Touring Towering Toron'o

Toronto, or Toron'o as it's pronounced by the locals, is probably most famous for the CN Tower, which, at 533 metres high, was the tallest free-standing structure in the world from when it was built in 1976 right up until 2010. Its rotating restaurant, the aptly named 360, offers haute cuisine (quite literally) as well as superb views, and was an obvious choice for dinner on our first night back in the city. The restaurant was absolutely packed when we arrived but tourists must eat early as the place was less than half full by 9pm. So, for calmer service, dine later! 

The following morning, we decided to take the City Sightseeing bus, to get our orientation and as a convenient way to get to the main sights. We expected the recorded multilingual blurb these buses usually have, but got a real bonus with the very enthusiastic young guides giving a real-time commentary, punctuated with humorous anecdotes and quips. Many relating to the number of times the city had burnt down. They took delight in pointing out the Yorkville Town Hall which had burnt to the ground despite being next door to the fire station. Without them, we would never have noticed the huge number of hemp (marijuana) and condom shops and the Signs restaurant with its all deaf staff. We would also never have found out that the Mink Mile (Toronto's Rodeo Drive) is lined with a black marble pavement that cost the street's shopkeepers $21million to install. It is also unusual in that not a speck of chewing gum adheres to the marble for long. Specialist cleaners remove the repugnant stuff before it gets a chance to become ingrained into the stone.

The World's first skyscraper - its he little brown building
at the front

Our first 'hop off' stop was at Casa Loma, which claims to be North America's only full-sized castle. Dominating the skyline on a hill top overlooking the city, it certainly is a very impressive, if rather fanciful, building. Designed by E.J. Lennox in a Gothic Revival style, it was built in 1911 for Canadian financier Sir Henry Mill Pellatt and his wife, Lady Mary. But they were only able to enjoy it for ten years before financial misfortune forced Sir Henry to abandon it. The house was run as a luxury hotel for a while before being seized by the city for back taxes totalling just $27,303. Absurd given its construction cost 20 years earlier had been $3.5million. And 'yes', that is in old money. But soon after, it was set up as a museum and is now Toronto's top tourist attraction. We enjoyed exploring the castle with its grand entertaining rooms, romantic towers and secret passageways behind concealed doorways.


Our next 'hop off' was at the Royal Ontario Museum, aka the ROM, one of the largest in North America. We enjoyed the section on the human history and 'first nations' of Canada, as well as the natural history section that included a mock-up of a bat cave. But the highlight, by a mile, was the superb dinosaur gallery housed in The Crystal; a stunning, albeit controversial, extension to the museum.

While the bus was useful to get a good introduction to the city and to the more remote sights, we preferred to explore on foot as much as we could. So from ROM we sauntered into Chinatown for lunch and then enjoyed browsing the eclectic mix of shops, some just the front yard of an old terraced house, in nearby Kensington Market. One specialised in unashamedly "Ugly Christmas Sweaters" which had some corkers which we now regret not buying.

A firestation tower

The other major market in Toronto is St. Lawrence Market, named the world's best food market by National Geographic in 2012. It is a fabulous place at which you can allegedly buy every fresh food item in Canada. Walking around all the mouth-watering stalls, it was hugely tempting to have our final day lunch there. But Keith fancied a beer at the Mill St Brewery in the nearby Distillery District. They did a tasting tray to enable you to sample their impressive range of craft ales. But although the beer was excellent, we will remember the lunch for the meal Keith had. Poutine, Canada's unofficial national dish, is a mix of chips, gravy and curd cheese and surprisingly tasty, even if you can feel your arteries furring up and your cholesterol soaring as you eat it. A big difference to the gourmet meal we'd had in the 54th floor Canoe restaurant, to celebrate our wedding anniversary, the evening before.

On the way back to our hotel, to catch a car to the airport, we passed by the second most famous thing about Toronto, the Maple Leafs and their stadium. The ice hockey season had yet to start, so we hadn't been able to see a game. Oh well, you have to leave something to come back for.