World City Guide

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 cafés 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).