If you are planning a trip to Toronto, you will be spoilt for choice in this exciting, and vibrant city where there is so much to do, and so much to see. Although not the capital, Toronto is Canada’s largest city – make the most of your time there with our top 10 tips by blogger Ceri Tinley:
CN Tower
This 1,815 ft structure, which until 2007 was the tallest building in the world, is undoubtedly the defining feature of Toronto’s skyline. The glass fronted elevators will whiz you up to the Look Out level at a speed of 20 ft per second, where you will enjoy breath taking views of the city. Walking across the Glass Floor, suspended 1,122 ft above the ground might take a little bit of persuasion if you are afraid of heights, but just keep telling yourself that it has been built to withstand the weight of 14 hippos, and you will be fine. If you are feeling exceptionally brave, you might like to try the Edge Walk which involves circumnavigating the tower whilst attached to a safety harness.
High Park
This enormous public park offers a haven of peace and tranquillity away from the hustle and bustle of the city. There are playgrounds, sports facilities, and picnic areas, hiking trails and even a zoo where you can see buffalo, bison, lama and deer. Don’t miss the “maple leaf circle” at the bottom of Hillside Gardens.
Toronto Islands
A fifteen minute ferry ride from down-town Toronto will transport you to this peaceful retreat. Toronto Islands provide a refreshing escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, with a beautiful view of Lake Ontario on one side, and a stunning view of the city skyline on the other. With bike rides and boat rides, beautiful gardens and sandy beaches, this is the perfect place to be on a hot summer’s day. The Rectory Café is well worth a visit.
Kensington Market
Declared a National Historic Site in 2006, this colourful and quirky multi-ethnic hub is a delight to behold. With its bustling street scene, shops selling vintage clothes and an array of food from all around the world, the atmosphere is slightly edgy but friendly and welcoming at the same time.
Sassafraz
Situated in rather quirky looking yellow Victorian house right in the heart of Yorkville, Sassafraz offers a pleasing selection of French inspired Canadian dishes served with with an air of calm and sophistication.
Niagara Falls
This natural wonder of the world is only 81 miles away from Toronto, which makes it easily accessible within a day. The town itself is surprisingly tacky, but the breathtaking beauty of the falls more than compensates. The mesmerising Maid of the Mist boat ride is an absolute must.
Royal Ontario Museum
One of the largest in North America, the Royal Ontario is a museum of world culture and natural history. Highlights include the dinosaurs, Spirit House and Stair of Wonders. It’s worth visiting just to see the great prisms of the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal bursting out of the walls of the original 100 year old building.
Canada’s Wonderland
With its 15 roller coasters, 65 rides and 200 attractions, Canada’s premier amusement park is guaranteed to keep the family happy for the whole day.
Shopping
The Eaton Centre claims to be Canada’s premier shopping destination, and as shopping centre experiences go, it is indeed a fairly pleasant one. With a multitude of international retailers and restaurants housed in a spectacular glass galleria, you should be able to find everything your heart desires all under one roof.
Hockey game
Most Canadians are passionate about Hockey and if you get the chance to go to a game, you should take it. It’s fast, furious and exciting. If you want to ingratiate yourself with the fans, make sure you refer to the sport simply as “hockey”, rather than, “ice hockey” as we might say in the UK.
TORONTO - Canada's National Tower unveiled a stunning $16 million renovation today that has transformed the iconic landmark's 1,300-sq. metre (14,000 sq. ft.) main observation level. The announcement comes on the CN Tower's 42nd birthday.
Designed to modernize and enhance the guest experience while providing truly universal access, the space has been revamped so that guests can enjoy an open, modern look and feel. This is the most significant enhancement to the CN Tower since it opened its doors in 1976.
An all new Glass Floor has been installed directly above the original, providing a dramatic, two-tier vertical view 346 metres (1,136 feet) towards the ground.
New floor-to-ceiling glass "Window Walls" have been installed across three separate sections of the observation level, providing near seamless unobstructed panoramic views. Using the latest in engineering technology, the "Window Walls" enable children and people with mobility challenges to fully enjoy the breathtaking panoramic views of Toronto.
