The city of Toronto in Ontario, Canada is a chic, cosmopolitan destination on the shores of Lake Ontario. It’s Canada’s largest city and undisputed financial capital, making it a popular business travel destination. Toronto also has a multicultural heritage with about 100 ethnic groups speaking as many different languages, making it a cultural mecca for global tourists. In addition, Toronto has a large film and TV industry, so much so it’s nicknamed “Hollywood North.”

Must See Toronto Sights

For a bird’s eye view of the city, go to the top of the CN Tower, one of the world’s tallest buildings (behind Burj Khalifa in Dubai and the Canton Tower in Guangzhou). A 360° revolving restaurant gives visitors a panoramic view of Toronto (reservations recommended) or the adventurous can walk on the glass floor observation area 1,122 feet above the ground. True thrill seekers will want to do the Edge Walk outside around the circumference of the roof!

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Casa Loma is a castle estate built by Sir Henry Pellatt in 1917 as a gift to his wife. The 17th-century Scottish baronial-style architecture includes secret passageways, towers, gardens and stables.

Another architectural interest is the Rogers Center, formerly known as the SkyDome. The dome is the Toronto Blue Jays (baseball) home field and has the world’s first fully-retractable roof. Tours of the building are available.

In the Distillery Historic District in the east end of Toronto, Victorian factory buildings that were once the largest whiskey distillery in the British Empire have been converted to a 14-acre arts, culture and entertainment community.  The 44 buildings are the largest collection of Victorian Industrial architecture in North America and now house art galleries and studios, performance venues, restaurants and condominiums.

Harbourfront Area is a 92 acre lakefront park where visitors can bicycle, sail, picnic and shop. Harbourfront Centre is a non-profit cultural center that hosts community events, theater performances and concerts. Power Plant, a contemporary art gallery, and the Toronto Music Garden are in the 10-acre Centre. Most activities are free, but some events charge admission.

In winter, enjoy a day or evening skate on one of Toronto’s  52 free outdoor ice skating rinks.

Toronto celebrates diversity in neighborhoods and food

Toronto is amazingly diverse with approximately 50% of the population being foreign born. The result is many interesting ethnic enclaves. Neighborhoods include three Chinatowns, two Italian communities, Greektown, Little Poland, Korea Town, Little India, two Jewish communities and various Caribbean communities. With this cultural variety comes a plethora of restaurants – more than 8,000 across the city – specializing in dozens of national cuisines, so there is truly something for every taste in Toronto.

The Beach is a lively area with storefronts, boutiques and restaurants. An old fashioned boardwalk is perfect for strolling and in-line skating or the art deco water filtration plant at the eastern tip of the beach is a great place to picnic and sunbathe.

In winter, Toronto’s answer to shopping in the cold and snow is the PATH, 18 miles of underground shopping beneath the downtown financial district. 1,200 shops, food courts, and office space are connected to major attractions, parking garages and hotels above. Eaton Centre is the anchor and draws 50 millions shoppers a year!

Travel Maestro tip: Rent a bicycle and tour Toronto’s eclectic neighborhoods. Ask for the free Toronto Cycling Map at any bicycle shop in the city. Or explore on a free 2- to 4-hour walking tour with a volunteer Toronto Greeter – no cost, no tipping allowed!

Toronto Museums

Toronto has several significant museums that visitors should consider. The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO, known as “Eh-Gee-Oh”) houses 79,000 works dating from 100AD to the present. TM tip: Free admission on Wednesday 6-8:30 p.m. The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a natural history museum with over six million artifacts including a dinosaur exhibit and a bat cave. TM tip: Half-price admission on Friday 4:30-9:30 p.m. The Ontario Science Center is fun for kids and adults with over 800 interactive exhibits, live demonstrations and an Omnimax Theater.

 

Two popular special interest museums are the Bata Shoe Museum and the Hockey Hall of Fame. The Bata has a 10,000-piece collection of footwear spanning 4,500 years from ancient Egyptian papyrus sandals to Elvis Presley’s loafers. TM tip: Admission is pay-what-you-can Thursday 5-8 p.m. Hockey is a national obsession in Canada and fans shouldn’t miss the Hockey Hall of Fame where they can see the Stanley Cup and get an insider’s perspective from videos of legendary players.

Travel Maestro tip: Purchase a 9-day Toronto CityPass for admission to The Royal Ontario Museum, Casa Loma, Ontario Science Centre, the Toronto Zoo and the CN Tower.

Toronto Logistics

Winters are cold and snowy, particularly when lake-effect storms dip the temperatures below zero. Summers are warm and humid and temperatures can get into the 90s F/32-35 C.

The downtown area is very walkable, though a public transportation network of buses, subways and streetcars (known as the TTC) and taxis are the best way to get further around the city. Day and weekly TTC passes have hop-on/hop-off privileges. From the airport, Pacific Western’s Airport Express shuttle runs to most major downtown hotels for CAN$23.95 one way. Airflight Services cab is technically a taxi, but is like a typical airport limousine and provides reliable service at competitive rates (CAN$45-60 one way). Travel Maestro tip: Allow plenty of time to make flights, especially on Friday.

Hotels near the city center or on a subway line will make seeing the city easier, but even with over 35,000 rooms in the city, making reservations early is recommended.

Toronto is a vibrant, multicultural city and an interesting city for business or leisure travel. For help planning a trip to Toronto, contact Covington Travel’s experienced travel advisors.