City information
Multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-national, multi-fun: once the “Meeting Place” for Amerindians, now Canada’s largest metropolis, the country’s business and cultural engine, and a great place to visit–welcome to Toronto!
Toronto has everything from the
Cannoli In The Fudge Lying west of Yonge, between
East of
Framed by Front to the South and Bloor to the North, Toronto’s downtown core is at its busiest and most expressive during the lunch hour. Sandwiched between Bay and Jarvis, this area encompasses the business and entertainment district of the city. The
Upscale Uptown Those looking for upscale cuisine and a night cap or two outside the downtown core have only to keep on heading up Yonge towards Eglinton. Clustered around this uptown intersection are some of the city’s very best wining and dining establishments?with a little star-gazing thrown in as icing on the cake. Among the group,
Sports fans have little to complain about when searching for their favourite foods and ambience. There are plenty of places where you can put your foot on the rail, sip a cool lager and watch your team on a big-screen TV. A good starting point is the
Decisions, Decisions Still can’t decide? Maybe a short list is in order: for the view,
Lest we forget that most important meal of the day, the breakfast-brunch, Toronto offers a variety ranging from the simply solid, void-filling and all-day version at
And we haven’t mentioned African (
Yes, Toronto has come a long way from its reputation as a steak and kidney pie kind of town. In fact, the culinary school at George Brown College is producing five-star chefs for the rest of the continent and has its own top-notch restaurant in
There are endless possibilities for walking tours in Toronto and, with so many neighbourhoods marked by their own history and presence, it’s hard to know where to start. However, two definite must-see areas are the entertainment and financial districts, and the Old Town of York.
To get a sense of Toronto’s entertainment district, start at the corner of King and John. This area (stretching to Simcoe) is known as Mirvish Walkway or Mirvish Village, named after Ed Mirvish and his son, who have spent awesome amounts refurbishing the area, turning many of the theatres and restaurants into first-class establishments. Their most famous project, the
Just down and across the street, there’s no missing the grand exterior of
Time-Warp Architecture Head east and, on the corner of King and Simcoe, you’ll find St. Andrews Presbyterian Church. Constructed in 1876, the church was saved in the 1980’s when SunLife Tower paid over $4 million to build above and below it. The Scottish Romanesque Revival architecture stands in time-warp contrast to the skyscraping steel and glass around it.
Halfway between York and Bay you’ll pass the Standard Life Building, which stands beside the awesome
Heading north on Bay you’ll come across the National Club Building, a Neo-Georgian structure built in 1874 to promote the Canada First movement?patriots who fought to prevent union with the United States. Just up the street is the Canada Permanent Building, an historic site built in 1929. The Art Deco style along with the vaulted entrance and sculpted bronze elevator doors make the interior a must-see. Back up to King and further east stands the
Classic Greek Revival Further west and right on Wellington can be found the old Commercial Bank of Midland District, now called Number Fifteen. The oldest structure in the area, it was built in 1845 in classic Greek Revival style. Down Bay and south to Front brings you to the old Toronto Stock Exchange, now the
On Front Street stands
If you’ve got some energy left after visiting the entertainment and financial districts, continue with a tour of the Old Town of York, where you’ll get a sense of Toronto’s rich history. Start at the corner of Yonge and Wellington and walk east to the Gooderham Building, financed by distilleries mogul George Gooderham and also known as the
Turning onto Front, the Beardmore Building stands out. During the 19th century, the area was known as the warehouse district, and this building was one of the first structures built to accommodate the busy waterfront industries. Further east to Jarvis, the historic
An Educational Spot East on Front, you’ll find Trinity, a beautiful old street that features the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse, the oldest school building in the city and the first to offer free education. It was built in 1848 by Enoch Turner, a local brewer who employed many of the folks who lived in the area. A few steps south is Little Trinity Church, which was built for area Anglicans who couldn’t afford the steep pew rents at St. James Cathedral. While not as spectacular as the city’s other old churches, the simple Tudor Gothic styling gives it an almost magical appeal.
North to King, there’s no missing
Walk west and turn north on Toronto Street and you’ll notice a building with architecture resembling a Greek temple, complete with symmetrical Ionic columns. Occupied today by the Argus Corporation, it was once a customs office, a branch of the Bank of Canada and a Post Office.
