Toronto : The World's Most Beautiful Cities

City Statistics

Location

Ontario, Canada.

Dialing code

Population

2,503,281 (city); 5,555,912 (metropolitan area).

Time zone

GMT - 5 (GMT - 4 from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November).

Electricity

110 volts AC, 60Hz; flat two-pin plugs are standard.

Average January temperatures

- 4.5°C (23°F).

Average July temperatures

22°C (72°F).

Annual rainfall

689mm (27.1 inches).

Toronto: Overview

Toronto stands on the northern shore of Lake Ontario and the view of the city across the water is stunning and unmistakable - the CN Tower, thrusting skyward near the water's edge, was until quite recently the world's tallest tower. Framing it is a glimmering collection of skyscrapers, which give way to a dense city centre with pleasant, leafy residential areas and parks, notably along the ravines that cut through the city.

The capital of the Province of Ontario, Toronto is Canada's largest city and the fifth largest in North America. A dominant force in the business and economy of the nation, it is also the cultural centre of English-speaking Canada.

Initially claimed by the French in the 18th century, it was not until the American Revolution caused hordes of United Empire Loyalists (loyal to the British) to escape to Toronto that the city became an established settlement. Then known as York, the town was exceedingly British in character, functioning as the administrative capital of English-speaking Upper Canada and becoming a thriving manufacturing centre by the 19th century. In 1834, the city was renamed Toronto, a Huron Indian word meaning ‘meeting place'.

The Toronto of the 19th and early 20th centuries was a law-abiding city, where rules were made and rarely broken and where the overriding concern was making money. As such, Toronto gained a reputation as a conservative, boring enclave of Protestantism, a reputation that still dogs it to some extent today. Older residents can remember the days when the city would come to a standstill on Sundays and only a handful of the very best restaurants served wine.

Towards the end of the 1950s, a surge in the arrival of immigrants infused Toronto with new foods, new languages and, most importantly, new attitudes. Italians, Portuguese and Eastern Europeans arrived first, followed by immigrants from the Caribbean, Asia and India. They settled into what would become the city's great ethnic neighbourhoods - Greektown, Little Italy and Chinatown.

Toronto gradually developed a multiethnic North American character - today, one in two of the city's residents was born outside Canada. It largely shrugged off its colonial identity, although vestiges still remain, such as the English-style pubs and the ingrained habit among conservative clubs and societies of toasting the Queen before eating.

There is a similar juxtaposition in the architecture of the city itself; at first glance, Toronto does not appear all that different from any other large American city, albeit a clean one, although closer inspection reveals preserved Victorian and Edwardian buildings and a profusion of neighbourhood pubs.

The Toronto of today is a lively, cultured place with hot, humid summers and cold, damp winters. It is the most economically important city in Canada, the centre of finance, media and services, and home to more corporate head offices than any other.

By night, its people indulge themselves at the city's numerous restaurants, bars and clubs, or at the symphony, opera and theatre. More than anything, however, Toronto is defined by its citizenry - friendly, efficient and one of the most multicultural in the world.

Toronto: Tourist Information

Toronto's Eaton Centre

Rogers Centre

Walking Tours
Walking tours of Toronto are available with A Taste of the World (tel: (416) 923 6813; website: http://www.torontowalksbikes.com/). True to its name, the company offers the ‘Kensington Foodies Roots Walk', a three hour 30 minute stroll through historic Kensington Market, sampling both the sights and the local delicacies. Tours are frequently sold out - advance reservation is recommended.

Genova Tours (tel: (416) 367 0380; website: http://www.genovatours.com/) offers a variety of year-round Toronto walking tours that cover all kinds of interests - food in St Lawrence Market, Chinatown and Little India; history at the Mount Pleasant and Necropolis Cemeteries; and star-gazing in the neighbourhoods of Yorkville and Millionaire's Row.

Ebullient tour guide Bruce Bell, the official historian of the St Lawrence Market, offers walking tours of that site and many other historic locations through Bruce Bell Tours (tel: (647) 393 8687; website: http://www.brucebelltours.ca/).

Guided tours of the city's natural heritage are available from Toronto Field Naturalists (tel: (416) 593 2656; website: http://www.torontofieldnaturalists.org/).

There are also a variety of signposted, self-guided walks that wind through the city's many parks and green spaces. Alternatively, visitors have the option of exploring the vast labyrinth of interconnected shopping areas that underlie downtown's office towers. The 27km (16-mile) PATH network (website: www.toronto.ca/path) links shopping, services and entertainment venues between the two branches of the Yonge-University-Spadina subway, south of Dundas Street.

Boat Tours
A boat tour of the harbour is a nice sightseeing experience. Toronto Tours (tel: (416) 869 1372; website: http://www.torontotours.com/) offers one-hour cruises of the inner harbour and out to the Toronto Islands, April to October.

Bus Tours
Grayline Tours (tel: (416) 594 3310; website: http://www.grayline.com/) runs hop-on, hop-off tours of the city centre in open-topped double-decker buses. A full circuit lasts two hours. The best places for passengers to hop on board are 123 Front Street West (corner of University Avenue) and the corner of Yonge Street and Dundas Street (visitors should call ahead, seeing as the company recommends booking at least 48 hours in advance).

Toronto Hippo Tours (tel: (416) 703 4476 or 1 877 635 5510; website: http://www.torontohippotours.com/) offers an ‘amphibus' (amphibious bus) from May to October. Departing from 151 Front Street West (corner of Simcoe Street), the one-hour tour of the city takes in the CN Tower, the Rogers Centre and Toronto City Hall before entering the water at Ontario Place for an additional half-hour tour around Toronto's harbour.