"It's essential that CN Tower's renovation and upgrades tie into our commitment to accessibility," said John McBain, President and CEO, Canada Lands Company, owner and operator of the CN Tower.
"The Window Walls and new Glass Floor take the visitor experience to the next level and ensure it remains thrilling and unique among the world's greatest towers".
Three new food bistros offer guests an opportunity to sample Canadian food and beverages, while taking in 360 degree panoramic views of Toronto. The new observation level also features scalable space that can be customized to host events for up to 800 guests.
In concert with the renovation of the main observation level, the CN Tower also launched a new, free Viewfinder App for mobile devices. The App features spectacular day and night 360 degree panoramic images of Toronto and surrounding area. Users will be able to identify more than 90 landmarks. The Viewfinder App is available in in five languages – English, French, Spanish, Korean and Mandarin and is available for download at the App Store and Google Play.
"We are thrilled to introduce an all new observation experience, including the new CN Tower Viewfinder App, as part of our 42nd anniversary" said Neil Jones, Chief Operating Officer, CN Tower.
"The CN Tower enjoyed record breaking attendance last year, but we believe it is important to keep innovating. As a national icon, the experiences we offer our guests should always be at world-class levels. We feel this renovation accomplishes that goal".
CN Tower
At a height of 553.33 metres (1,815 ft., 5 inches), Canada's National Tower is an engineering Wonder, award-winning dining and entertainment destination, and has been Toronto's "must-see" attraction for over four decades. The CN Tower was visited by more than 1.98 million people last year. (Includes 370,000 360 Restaurant guests and 18,000 EdgeWalk guests)
www.cntower.ca
Recent awards and certifications:
Trip Advisor Hall of Fame for CN Tower, EdgeWalk and 360 Restaurant (Awarded to businesses that have received a Certificate of Excellence for five consecutive years)
Prix de XX siècle by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (recognizes buildings over 25 years old that have become landmarks of Canadian architecture)
Best Bar None, best restaurant: 360 Restaurant (an industry-led international accreditation and awards program that rewards excellence amongst responsible liquor sales licensees)
Baxter Travel Media, Agent's Choice Award - Favourite Attraction
Business of the Year Award, Tourism Industry Association of Canada (recognizing excellence, outstanding contribution and accomplishments in the Canadian tourism industry)
Feast On Certification (recognizes businesses committed to sourcing Ontario grown and made food and drink)
Ocean Wise–360 Restaurant is a proud partner of this sustainable seafood program
About Canada Lands Company
Canada Lands Company is a self-financing federal Crown corporation whose sole shareholder is the Government of Canada. Its role is to optimize the community and economic value obtained from former government properties as well as holding and maintaining select properties on behalf of the federal government. It is a demonstrated leader in attractions management with its operations of the CN Tower and Downsview Park in Toronto plus the Old Port of Montréal and the Montréal Science Centre. www.clc.ca
The recent introduction of marriage equality has improved Germany’s position in the SPARTACUS Gay Travel Index, ranking the most LGBT-friendly destination countries. Germany now shares third place with eleven other countries. Canada and Sweden find themselves at the top of the list. The SPARTACUS Gay Travel Index is updated annually and informs travelers on the situation of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgeCabnders (LGBT) in 197 Countries and Territories.
For the first time this year, the SPARTACUS Gay Travel Index also takes into account the legal situation of transgender individuals. Canada gets full marks in this criterion and thus manages to secure joint top spot in the Index for the first time, along with Sweden. The top ten LGBT-friendly countries further consist of mostly European Union countries that have already introduced marriage equality legislation, such as The Netherlands, France, Spain and Belgium. The SPARTACUS Gay Travel Index also sees improvements in Israel, Colombia, Cuba and Botswana. On the other hand, due to numerous killings of gays, lesbians and transsexuals in 2017, Brazil has been rated down markedly compared to previous years. The USA are also on the losing side, now being ranked on 39th rather than their previous 34th place. This is mostly due to attempts by the Trump administration to curtail transgender rights in the military as well as repealing anti-discrimination legislation that had been introduced under the previous government.
