret, 224 Richmond Street West (website: www.yukyuks.com).

Live music: The Horseshoe Tavern, 370 Queen Street West, a gritty down-home venue and the first on the continent to receive The Police, is the best place to hear new rock bands. Massey Hall, 178 Victoria Street, hosts everything from jazz, classical, rock and world music to international dance troupes. A more laid-back atmosphere can be found at the Rex Jazz and Blues Bar, 194 Queen Street West, and the Montreal Bistro and Jazz Club, 65 Sherbourne Street. For more jazz, check out the Jazz In Toronto website (website: www.jazzintoronto.com).

City Statistics

Location: Ontario, Canada.
Country dialling code: 1.
Population: 2,481,494 (city); 4,682,897 (metropolitan area).
Ethnic mix (by mother tongue): English 63%, Chinese 6%, Italian 4.5%, Portuguese 2.4%, Polish 1.8%, Spanish 1.6%, Punjabi 1.4%, French 1.3%, Tagalog (Filipino) 1.3%, Tamil 1.1%, Greek 1%, Arabic 0.7%, other 13.9%.
Time zone: GMT - 5 (GMT - 4 from first Sunday in April to last Sunday in October).
Electricity: 110 volts AC, 60Hz; flat two-pin plugs are standard.
Average January temp: - 4.5C (23F).
Average July temp: 22C (72F).
Annual rainfall: 689mm (27.1 inches).
Annual snowfall: 1350mm (53.1 inches).

Special Events

Toronto Winterfest, ice skating and fun in the snow (website: www.toronto.ca/winterfest), early Feb, Nathan Phillips Square and Mel Lastman Square
St Patrick’s Day Parade, Sunday nearest 17 Mar, downtown Toronto
Canadian Music Week, upcoming bands (website: www.cmw.net), late Mar–early Apr, various venues
World Stage Festival, international theatre festival (website: www.harbourfront.on.ca), Apr, Harbourfront Centre
CONTACT, photography festival (website: www.contactphoto.com), May, throughout the city
Inside-Out, Toronto lesbian and gay film and video festival (website: www.insideout.on.ca), mid–late May, various cinemas
Doors Open Toronto, free access to many of the city’s historic properties (website: www.doorsopen.org), late May, throughout the city
Distillery Jazz Festival (website: www.distilleryjazz.com), late May, the Distillery Historic District
Milk International Children’s Festival of the Arts, theatre, music, dance, crafts and workshops (website: www.harbourfront.on.ca/milk), late May, Harbourfront Centre (website: www.harbourfrontcentre.com/milk)
NXNE – North by Northeast Music Festival and Industry Conference, Canadian and international bands (website: www.nxne.com), early Jun, various venues
Toronto International Dragon Boat Race Festival (website: www.torontodragonboat.com), late Jun, Toronto Islands
Queen’s Plate Horse Racing (website: www.woodbineentertainment.com), late Jun, Woodbine Racetrack
Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival (website: www.tojazz.com), late Jun, various venues
Pride Week, gay and lesbian pride celebration (website: www.torontopride.com), late Jun, various venues
Toronto Fringe Theatre Festival (website: www.fringetoronto.com), early–mid Jul, various venues
Molson Indy, CART auto racing (website: www.molsonindy.com), mid Jul, Exhibition Place
Outdoor Art Exhibition (website: www.torontooutdoorart.org), mid Jul, Nathan Phillips Square
Beaches International Jazz Festival (website: www.beachesjazz.com), late Jul, The Beaches
Toronto International Carnival (website: www.torontointernationalcarnival.info), late Jul–early Aug, throughout the city
FFIDA – Fringe Festival of Independent Dance Artists (website: www.ffida.org), early–mid Aug, the Distillery Historic District
Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), agricultural fair, exposition and amusement park (website: www.theex.com), mid Aug–early Sep, Canadian National Exhibition Grounds
Toronto International Film Festival (website: www.e.bell.ca/filmfest), early–mid Sep, various venues
Niagara Wine Festival, wine tasting, concerts and other events (website: www.grapeandwine.com), late Sep, Montebello Park, St Catherine’s
Canadian International Marathon (website: www.runtoronto.com), mid Oct, throughout the city
International Festival of Authors (website: www.readings.org), late Oct, Harbourfront Centre
Royal Agricultural Winter Fair (website: www.royalfair.org), early–mid Nov, Exhibition Place
Santa Claus Parade (website: www.thesantaclausparade.org), mid Nov, midtown to downtown
Canadian Aboriginal Festival (website: www.canab.com), late Nov, SkyDome
Toronto Christmas Market (website: www.torontochristmasmarket.com), Dec, opposite St Lawrence Market
Cavalcade of Lights, skating, ice-carving, festive lights and more (website: www.toronto.ca/special_events), late Nov–Jan, Nathan Phillips Square
First Night Toronto, family-oriented New Year’s Eve activities (website: www.firstnight.toronto.com), late Dec, City Hall and other venues

Cost of Living

One-litre bottle of mineral water: C$1.50
33cl bottle of beer: C$1.50
Financial Times newspaper: C$2
36-exposure colour film: C$8.50
City-centre bus ticket: C$2.25
Adult baseball ticket: C$7–57
Three-course meal with wine/beer: From C$20

1 Canadian Dollar (C$1) = 0.42; US$0.80; A$1.02; 0.62
Currency conversion rates as of May 2005