Back on King, between Church and Leader Lane, comes the magnificent
To finish off your tour, return to
Be you business traveller or world-wandering vagabond, when visiting Toronto, there are two major options on where to stay?and more than 32,000 hotel rooms from which to choose! If you are here for a brief visit, then the airport strip is home to many excellent hotels. However, if it’s an extended trip or business that takes you into the city, then the sights and sounds of the bright lights and the big city’s downtown is what you may be looking for.
Classy Fly-By-Nights Imagine a hotel so close to the airport that the only way you’ll see a cab is if you happen to be watching Taxi Driver in your hotel room. Actually located within Toronto’s
If you’re a little more adventurous and actually would like to leave the confines of the airport, a short loop limousine ride will bring you to the Airport strip. Consisting of Airport and Dixon Roads, this piece of the Monopoly board belongs primarily to the well-known hotel chains. And, with 50 airport hotel locations throughout the world, no landing strip would be complete without the Airport Hilton, providing high-end comfort for those who prefer executive class accommodations.
As well, the newly renovated
Hospitality To The Core Toronto’s downtown is approximately a 20-minute ride from the airport, with the core offering a much greater selection when it comes to suitable accommodations?everything from five-star grand dame hotels to bring-your-own-bed youth hostels, from bed and breakfasts to room service on the terrace.
Directly opposite
Further west on Front Street is the
Then there’s
Most of the major hotel chains are represented in Toronto’s business and entertainment districts. Across from
All The Marbles With its marble pillars and vaulted ceilings, the
West of Yonge on King is the totally out of place
For those who need longer-term accommodations or accommodations that provide kitchenettes and other conveniences, Toronto has a number of executive apartments available on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. These include the
Away From The Beaten Path There are a range of B&Bs available in Toronto for those who prefer the old-fashioned comfort of a large house, the company of pleasant hosts and a secluded street close to but away from the hustle and bustle. The
Finally, for those travelling light and for both the young and the young at heart, the
The final decision, of course, is yours. Five-star luxury or bare-bones economy, Toronto is not only an accommodating place but has the accommodations to suit your needs.
C. Dwayne Smith
By Air: Toronto Lester B Pearson International Airport (YYZ) (+1 416 776 3000/http://www.gtaa.com) houses the following airlines:
Air Canada ( +1 800 776 3000/ http://www.aircanada.ca)
Air France ( +1 800 871 1366/ http://www.airfrance.com ) American Airlines (+1 800 433 7300/ http://www.aa.com) Continental ( +1 800 525 0280/ http://www.continental.com)
Delta ( +1 800 221 1212/ http://www.delta.com)
Northwest ( +1 800 225 2525/ http://www.nwa.com)
Southwest (+1 800 435 9792/ http://www.southwest.com) United ( +1 800 241 6522/ http://www.ual.com)
US Airways ( +1 800 428 4322/ http://www.usairways.com)
Rental car companies include:
Avis ( +1 800 831 2847/ http://www.avis.com )
Budget ( +1 800 527 0700/ http://www.budget.com )
Dollar ( +1 800 4000/ http://www.dollar.com )
Enterprise ( +1 800 325 8007/ http://www.enterprise.com)
Hertz ( +1 800 654 3131/ http://www.hertz.com
National ( +1 800 227 7368/ http://www.nationalcar.com )
Thrifty ( +1 800 367 2277/ http://www.thrifty.com )
Airport Shuttles include:
Airlink Airport Service (+1 519 756 1944, +1 877 405 8278)
Air York Inc. (+1 888 795 2777, +1 905 953 9980)
Airways Transit (Hamilton Division) (http://www.airwaystransit.com, +1 905 689 4460)
Coach Canada (http://www.coachcanada.com, +1 800 461 7661)
By Train:
Amtrak services Toronto daily ( +1 800 872 7245/ http://www.amtrak.com ).
By Bus:
Greyhound services Toronto from Nationwide locations ( +1 800 231 2222; +1 416 594 1010/ http://www.greyhound.ca/).
By Car:
Toronto can be accessed by Routes 8, 25, 400, and 401.
Getting Around:
The Westbound GO Bus takes passengers to central stops in Bramalea and Brampton. The Eastbound GO Bus takes passengers to north Toronto including the Yorkdale and York Mills subway stations. One-way cash adult fare is $3.40. For more information call +1 416 869 3200 or +1 888 GET ON GO (438 6646) or visit their web site at www.gotransit.com.
Mississauga Transit One-way cash adult fare is $2.25. For more information, contact Mississauga Transit Information Line at +1 905 615 INFO (615 4636) or visit their web site at www.city.mississauga.on.ca/transit.