Overall, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Malawi garnered particularly negative scores, with Russian Federal Republic Chechnya coming dead last in the index, due to the the state-organised persecution and killings of homosexuals in 2017 taking place there.
The SPARTACUS Gay Travel Index is assembled using 14 criteria in three categories. The first category is civil rights. Among other things it assesses whether gays and lesbians are allowed to marry, whether there are antidiscrimination laws in place, or whether the same age of consent applies to both heterosexual and homosexual couples. Any discrimination is recorded in the second category. This includes, for example, travel restrictions for HIV positive people and the ban on pride parades or other demonstrations. In the third category, threats to individuals by persecution, prison sentences or capital punishment are assessed. Evaluated sources include the human rights organization “Human Rights Watch”, the UN “Free & Equal” campaign, and year-round information on human rights violations against members of the LGBT community.
TORONTO, ON – Celebrating its address in the heart of the city’s vibrant Annex neighbourhood, Kimpton announces its first ever Toronto hotel, Kimpton Saint George, located at 280 Bloor Street West between Huron and St. George Street, will open in Summer of 2018.
Now taking reservations for stays commencing July 1, the highly anticipated addition to Bloor Street’s Culture Corridor will pay homage to the community’s history and honour its location at the intersection of arts, culture, and expression. “Toronto is one of the most dynamic cities in the world right now with its own distinct identity and culture, making it a perfect home for Kimpton,” said Ron Vlasic, Vice President of Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants. “We’re thrilled to be opening the first boutique hotel that embodies the essence of the lively Annex neighbourhood, in the hub of the city’s arts, culture and dining scene.”
As North America’s boutique hotel pioneer, Kimpton is known for embracing a locally oriented approach to its design, service and guest experience in all its 66 locations. With forward-thinking, residential-inspired design, want-for-nothing amenities and heartfelt service, Kimpton Saint George will embody all the hallmarks of an authentic Kimpton experience and proudly showcase the brand’s success in re-inventing existing structures and imagining boutique hotels that garner civic pride.
Located amidst Toronto’s world class museums and attractions including the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, Bata Shoe Museum, Gardiner Museum, Royal Conservatory of Music and a litany of independent shops, cafes, galleries and arts institutions ripe for exploration, Kimpton Saint George will offer its guests access to Toronto’s multi-faceted cultural scene in one of its most notable districts.
Reservations are currently available for dates of stay starting July 1. As the hotel moves closer to completion, earlier dates will open for availability. For more information, visit www.kimptonsaintgeorge.com and follow along on the hotel’s journey to its summer opening on Facebook and Instagram.
ABOUT KIMPTON SAINT GEORGE
Debuting Summer 2018 at 280 Bloor Street West, Kimpton Saint George is a 14-story, 188-key, artfully designed hotel, including 20 suites, a Presidential Suite and approximately 1,500 square feet of ground level meeting space. Distinguished for its residentially-inspired design, local touches, dynamic gastropub dining, and genuine service, Kimpton Saint George is located in the vibrant Annex neighborhood, walking distances to world class museums, attractions, and independent shops, cafes and galleries. For more information, visitwww.kimptonsaintgeorge.com and follow along on Facebook and Instagram.
ABOUT KIMPTON HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
San Francisco-based Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants is the acknowledged industry pioneer that introduced the boutique hotel concept to the United States in 1981. Anchored in one-of-a-kind experiences, Kimpton operates more than 60 hotels and 70 restaurants, bars and lounges across urban locations, resort destinations and up and coming markets in the United States, Europe and the Caribbean. Time and again, Kimpton has demonstrated its commitment to creating spaces and experiences that are centered on its guests. From inspiring design that evokes curiosity to forward-thinking flavors that feed the soul, every detail is thoughtfully curated and artfully delivered. The Kimpton experience is always meaningful, unscripted and ridiculously personal.
