Does Toronto Have Enough Tourist Pull?

[gabe]

Really depends on the individual/group and their personal interests but here's my generalized list of suggestions. Not necessarily in absolute order:

1) CN Tower
2) Toronto Islands (seasonal)
3) ROM
4) Casa Loma
5) Distillery District
6) AGO
7) St. Lawrence Market
8) Ripley's Aquarium
9) City Hall/Nathan Phillips Square
10) Eaton Centre

Additional options:
-Parks: High Park, Riverdale Park, Trinity Bellwoods, waterfront trail all the way to the Humber Bay area, Scarborough Bluffs, Rouge Park, etc
-U of T downtown campus
-Canada's Wonderland
-Toronto Zoo
-Historical theatres: Ed Mirvish theatre, Elgin and Winter Garden theatre, Royal Alexandra, Massey Hall, etc
-Historical buildings: Union Station, Royal York Hotel, Gooderham building, Osgoode Hall, Old City Hall, Queen's Park, St. Lawrence Hall, old downtown churches, etc
-Notable neighbourhoods: Kensington Market, St. Lawrence area, Financial District, Queen West, King West, Ossington, Chinatown, The Annex, Yorkville, The Beaches, etc
-Black Creek Pioneer Village
-Other museums: Ontario Science Centre, Hockey Hall of Fame, Bata Shoe Museum, Gardiner Museum, Fort York, Aga Khan, Spadina Museum, etc
-Sporting event: Raptors, Maple Leafs, Blue Jays, Toronto FC, etc
-Seasonal events: CNE, Pride, Caribana, TIFF, etc
-Malls: Yorkdale, Dufferin Mall, suburban malls, etc
-Restaurant/bar hopping areas: Queen West, King West, Ossington, Dundas West, Leslieville, Chinatown, Kensington Market, College Little Italy, The Annex, Koreatown, the Junction, Bloorcourt/Bloordale, Greektown, Midtown, NYCC, the suburbs, etc
-Out of town excursions within 3 hours or so: Niagara Falls, Niagara on the lake, Hamilton (waterfalls), Prince Edward County, a variety of nice small towns, provincial parks, etc

I will add Love Park and Toronto Harbour boat tours to the list. Back in early September I took my mom's elderly cousin and her husband on a tour of the city. They are outdoorsy type people from England. They loved our parks like High Park, and Riverdale park. I had to scratch Allen Gardens off the must see list for the obvious reasons. They loved our waterfront and even Love Park as well. I did the Harbour boat tour with them, which i have never done and surprisingly enjoyed it! The young tour guide really knew his buildings and Toronto history, i was impressed!

 

[jfil]

I think, for a visitor from outside North America, one fascinating thing about Toronto is how the wealthy coexist with the rest of the residents. The wealthy are integrated into the city and their neighbourhoods are accessible to everyone - a testament to how safe and stable our society is.

• For staggering mega-mansions: visit the Bridle Path neighbourhood west of Lawrence & Leslie. It is best to visit by car, because the neighbourhood is (intentionally) pedestrian un-friendly and the distances are vast.
• For a wealthy enclave so close to Downtown: visit the Rosedale neighbourhood. At Crescent & Yonge, grab coffee at the Black Camel Cafe and walk Eastward. Beautiful older houses, pedestrian friendly and the gardens are great.
• For the way in which regular people can access a millionaire neighbourhood: visit the Yorkville neighbourhood. Have a coffee at A-OK, visit the "Yorkville Village" mall. Then, just steps away, see the rental buildings at Bloor and Sherbourne. An example of how wealth and poverty intermingle, so near each other. Have Filipino lunch at Tinuno.

The separation between rich and poor is very subtle, often done using the city's infrastructure. (In Bridle Path: why doesn't Lawrence connect to Bayview? In Rosedale: the meandering confusing streets, the private subway station at Castle Frank. Yorkville is stunningly open, though.) These kinds of quiet barriers - and pretending that they don't exist - are a key part of Canadian culture.