Pacific Western Airport Express This is a 24 hour service. Destinations include the downtown bus terminal as well as several major downtown hotels. Connecting service to other downtown locations is also available for an additional fee. For more information call +1 905 564 6333 or +1 800 387 6787 or visit their web site www.torontoairportexpress.com.
Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) runs seven days a week. For more information call +1 416 393 4636 or visit their web site www.ttc.ca.
Taxi companies providing service to the Toronto area include:
Royal Taxi (+1 416 777 9222/http://www.royaltaxi.ca)
Able Atlantic Taxi (+1 416 298 1111)
Beck Taxi (+1 416 751 5555 / http://www.becktaxi.com)
Diamond Taxi (+1 416 366 6868/)
The spectacular ride up the
The ferry trip from the
The more than 7,000 fine dining establishments, bars, cafes, bistros, clubs and dance halls to suit every taste from bohemian to business.
The top-of-the-line professional sports teams?
The world-class museums, art galleries, theatres, dance companies, festivals and parades that add creativity and culture to an already vibrant city.
Any of these could serve to define Toronto. But what the city is really all about is the people. And it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the name “Toronto” comes from a Huron word meaning “Meeting Place.” That’s exactly what it is: a multicultural meeting place for more than 4.5 million, home to people of more than 70 different nationalities speaking some 100 languages. That multi-ethnic gathering has given the city an exciting and awesome energy. It has also created a place of wonderful neighbourhoods, each with its defining character and local colour: from Rosedale to Little Italy, from
Canada’s Metropolis The biggest city in Canada and the fifth largest in North America, Toronto is located on the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Laid out in a rectangular grid, the city stretches for more than 100 square kilometres.
Architecturally speaking, Toronto is an amalgam of different styles. In the early 19th century, it took much of its architectural inspiration from the Georgian style. By the end of the 19th century, the city opted for the heavier, bulkier lines of Richardsonian Romanesque. At the turn of the 20th century, the Toronto City Council opted not to put a height restriction on downtown construction as many other cities had, thus giving rise to some of the tallest buildings in the British Commonwealth, including the 34-storey
Getting Around Getting around Toronto is easier than 1-2-3. Aside from the numerous cabs that swarm the city, the Toronto Transit Commission (
While the city may once have had a reputation as Toronto The Good, a nondescript place which shut down and rolled up the sidewalks at sundown, nothing could be further from the truth today. The city is alive with some of the best theatres, museums and galleries anywhere. For example, Toronto is the third largest centre of English-speaking theatre productions in the world (next to London and New York), with more than 200 professional theatre companies and 10,000 performances a year.
One of the oldest theatre spaces in the city, the
City Of Stars Similarly, there’s a thriving film industry in the city. Often called “Hollywood North,” Toronto is sought after for its diversity, locations, excellent production centres and local talent. The
Eating out in Toronto is an experience unto itself. With a plethora of different cultures and neighbourhoods bumping into one another like pieces of tectonic plates, the cuisine is as diverse as the population?and matching any taste and affordability, from the unlimited expense account to those counting their pennies. In fact, while there are plenty of upscale haute cuisineries where price is of no concern, some of the best food Toronto has to offer is tucked away in the small eateries of the city’s original
This Sporting Life Aside from the
While there is so much to see and do, to experience and taste, it’s the residents of Toronto who give the city its special cachet. More often than not, people are glad to stop and give you directions. And don’t be surprised if they tarry and chat a while, recommending places to go or filling you in on pieces of their city’s history. This is what Toronto is all about. Not just a vast, sprawling metropolis. Not just a collection of concrete and cars. But a meeting place. The Hurons gave them the name. They try to do it proud.
British and French fur traders and explorers arriving in the late 16th century changed the power balance in the region. At first, Toronto was interesting for them only as the end of the canoe route from Quebec City. Etienne Brule, the first European known to visit the canoe “carrying place” the Hurons called Toronto, had no idea he was standing on the site of Canada’s largest city-to-be.
In 1751, the French erected Fort Rouille where Toronto stands today, thus making the city’s earliest European roots French rather than British. Destroyed only eight years later in the Seven Years’ War, the fort lay burnt until hundreds of British loyalists, fleeing the newly formed United States following the War of Independence, populated the Lake Ontario area.
Swampy Garrison Town John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada (now Ontario), set up a strategically well-positioned but swampy garrison town of 12 cottages on the lakeshore around the former French post and, in 1793, the town was named Fort York in honour of the Duke of York.