Kimpton is highly regarded for its workplace culture and has been consistently recognized on the FORTUNE magazine “100 Best Companies to Work For” list. Empowered employees bring to life the heartfelt guest experience that has come to define Kimpton. In January 2015, Kimpton became part of the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) family of hotel brands. For more information, visit www.KimptonHotels.com.
Is that your stomach that we hear growling? The list of restaurants participating in the 6th edition of MTLàTABLE is finally available! From Thursday, November 2, to Thursday, November 16, 2017, 175 restaurants will offer tables d’hôte menus priced at $21, $31 and $41 for the evening meal, as well as brunch for $15 in some restaurants. Now’s the time to choose!
Special events
Many culinary events will be offered during the 2017 edition of MTLàTABLE: culinary visits, local food product tastings, dinner shows, musical performances, wine events, Relais & Châteaux experiences, chocolate desserts, and much more.
Delicious moments
MTLàTABLE is a unique opportunity to get together over a meal, share special moments and discover new flavours. A proud partner of MTLàTABLE, Aeroplan offers its members many advantages so that this celebration of flavours brings them unforgettable memories.
Wine events
The SAQ will present the Salon des Vins d’Importation Privée (private import wine show), the largest gathering of artisan winemakers in Canada, from October 28 to 30. In addition, the Grande Dégustation de Montréal (wine-tasting event) will be held from November 2 to 4. Nearly 200 winemakers, distillers and brewers from around the world will gather at Place Bonaventure.
The Holocaust was the mass extermination of over six million Jews and millions of other victims, and one of the darkest chapters in human history. The National Holocaust Monument unveiled today in Ottawa, Canada, commemorates the millions of people who suffered such atrocities at the hands of the Nazi regime, and pays tribute to those whose stories must never be forgotten.
Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today inaugurated the National Holocaust Monument in Ottawa. The monument serves to honor the victims and survivors of the Holocaust, and the important lessons it so painfully taught us.
The monument also stands as a testament to the resilience and courage of Holocaust survivors. Many found a home in Canada, and profoundly shaped our country and society.
In honoring the victims of the Holocaust, we recognize their humanity, which no human act can erase. The National Holocaust Monument reminds us that it is our collective and vital responsibility to stand against anti-Semitism, racism, and hatred, and to bring meaning to the solemn vow, “never again.”
“This monument, so close to our Parliament and Supreme Court, is a reminder of the devastating cost of allowing hatred and tyranny to overcome openness, inclusion, and freedom. Today we reaffirm our unshakeable commitment to fight anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia, and discrimination in all its forms, and we pay tribute to those who experienced the worst of humanity. We can honor them by fighting hatred with love, and seeking always to see ourselves in each other,” said Rt. Honorable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada.
The Honorable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage, said: “This monument is a powerful tribute to the millions of Jewish men, women and children and other victims whose lives were extinguished during one of the darkest chapters in human history. As we reflect and honor their memory, we also pay tribute to the courage and strength of the survivors who came to Canada following the Holocaust. Their stories are a powerful reminder of our responsibility to stand against anti-Semitism and prejudice in all its forms and to never allow intolerance and hate to take root in our communities. We will never forget.”
Summer in the city … Montreal explodes with festivals from May onwards. Photograph: Alamy
It’s got Gallic charm, North American grit and parties like nowhere else. And with two new direct flights starting from the UK, Montreal now makes a perfect city break
Montreal doubled for Brooklyn in John Crowley’s eponymous 2015 film, has been dubbed the next Seattle, and last year became the new “city that never sleeps” when Mayor Denis Coderre extended retail opening hours in the downtown district to 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Not that high living is anything new for the city on an island in the St Lawrence river. During prohibition, Montreal (a convenient train ride from New York) was known as the place where the drink flows and anything goes, and it has been living up to that reputation ever since. It has more than 100 festivals through the summer – many of them free – and chic new hotels such as the ALT Hotel (doubles from £100 room only) and downtown Renaissance (doubles from £155 room only). Add in two new low-cost flights from London Gatwick – WestJet launched two weeks ago (from £145 one-way) and Wow Air launches this week (from £99 one-way) – and Montreal may soon become the latest North American city break.
