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16-night Niagara & Great Lakes Treasures Cruise

Price: Please call for rates - # of Days: 16 days

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7-night Niagara & The Great Lakes Cruise

Price: Please call for rates - # of Days: 7 days

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14-night Great Lakes Collection Cruise

Price: Please call for rates - # of Days: 14 days

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Overview

Introduction

The bustling downtown streets of Toronto spill into areas defined by their architecture and ethnic groups. Streetcars pass by skyscrapers that illuminate the skyline, then swoosh past bricked towers of glass, retrofitted factory warehouses, luxe hotels and shopping emporiums.

Toronto is often described as the engine that drives the nation's economy. Famous for its diversity, the country's largest city could arguably be the world's most globalized city with more than half the population hailing roots from outside the country. Meanwhile, from across the country, dreamers and schemers arrive to this metropolis along Lake Ontario's north shore seeking their fortunes.

Toronto vibrates as a cosmopolitan financial, commercial and cultural center, blending urban chic with its multicultural heritage (some 200 ethnic groups speak more than 200 languages and dialects). It has a busy stock exchange, a vibrant theater scene, leading cultural institutions, the finest shopping choices plus a large film and TV industry. Toronto sports fans love their Blue Jays, Raptors and Maple Leafs.

Toronto has soaring contemporary architecture alongside a smattering of classic Victorian and Edwardian gems, museums, performing-arts companies, fine restaurants and relaxed cafes, trendy shopping complexes and a people-friendly waterfront. Hundreds of parks keep it green (for most of the year).

Must See or Do

Sights—CN Tower; Eaton Centre (along with 19 mi/30 km of underground shopping); Toronto Islands; St. Lawrence Market; Fort York; The Distillery Historic District.

Museums—Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art; Bata Shoe Museum; Royal Ontario Museum; Art Gallery of Ontario; Hockey Hall of Fame.

Memorable Meals—Succulent steaks at Black Angus Steakhouse; anything Chinese on Spadina Avenue; drinks and Mediterranean treats at Mezes; a gourmet burger or wood-fired pizza at the Sunnyside Pavilion Cafe.

Late Night—Bistros in the trendy Queen Street West section of town; pubs in the east-end The Beach neighborhood; the cafes and bars of Little Italy; restaurants on the Danforth; dim sum in Chinatown.

Walks—Along the waterfront on the Martin Goodman Trail; passing by the shops of Queen Street West; through trendy Yorkville; around the University of Toronto.

Especially for Kids—Riverdale Farm; Centreville Amusement Park—Toronto Islands; Toronto Zoo; Black Creek Pioneer Village; Ontario Science Centre.

Geography

Toronto sits on the north shore of Lake Ontario. Bounded by two rivers, the Humber in the city's west end and the more eastern Don, Toronto has a rich tapestry of natural barriers that attract recreational types in every way through these green corridors. See vestiges of the ancient Iroquois Lake, a prehistoric lake from the Ice Age that has left its indelible mark, a ridge protruding from the city's midtown area, best seen from the site of the Casa Loma. This great ridge has a fabulous vantage point to see the lake and the islands.

Distinctive neighborhoods punctuate the various sections of the city, each with unique shops, cafes and markets. Yonge (pronounced young), one of the longest streets in the world, is the main north-south artery. Bloor and Queen streets are busy east-west thoroughfares that intersect with Yonge Street downtown. Other streets follow a fairly neat grid pattern. The airport is in the northwest corner of the city; the zoo in the northeast. The lakeshore runs along the southern edge, and Toronto's two major landmarks, the CN Tower and the Rogers Centre, are nearby.

People in Toronto refer to the city's neighborhoods by quoting streets or intersections. For example, Yonge and Bloor is the city's center, and King and Bay is the heart of the financial district. Yorkville (just north of Bloor Street, west of Yonge Street and near the Royal Ontario Museum) has the city's most upscale shops and an abundance of chic cafes. Greektown on the Danforth (the name Bloor Street adopts east of the Bloor Viaduct—between Castlefrank and Broadview subway stations) is the place to look for casual Mediterranean dining and bouzouki music. Queen Street West offers an assortment of shopping as well as fine bistros. The Beach (Queen Street, east of Woodbine) includes a 2-mi/3-km wooden promenade along the shore of Lake Ontario. Harbourfront is another waterfront development featuring luxurious condominiums, cafes, art galleries and cultural venues. Most of these areas are easily reached on foot or via public transportation.

And don't forget the PATH, more than 19 mi/30 km of underground shopping. It stretches across the downtown core and connects to major tourist attractions, parking garages and hotels. But it does not follow the grid pattern of the streets above.

History

Inhabited by the Seneca and later by the Mississauga tribe, Toronto became a thriving trading post after the French arrived in the 1600s. The French built forts there, only to be driven out by the British in 1763.

A haven for British loyalists during the American Revolution, Toronto was the site of several battles in the War of 1812, with U.S. forces capturing the city for 11 days. Retaken by the British, the settlement's population grew rapidly after the war, topping 9,000 in 1834—the year Toronto was incorporated as a city.

The city's conservative, religious character earned it the nickname "Toronto the Good" in the 1800s and early 1900s. A wave of immigrants after World War II transformed the town. Today this bustling metropolis is Canada's largest city.

Additionally, Toronto is the undisputed financial center of Canada as well as a cultural mecca for global tourists.

Potpourri

The CN Tower (the city's iconic landmark) was once the tallest freestanding structure in the world. When you visit, the tower still pledges itself as Canada's wonder of the world at its entrance. The tower has also added a few other titles, such as the highest wine cellar and the highest external walk around a building.

Toronto is dubbed Hollywood North because of the number of Hollywood movies filmed in the city, and tourists regularly rub shoulders with celebrities in its boutiques and local cafes, especially during the annual Toronto International Film Festival in September.

Not far from the Eaton Centre, the busiest downtown shopping mall in the city, sits the tranquil Church of the Holy Trinity. This is where locals and tourists alike go for a moment of peace within a hectic day. It's accessible year-round and features a walking labyrinth in the square outside.

Overlooking the waterfront, visitors will observe a string of islands known as the Toronto Islands. This bastion of green houses the city's only public clothing-optional beach, at Hanlan's Point. The islands are accessible by the Toronto Islands Ferry.

Glenn Gould, the world-renowned pianist whose most famous recording was The Goldberg Variations, lived in Toronto and is buried at the Mount Pleasant Cemetery.

The 501 Queen Streetcar is one of the longest streetcar routes in North America, covering nearly 16 mi/25 km of the city.

Toronto's Bay Street is the center of Toronto's Financial District and is often used to refer to Canada's financial industry.