Insight Guides - Insight Guides Explore Toronto & Ontario (Travel Guide eBook)

How To Use This E-Book

This Explore Guide has been produced by the editors of Insight Guides, whose books have set the standard for visual travel guides since 1970. With top-quality photography and authoritative recommendations, these guidebooks bring you the very best routes and itineraries in the worlds most exciting destinations.

Best Routes

The routes in this book provide something to suit all budgets, tastes and trip lengths. As well as covering the destinations many classic attractions, the itineraries track lesser-known sights. The routes embrace a range of interests, so whether you are an art fan, a gourmet, a history buff or have kids to entertain, you will find an option to suit.

We recommend reading the whole of a route before setting out. This should help you to familiarise yourself with it and enable you to plan where to stop for refreshments options are shown in the Food and Drink box at the end of each tour.

Introduction

The routes are set in context by this introductory section, giving an overview of the destination to set the scene, plus background information on food and drink, shopping and more.

Directory

Also supporting the routes is a Directory chapter, with our pick of where to stay while you are there and select restaurant listings; these eateries complement the more low-key cafs and restaurants that feature within the routes and are intended to offer a wider choice for evening dining. Also included here are some nightlife listings and our recommendations for books and films about the destination.

Getting around the e-book

In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

Maps

All key attractions and sights mentioned in the text are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map] just tap this to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

Images

Youll find lots of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of the destination. Simply double-tap on an image to see it full-screen.

2021 Apa Digital AG

License edition Apa Publications Ltd UK

Table of Contents

COVID-19 Updates

While travelling in Canada, be sure to heed all local laws, travel advice and hygiene measures. While weve done all we can to make sure this guide is accurate and up to date, be sure to check ahead.

Recommended Routes For...

ART LOVERS

Toronto is proud of its top art galleries. Enjoy the Canadian paintings at the Art Gallery of Ontario ().

Shutterstock

ESCAPING THE CROWDS

Cycle or stroll the lovely woods and pond-like lagoons of the Toronto Islands ().

Shutterstock

FAMILIES

Families should never feel marooned in Toronto with a hatful of attractions to suit every age shoot up to the top of the CN Tower ().

Khristel Stecher/Tourism Toronto

FOODIES

Get those taste buds singing amidst Torontos army of cafs and restaurants perhaps nibble a Portuguese custard tart at St Lawrence Market ().

Shutterstock

HISTORIANS

Anyone interested in Canadian history is spoilt for choice: there are two splendid stockades, Fort York ().

Destination Ontario

ISLAND HOPPING

Catch a boat to explore the wild and beautiful Georgian Bay Islands National Park ().

Destination Ontario

VILLAS AND GARDENS

Toronto is graced by a trio of delightful villas: Campbell House (), is all things kitsch. The gardens at Spadina are a real pleasure.

Shutterstock

NATURAL WONDERS

No debating whats at the top of this list it has to be Niagara Falls ().

Destination Ontario

Explore Toronto & Ontario

Fast paced and exciting, Toronto is Canadas biggest city and the capital of the province of Ontario. It lies at the heart of the countrys business and finance sectors, but it also packs a real punch when it comes to all things cultural.

St Lawrence Market, the citys best food and drink market

Shutterstock

From inauspicious beginnings the first British settlement here was renowned for its cloying muddiness Toronto has developed into one of the great cities of North America, relatively safe to visit and generally civil in its demeanour. The city is also justifiably proud of its world-class performing arts scene and is something of a beacon for multiculturalism, its distinctive neighbourhoods proclaiming their diversity in a staggering range of restaurants and cultural institutions which are dotted around both Toronto and Ontario.

Geography and Layout

The sprawling city of Toronto radiates out from the northern shore of Lake Ontario, its downtown dominated by a herd of mighty skyscrapers that are themselves overseen by the soaring CN Tower. Indeed, the CN Tower is visible from almost anywhere in the city, unless its a particularly cloudy day, and Lake Ontario is always south, no matter where you are. Unlike many a North American city, Torontonians dont just work downtown, but eat, play, and sleep there, making the city centre an especially lively place crowded with restaurants, cafs, bars, stores and theatres. Most of the principal tourist attractions are here as well, from the delights of the Art Gallery of Ontario through to the Hockey Hall of Fame, and you can stroll leisurely from one to another with an occasional trip on a streetcar or the subway to speed things along. Edging downtown are Torontos most diverse and interesting neighbourhoods, most memorably Kensington Market, Chinatown and Little Italy and you can even hop on a ferry to savour the rustic charms of the Toronto Islands.