I didn’t have to look far to discover Montreal’s party spirit. Old Montreal, the city’s historic district, is where most tourists end up. It has good museums, the cobblestoned, 17th-century Rue St-Paul and the impressive 200-year-old Notre Dame basilica (see fitzandfollwell.co for guided tours of Old Montreal from £41pp). Across the harbour, the Biodome (£10.50 adult, £5.40 child) houses an excellent recreation of the four major ecosystems of the Americas: from the rainforest of the south to the polar tips of the north.
The Latin Quarter has good restaurants and fun bars, such as the 1920s-style speakeasy En Cachette. Venues such as La Sala Rossa and the Fairmount Theatrehost live music every night of the week. And for outdoor fun, there are 217 miles of cycle paths, hundreds of parks (including Mount Royal, with views across the city), the nine-mile Lachine Canal for kayaking and canoeing, and one of the world’s best standing river waves – surfers can ride this continuous wave on the St Lawrence river all day, without moving an inch.
All of which is great, but it’s not where the real action is. The new spirit of Montreal lies on the periphery, in former industrial districts such as Mile End, Saint-Henri and Little Burgundy, where vibrant artist communities are shooting up like flowers from the pavement.
To explore them, I took a different kind of tour. Rather than traditional sights and histories, Danny Pavlopoulos, co-founder of Spade & Palacio, offers a look around his home turf, the Plateau district, just north of downtown (spadeandpalacio.com, from £47pp including food and drink tastings). We had pastries in his local Café Le Dépanneur (206 Rue Bernard Ouest), which is also Montreal band Arcade Fire’s coffee-stop of choice. We swung by his favourite brewpub, the Dieu du Ciel for a glass of Péché Mortel (deadly sin), a thick coffee-infused stout (my favourite, though, was the very hoppy Babylone IPA at Montreal’s first microbrewery, Le Cheval Blanc) and tried the unofficial favourite food of Quebec province, poutine. This is cheesy chips and gravy, but somehow infinitely more delicious: Patati Patata (4177 Boulevard Saint-Laurent) is the locals’ favourite.
Classic poutine, with chips, gravy and cheese curd. Photograph: Alamy
Danny also showed me where to buy the best threads (Clark St Mercantile, which is big on independent brands, including its own clothing line); the best place for sundowners (Alexandraplatz Bar, a pop-up drinking den in a former warehouse in the Mile-Ex district); and the best summer parties (Piknic Electronik, for outdoor DJ sets on Ile Sainte-Hélène every summer Sunday, tickets from about £7). People hugged him on the streets, and I met his friends.
Later, I headed south to Little Burgundy. Along with neighbouring Griffintown, this former working class district is like the city’s Mile End district was 10 years ago: arty but still edgy. It’s swiftly becoming the foodie capital of Montreal, too. Famous spots like Joe Beef and Liverpool House, sister restaurants on Rue Notre Dame Ouest, have become synonymous with this city’s no-nonsense, high-quality food – the lobster spaghetti (£26) and oysters from its seafood bar come highly recommended. But there are also new treats, such as experimental Le Fantome (1832 Rue William), known for peanut butter and jam sandwiches with foie gras, and hip cafe-cum-bakery La Bête à Pain, which has just opened a branch on Rue Young a little way north in Griffintown.
There are excellent cultural spaces too. Warehouse-style galleries such as Arsenaland Division Gallery, both on Rue William, are smaller than the main museums downtown but more challenging – until 3 July, for example, an interactive, virtual- and augmented-reality exhibition called Automata examines the impact of artificial intelligence on art and culture.
Montreal is an in-between land. It is a city of two tongues, two minds and two ways of life. French is the official language, but half the city speaks English. It’s like the confluence of two rivers: some of the waters blend together, but others may never mix. That creates a clash.
