Neighborhoods:
Toronto has a multitude of ethnic neighborhoods, including Greektown (where the action continues until past midnight), Little Italy, Corso Italia, 3 Chinatowns, Korea Town, Little Poland, Little India, Portugal Village. Other ethnic communities also congregate in certain parts of the city and you can explore Jewish, Russian, Ukrainian, Somali, and many other restaurants and shops. There you can browse ethnic food, fashion, and art from far away, and sample delicacies from around the world in Toronto’s more than 7,000 restaurants.
In addition to the ethnic flavor that Toronto offers so abundantly, there are a variety of other unique neighborhoods. The center has several interesting areas to visit:
– the financial district with all its skyscrapers. It is also home to the “underground city”: 11 km (6 miles) of interconnected corridors under the streets that feature more than 1,200 stores and retail services.
– the downtown entertainment district – bars and clubs galore
– Queen Street West: a modern and eclectic shopping area
– Gay Village: This is where Toronto’s large gay and lesbian community congregates. Here you can find bars, shops, restaurants and outdoor patios.
– the fashion district with lots of trendy outlet stores and loft-style apartments turned into 19th century factories
– Port with its boat cruises and the ferry terminal, restaurants and places of art, theater and music
– Rosedale and Forest Hill: two very exclusive stately neighborhoods in a park-like setting
– Cabbagetown: a former working class area, now home to beautiful renovated Victorian homes
– Distillery District: North America’s best-preserved collection of Victorian industrial architecture, formerly the Gooderham & Worts Distillery, founded in 1832. It now houses galleries, artist studios and workshops, boutiques, retail stores, restaurants, bars, and coffee shops.
– The Beaches, one of my favorite areas, with its shops, parks, sports facilities, bike paths and beach volleyball facilities are Toronto’s version of California on the boardwalk.
Find out more about Toronto’s neighborhoods here.
Main sights and architecture
Being a relatively young city, Toronto has a fairly eclectic mix of architecture that includes
– the CN Tower, at 553 m, the tallest freestanding structure in the world
– the Skydome, a modern multipurpose stadium with a retractable roof
– the glittering skyscrapers in the center
– Historic Fort York, the site of the Battle of York during the War of 1812 and the birthplace of modern Toronto
– Old Town Hall, built in the Richardson Romanesque style
– the campus of the University of Toronto, the largest university in Canada
– Casa Loma, built in the 1920s as a dream castle by Sir Henry Pellat, a wealthy and famous Toronto industrialist
– Queens Park, the provincial government buildings, also in Romanesque style
Culture: Theater, Music, Museums
Toronto is the third largest theater center in the world. Here you can enjoy Broadway-style musicals, local productions, traveling shows, and classical concerts. Some of the great theater and music venues include the Royal Alexandra Theater, the Princess of Wales Theater, the Elgin / Winter Garden Theater, the Hummingbird Center for the Performing Arts, the Royal Thomson Hall, and many others.
You can find a more complete list of theaters and production companies at this link:
http://www.showmetoronto.com/toronto_theaters.htm
Toronto also has a great diversity of cultural institutions and museums:
– the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum)
– the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario)
– the Bata Shoe Museum
– the Hockey Hall of Fame
– the Museum of Canadian Contemporary Art
– the Bay of Spirits Gallery – Toronto’s finest collection of native arts and crafts
– Black Creek Pioneer Village: a collection of 40 restored houses, shops, public and agricultural buildings, with interpreters and artisans in period clothes.
– The Toronto Holocaust Center
– The Ontario Science Center
Markets and purchases:
– St. Lawrence Market: the original market of the city, where farmers, artists and artisans grow their products. Known for the freshness and high quality of its meat, fish and agricultural products.
– Kensington Market: Known in the 1920s as the Jewish Market, Kensington Market is today a collection of merchants from around the world. Here you can find fishmongers, buskers, improvised announcers, and crowded shoppers on the streets.
– The Eaton Center, Toronto’s famous indoor shopping mall, built around a spacious atrium, has 285 stores in the heart of downtown Toronto. It is one of the great public spaces in Canada.
– Bloor Street / Yorkville is home to many upscale designer boutiques, antique stores, galleries, spas, and restaurants.
http://www.torontotourism.com
http://www.city.toronto.on.ca
http://www.toronto.com
http://www.torinfo.com
http://www.showmetoronto.com