Ironically, Simcoe’s family decided to leave “Muddy York” in 1796, thinking that the stagnating settlement didn’t have much of a future. Nevertheless, by 1800, the rectangular grid-iron that still defines Toronto was laid out, largely ignoring the deep ravines, hills and small rivers that shaped the landscape.
The 700 inhabitants of York came under American occupation for a few days during the British-American War of 1812. But the Americans quickly retreated when the war started to go badly for them. In 1834, it took another influential politician to switch the city’s name back to Toronto. However, it wasn’t all clear sailing for William Lyon Mackenzie, the first mayor of the 9,000-population city under its new (old) name. In 1837, the fiery Scot was forced to flee to the U.S. after leading a failed rebellion to achieve political reform against the so-called “Family Compact,” a group of British nobles who ran the city at their discretion without any checks or balances. The group was finally brought down thanks to public outcry, and Mackenzie returned to Canada 12 years later following a pardon.
Reflecting Puritanical Roots Looking at a map of Toronto in the late 19th century, you can see an urban area reflecting its puritanical roots in the conservative layout. It also lived up to its nickname of “The Big Smoke” with a New World version of industrial London: a busy, polluting harbour, factory chimneys spewing untreated soot into the air, coal-black railways chugging away and the obligatory slums as well as mansions, Victorian colleges and churches. The nickname took on a tragic significance in 1904 when a fire destroyed more than 100 buildings in the downtown core. Fifty years earlier, nature had actually helped create a part of Toronto:
Toronto lost 10,000 lives when many of its British immigrant inhabitants volunteered to fight in World War I. Then came the Great Depression of the 1930’s, bringing hunger, homelessness and an unemployment rate over 30 percent. World War II again meant Canadian men trooping off to fight in Europe, but also British children fleeing the bombings and European refugees coming to Canada, with many settling in Toronto.
Post-war Toronto, even though it claimed close to 1 million inhabitants, was nothing like the city of today: no skyscrapers, no large Chinese, Portuguese, Greek or Italian communities, no extensive subway system, no bars and closed and curtained shops on Sundays. The new council of Metro Toronto, joining the city and its suburbs in 1953, initiated an unparalleled construction boom in the 1960’s.
A City of Superlatives Torontonians are proud of their superlatives and sometimes see life as an extension of the “Guinness Book of World Records,” an attitude that helps puff up the city’s collective chest but also lends some credence to its reputation for egocentricity (as in the long-standing joke in the newspaper headline, “Toronto Unscathed in World-Wide Nuclear Holocaust!”). The city lays claim to the tallest free-standing structure in the world (the
Peter Ustinov once called modern-day Toronto a “New York run by the Swiss.” Now that New York seems itself to be run by the Swiss, that label might no longer be appropriate. Nevertheless, the city prides itself on its clean and safe streets and large, open green spaces. More importantly, it is the cultural and financial centre of the country, an economic powerhouse with a budget bigger than that of the province of Saskatchewan, and home within a 160-km area to a full one-third of all Canadians.
The over 50 percent non-white population is shifting the city’s ethnic neighbourhoods around; old Victorian areas, once rundown or abandoned, are being gentrified; the skyline glitters from afar with bank towers and shopping skyscrapers like the 65-storey Scotia Plaza; and urban development is about to radically change the lakeshore. Outdoor festivals, patios, a new openness and willingness to have fun and to partake in public life?this is the Toronto of today.
Jutta Brendemuhl
The grassroots of theatre are just as fresh and strong in Toronto. Community-centred theatres such as
Not only is Toronto one of the most popular American film sets?watch out for huge white trucks and sealed-off streets?it’s also a great movie theatre city, especially at fringe and second-run cinemas like the
Hot Nightclub Country No, those queues you see as you walk along Richmond Street aren’t for soup kitchens. You’re in hot nightclub country, the places where only the coolest and hippest get in. Most clubs don’t specialize in one style, but often change their playlist daily from retro to dub to techno in order to attract the most diverse dance crowd. The biggest club around here is the
For live music events, the Bamboo serves up reggae/ragga/salsa, while the nearby
The
Street Life Central Over the last 10 years, Toronto has discovered street life. In the summer, you will have trouble deciding whether to go to
Icy cold winters don’t keep Torontonians from having fun. If you don’t find yourself at Harbourfront or Nathan Phillips Square for skating and hot cider, check out the plethora of museums. Canada’s largest museum is the
If you see nothing else of downtown Toronto, you have to walk
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