A stylised mural near the riverfront in Montreal Photograph: George Rose/Getty Images
“Living in Montreal is like dating someone with borderline personality disorder,” says Russ Cooper, a local guitarist. The French influence is everywhere: bars look more like brasseries, chip shops offer hand-cut frites and the patisseries rival Paris – including one that’s so good it’s called the G-spot (Point G) known for its macaroons. But there are also things that France would never condone: fine dining restaurants with tattooed waiters, microbrewed beer that trumpsappellation controlée wine, gastronomy that is experimental and fresh.
And that’s what makes Montreal special. Differences generate new ideas. Montreal now has the world’s second-highest proportion of people employed in creative industries (after London). The National Film Board of Canada has become a world leader in virtual reality and interactive films, picking up six Webby Awards for innovation this year. Montreal is also the third-largest centre in the world for video game production and fourth-largest for visual effects.
Cobbled Rue Saint-Paul in downtown Montreal. Photograph: Alamy
Arts centres such as downtown’s PHI offer constant streams of pioneering creative content, from boundary-pushing theatre and music to digital art installations, ground-breaking cinema and more. And the more creative the city becomes, the more creative people come here. There is a palpable sense of ingenuity and imagination on the streets.
And there’s plenty to do, too. This summer sees the Mural Festival of street art (9-19 June), a Circus Arts Festival (7-17 July), the Montreal International Fireworks Competition (2-30 July), as well as events for comic books, kites, folk music, rock’n’roll and reggae. Montreal now has the biggest comedy festival in the world – Just for Laughs (13-31 July), this year hosting Jimmy Carr and Russell Howard from the UK, often in small, intimate venues – not to mention the world’s largest jazz festival (June 29-July 9).
More than one local I met said their only complaint was that they felt guilty for having a night in.
Electronic arts are thriving, too. I visited during Montreal’s Digital Spring, a city wide celebration of arts numeriques (until 21 June) and in one night explored a gallery of first world war photographs displayed in virtual reality beside endless rows of gravestones, and ended up on my back in a 360-degree acid-trip-inspired planetarium show at a cool technological arts bar and event space called S.A.T. Things like that tend to happen here.
Early summer is the best time to come. In winter, temperatures drop to skin-burning degrees and people hibernate like bears. (Although there are exceptions: “Dancing in a one piece fluorescent ski suit in -35C is pretty special,” one local told me.) Summer is the release. Bars and restaurants take over the streets, music rings from every corner, flowers bloom and colour floods the city. It’s like the final bell of the summer term, when all the kids run out to play.
Le Mal Nécessaire, a pineapple-themed bar in Chinatown
And play I did. My last night started in a pineapple-themed bar in Chinatown, Le Mal Nécessaire, then I moved on to watch award-winning Canadian comic Heidi Foss and sidestepped to Little Italy and a new, retro pinball machine joint calledNorth Star. I should have ended the evening listening to Seb Black perform at Emery Street Studios, but somehow, four giant bowling-pin-sized beers later, ended up with my head nearly in a plate of poutine at Patati Patata. And that was just an “ordinary” Friday night out.
Montreal’s not the new Brooklyn or the new Seattle. It’s not France, Great Britain or America. It’s not even really Canada. It’s its own thing, an island city. On Place d’Armes, in Old Montreal, a pair of sculptures depict a French woman holding a poodle and a British man holding a pug. The humans are turning away from each other, but the poodle and the pug just want to play. Perhaps, more than anything, they encapsulate the spirit of this city.
Because whatever clashes and harmonies this city creates, what matters most is that right now, the winter is over, the sun is out, there’s music playing – and Montreal is up for a good time. • The trip was provided by Tourism Montreal (tourisme-montreal.org), Tourisme Québec (quebecoriginal.com) and Explore Canada (explore-canada.co.uk)
This article was amended on 24 May: it said, incorrectly, that Piknik Electronique was at Mont-Royal, and was free.
Niagara Falls
