Drive into Toronto today and you’ll discover amazing things. The skyline looks awesome, because it is. The sidewalks appear more crowded, and they are. It is also possible to wonder if the traffic isn’t more horrible than you know. You would be correct.
Almost three million people at the moment are living in Toronto, with more of them living and working in the town’s center. Toronto the town has become barely more fun than Chicago. The place is hosting close to seven million people, with additional new arrivals predicted to increase in the coming years.
What does this all suggest? Usually, in today Toronto is significantly different than the Toronto of a few years in the past. It is more vibrant, less predictable. Flatly put, it is more interesting. They even have real scandals now – the kind that will seize the eye of seen-it-all People. (Possibly you saw the headlines, the other week?)
If you reside within a driving distance – and many do – now’s is the amazing time to enjoy your holiday.
You can have a full Toronto Tour in a party bus or by hiring a limo. This place is a definitely a good walking town. Really pedestrian-pleasant cities are few and far between with this continent. Toronto is not ideal, but it definitely ranks up there. Walk for miles along Queen Street West, from the steely canyons of the Financial District, through the cities quarters, down to Parkdale, not long ago a washed up slum and now on the main edge of cool. Take long, gradual walks across the pathways that line Lake Ontario, or disappear into the Valley and onto its trail network, a good escape from the center of town.
The language food is outstanding. Outside Los Angeles and Vancouver, nowhere in America will you find the variety, high quality and immediacy in Chinese cooking that you find in Toronto. Most of your best meals shall be out in bland suburban malls, in unremarkable locations like Richmond Hill and Markham. But it is – and trusts this – totally worth the trek. If you’re feeling lazy, Chinatown part hubbed alongside lower Spadina Avenue is no slouch.
The summer cultural calendar is intense. There’s a lot happening in town, good, but in summer, you completely cannot beat the Shaw Pageant (in Niagara-on-the-Lake) and the Stratford Pageant for quality and volume. Each has their very specific roots. Each now have a different calendar, from obscure plays to crowd-pleasing musicals, that includes a roster of top notch performers. The vibe at both festivals is laidback; both are pretty simple day tours from city and ticket rates that are pretty reasonable. If you’re into theater, a trip to both festivals is a must.
The town’s historic markets are worth a trip. Irrespective of what any one tries to tell you, Toronto’s restaurant scene still lags behind many cities in the United States. It’s not like they don’t definitely have the substances — so far as provisioning goes, things are quite up to par. The basic St. Lawrence Market is stuffed with essentials like smelly Quebec cheeses, surprising Canadian wines, natural veggies and lots of readymade dishes. Spend as much time as you might be ready to grazing right here – this historic landmark is just a brief walk from many downtown accommodations. Slightly more out but a lot more fascinating is the basic Kensington Market, a magnificently old-college place of town that feels just like an extended version of Philadelphia’s Italian Market, with shops that appear to have been there dispensing bulk candy and nuts, cheese and whatever you will need.
