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travel / great places / cg recommends / toronto
| CG Recommends |
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Tantalizing Toronto
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| Busy Bloor and Yonge streets. |
While multitudes of
Canadians tend to exit urban centres on sunny spring weekends, I headed
for the country's biggest on a trip with my sister and best friend.
Set on Lake Ontario, the City of Toronto has a burgeoning population
of 2.4 million, while the Greater Toronto Area holds 4.7 million. Most
visitors to Toronto arrive at Union Station the gateway to the
huge metropolis. Housing the biggest room in Canada in its Classical
Revival great hall, subway trains, GO (commuter) trains, VIA trains
and even buses converge at Union, transporting a multitude of people
in and out of Toronto's downtown every morning and evening.
Once at Union, you can begin walking north through the city without
ever climbing to the surface. Below the city is a labyrinth of passageways
lined with shops and eateries. The underground floors of most of the
major downtown buildings
are connected by this complex myriad of shopping
alleys. Anyone can walk right from Union Station, through
the banking towers on Bay, to the Bay-Adelaide Centre on
Dundas Street. It is, however,
a happy accident if you are able to find your way correctly
the first time.
Toronto offers much to the eager visitor. Tourists raucously fill the
CN Tower, Sky Dome and Eaton's Centre almost every day of the year.
Home to great theatres, restaurants, concert halls, and four professional
sports teams, the entertainment options are endless. My personal favourite
haunts are the museums: the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Royal Ontario
Museum, and the Ontario Science Centre.
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Stately University College at
the University of Toronto. |
Just north
of the immediate downtown area lies the reason I first came to visit
the city -- the main campus of the University of Toronto, where I did
my undergraduate degree. The biggest university in Canada and older
than Confederation itself, the University is an impressive institution.
With more than 50,000 students and 200 buildings constructed in an eclectic
array of styles, the school sprawls over a good portion of central Toronto,
and it is the major property owner in that part of the city. In total,
three universities, more than five colleges, and many professional schools
make Toronto one of the country's main education centres.
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A blooming side street
near the University of Toronto. |
Waves
of immigration have greatly influenced the city's makeup. More than
80 languages are spoken here, and multiculturalism is reflected in the
physical layout of the city. The many neighbourhoods appear without
apparent order, despite the grid-like sensibility of major streets,
and delight the visitor and resident alike with their variety.
On my most recent visit to Toronto, we stayed in my favourite
neighourhood, east of downtown, where I lived as a student. The
Beach is a vibrant community of half-million-dollar homes interspersed
with tiny cottages, of urban restaurants and open shorefront,
and of stimulating conversation. Tourists from inside and outside
Toronto pour into the area every weekend from May to October
to enjoy the park, boardwalk and beach, and the restaurants and
shops that line the major artery, Queen Street East. Native "Beachers"
are discernable by their requisite dog or baby stroller, and
will argue emphatically with anyone who refers to their Beach
as "the Beaches." My favourite Beach event is the annual
Beaches International Jazz Festival, a free mile-long street
festival that runs in late July. More than 750,000 people wander
along Queen Street East enjoying jazz, blues, and Latin music
from musicians on street corners, stages and rooftops.
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The serene and social aspects
of "The Beach" neighbourhood:
Kew Park (LEFT) and Queen
Street East (RIGHT). |
Erin Rogers, Product Marketing Coordinator
To find out more about this stellar city:
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