Restaurants, boutiques, arts, and entertainment are The Distillery Historic District's claim to fame. This pedestrian-only village features more than 40 heritage buildings that now house everything a modern traveller might enjoy. New fashion can be found in restored, Victorian-era buildings; culinary inventions are hidden behind weathered red brick walls; and art galleries and performance venues host events year-round. The sector gets its name from the Gooderham & Worts whiskey distillery, which used to occupy many of the buildings. |
One of Canada's greatest landmarks and one of the seven wonders of the modern world, the CN Tower has come to define the Toronto skyline. At 553 metres in height, this engineering wonder is hard to miss during any trip through the city and you don't want to miss it. Beyond being a very cool building you can take an elevator up to the revolving 360 Restaurant for world-class dining. |
Casa Loma is an extraordinary building of a medieval castle. It was originally constructed in 1914 for Sir Henry Pellatt, who was an eccentric Canadian multi millionaire who was among the first to recognize and exploit the money-making potential of Niagara Falls. |
The Royal Ontario Museum is the biggest museum of world cultures and natural history in Canada. Located right in downtown Toronto, the striking main entrance to the museum, known as The Crystal and designed by Michael Lee Chin, will draw you in right away. Inside, the museum houses exhibits that run the gamut from dinosaurs to ancient Egypt to Canada's First Nations. There are about six million objects that the museum has in its collections.This museum is around 100-year-old museum and is a favorite of locals and tourists alike. |
The Ripley's Aquarium of Canada allows you to live that experience, while exposing you to another 16,000 marine animals hosted on site. It takes 5.7 million litres of water to host all of those animals, from southern stingrays, to 65-year-old giant lobsters, to giant pacific octopus, to nettle jellyfish. |
A remarkable 90,000 works of art live inside the walls of the Art Gallery of Ontario, one of the biggest and best art museums in North America. Observe the lauded work of Canada's Group of Seven art collective, part of the largest collection of Canadian art in the world. Then travel the globe, from the African Art Gallery to the extensive European collection, and travel back in time, from the Renaissance and Baroque eras to the present day. Photography, sculpture, graphic art, installations; Rubens, Goya, Picasso and Rembrandt; the AGO covers it all. Even the building is a work of art. World-renowned architect and Toronto-born Frank Gehry, the man behind the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, designed an expansion to the AGO in 2008 that has earned critical acclaim. |
Every year, some of the biggest celebrities in the world — and tons of their fans — flock to Ontario for the Toronto International Film Festival. TIFF turns the entire city into a 10-day party during which you can screen cutting-edge cinema, meet filmmakers and celebrities, or just enjoy the celebration with the entire community. Even if you're not in Toronto during the September festival, TIFF has a year-round presence that brings a lot to the table. |
You only need to travel 10 minutes from the city of Toronto to enter a completely different world. Hop on a ferry and embark on a journey to the Toronto Islands, an attraction-filled destination where relaxation is the name of the game. There are no cars, so you're going to want to rent a bike or rollerblades to explore the chain of islands — the three big ones being Centre, Ward's and Algonquin — which are connected by a series of pathways and bridges. Along the water you'll find four beautiful beaches, while summer cottages from the 1920s and impressive English gardens are one of the main draws on land. A maze on the islands serves to test your wits, while the haunted lighthouse tests your courage. From picnics, to paddleboats, to ponies, the Toronto Islands offer a great contrast to the busy city while still enjoying the view of the skyline! |
Right in the middle of Toronto's historic Old Town district you'll find one of the city's best foodie destinations: the St. Lawrence Market. The market has existed in some form since 1803, and though the complex has evolved, it still contains an authentic farmer's market — the best in the world according to a 2012 National Geographic article — complete with specialty foods and restaurants for every taste. All of that history can be discovered in a little more depth during a walking tour of the complex, which also houses venues for business and social events, and countless local artisans selling souvenirs, clothing, jewellery, and more. |
If you have never seen a game before, you may want to pay a visit to the Hockey Hall of Fame to get up to speed with Canada's favourite sport. Ice hockey is often used to define Canada and it's here on display, with 65,000 square feet filled to the brim with artifacts, mementos, and relics straight from the rink. Learn about the 388 members inducted into the Hall of Fame, and see the sticks, gloves, pucks, and even nets from some of the greatest games ever played. |