Toronto

ABOUT

About Toronto

Toronto, the capital of the province of Ontario, is a major Canadian city along Lake Ontario’s northwestern shore. It's a dynamic metropolis with a core of soaring skyscrapers, all dwarfed by the iconic, free-standing CN Tower. Toronto also has many green spaces, from the orderly oval of Queen’s Park to 400-acre High Park and its trails, sports facilities, and zoo. Downtown’s cultural institutions range from the Art Gallery of Ontario and Royal Ontario Museum to the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Bell Lightbox, Toronto International Film Festival headquarters. Also here is the shopping mall, CF Toronto Eaton Centre. Nearby is Chinatown, and the stalls and coffeehouses of historic Kensington Market. Farther west, hip restaurants, boutiques, and galleries are found along Queen Street West. Ferries leave for the bucolic Toronto Islands from the waterfront, popular for strolling and cycling. To the east is the Distillery District, a 19th-century industrial zone with art galleries and boutiques.

TOP SIGHTS

CN Tower

CN Tower is a 553.3 meters high concrete communications and observation tower located in Downtown Toronto. It is the ninth tallest free-standing structure in the world and remains the tallest free-standing structure on land in the Western Hemisphere. It offers spectacular views from floor-to-ceiling panoramic window walls, world-famous Glass Floor, SkyPod, and glass-fronted elevators with glass floor panels. You can dine at the award-winning 360° restaurant and enjoy the world’s highest hands-free external walk at EdgeWalk located 1168 feet above the ground.

Ripley's Aquarium of Canada

Ripley's Aquarium of Canada is a public aquarium in Toronto. The exhibits hold more than 20,000 exotic sea and freshwater specimens from more than 450 species. The aquarium is organized into ten galleries of Canadian Waters, Rainbow Reef, Dangerous Lagoon, Discovery Centre, The Gallery, Ray Bay, Swarm: Nature by Numbers, Planet Jellies, Life Support Systems, and the Shoreline Gallery.

Casa Loma

Casa Loma is a Gothic Revival style mansion and garden in midtown Toronto that is now a historic house museum and landmark. Due to its unique architectural character in Toronto, Casa Loma has been a popular filming location for movies and television. You can see the 10,000-book library, the plant-filled conservatory complete with a marble floor and a stained glass ceiling, the 60-foot-tall Great Hall with wooden chandeliers and sculpted figures on its pillars, the beautiful gardens abounding with flowers, and the mahogany stables built with a Spanish tile floor suited for the hooves of the horses.

Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario is home to some great beaches and with just over 1000 km of shoreline, the deep blue lake is a water lover’s dream. The beaches at the lake are all easy to access and all vary. The urban neighborhood beaches around Toronto are a complete contrast to the other remote, sandy beaches that can be found here. You can enjoy numerous activities at the lake such as swimming, stand-up paddleboarding, boating, kayaking, fishing, scuba diving around shipwrecks, and even surfing the winter waves.

Toronto Eaton Centre

Toronto Eaton Centre is a shopping mall and office complex in Downtown Toronto and was named after the Eaton's department store chain that once anchored it. Toronto Eaton Centre attracts the most visitors of any of Toronto's tourist attractions and features 330 stores and restaurants.

Canada's Wonderland

Canada's Wonderland is a 134-hectare theme park located in Vaughan and Canada's largest theme park. The amusement park contains over 200 attractions, 70 thrilling rides, and a 20-acre water park. Enjoy sumptuous food at Canada’s Wonderland to satisfy your taste buds and provide more energy for you to hit up the rest of the rides.

Distillery District

Distillery District is a pedestrian-only commercial and residential district in Toronto. It is widely regarded as Canada's premier arts, culture, and entertainment destination with numerous cafes, restaurants, and shops housed within heritage buildings of the former Gooderham and Worts Distillery. The 13 acres district comprises more than forty heritage buildings and ten streets and is the largest collection of Victorian-era industrial architecture in North America.

Hockey Hall of Fame

The Hockey Hall of Fame is an ice hockey museum and hall of fame located in Toronto. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia, and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup. Visitors can view trophies, memorabilia, and equipment worn by players during special games. The Esso Great Hall, described as a Cathedral to the icons of Hockey contains portraits and biographical information about every Hall of Fame honoured member.

Yonge-Dundas Square

Yonge–Dundas Square or Dundas Square, is a public square in the city's downtown core of Toronto. The square has hosted many public events, performances, and art displays, establishing itself as a prominent landmark in Toronto and one of the city's prime tourist attractions. The intersection is one of the busiest in Canada, with over 100,000 people crossing the city's first pedestrian scramble daily.

Nathan Phillips Square

Nathan Phillips Square is an urban plaza in Toronto. It forms the forecourt to Toronto City Hall, or New City Hall, at the intersection of Queen Street West and Bay Street, and is named for Nathan Phillips, mayor of Toronto from 1955 to 1962. The square is the site of concerts, art displays, a weekly farmers' market, the winter festival of lights, and other public events.