Toronto
Perched on the edge of Lake Ontario, Toronto is a bright, vibrant place that has everything we crave when traveling: architecture, a myriad of food choices, shopping, sports and is wonderfully walkable. We could have stayed a month and not run out of things to do.
Towering above the downtown buildings is the 1,815 foot high, 150 floor
CN Tower
Built in 1976 by the Canadian National Railway, the CN Tower offers a sweeping 360 degree view of Lake Ontario and the city. The LookOut Level features panoramic floor-to-ceiling glass walls and a glass floor. The glass contains thermochromic film that allows placing cameras and iPhones directly against the glass to capture better images.
The View from the Top
The skypod (additional ticket required) is 33 stories above the LookOut level. On a clear day, they say you can see Niagara Falls across the lake.
You can also buy a ticket to the Edge Walk, which is a tethered walk along the outside edge of the LookOut level. Walk around the top of the Tower’s main pod, at 1,168 feet high. Not for the faint of heart.
There’s also a restaurant – 360 The Restaurant – with a revolving view of Toronto.
CN Tower
Open daily 9:00am – 8:00pm
www.cntower.ca for tickets and restaurant reservations.
Nathan Phillips Square: a plaza outside of today’s Toronto City Hall, is named for a former mayor.
The former city hall, a beautiful Romanesque building, is right across the street. I appreciated the eclectic architecture of this city, a happy marriage of periods and styles.
A great place for people watching and street food eating.
Speaking of street food, can I just say how much I really loved poutine? (Thank you Amber, for telling us about this awesome dish!) I don’t want to start a debate about which city has the best poutine, but the poutine in Toronto – wow! We saw poutine in so many forms on menus all over Toronto: a duck poutine pizza, Mexican and Italian versions, even a flaming Jägermeister poutine. All interesting choices, but for us, we decided to stick with the street food version.
French fries, cheese curds and gravy. It sounds (and frankly, looks) like a hot mess. But the combination works so well together – my new chosen comfort food!
As the sun began to set, we sat on a bench with our poutine and watched the fountain waters and the letters in the Toronto sign give a color-changing light show performance. It was the perfect way to end the day.
Side trip to the Thousand Islands
Three hours from downtown Toronto is the village of Rockport, Ontario, one of the gateways to the Thousand Islands. The region gets its name from the more than 1,000 islands along the St. Lawrence River and the eastern shore of Lake Ontario.
I was captivated with the beautiful scenery, the leaves were just starting to turn and the air was as cold and crisp as the best apple.
We picked up our tickets for the “Heart of the Islands Cruise” at the office on Front Street and walked down to the dock to board our boat. It was sunny and cool weather, but once we got on the water, it got really cold.
It’s a lovely cruise, sailing past many of the islands’ luxurious homes on “Millionaire’s Row”.
This is the magnificent Boldt Castle, on Heart Island. Built by George Boldt, owner of the Waldorf Astoria hotels, as a summer home for his wife, Louise. Unfortunately, Mrs. Boldt passed away before the home was completed. Boldt Castle is now available for weddings and is open for daily tours. Fun fact: George Boldt is credited as having popularized 1,000 Island dressing.
This was my favorite island house – it’s true what they say in Real Estate: Location, Location, Location!
Rockport Cruises
20 Front Street
Rockport, Ontario
Canada
The Thousand Islands are an international vacation destination for fishing, boating, rafting, camping and golfing. There is an Antique Boating Museum, the Frederic Remington Art Museum, hot air balloon adventures, really something for everyone.
Our next side trip was to Niagara Falls. Click on the link below for that post:
Check out our version of Canadian Candy Bark:
https://thetravelingdelanys.com/chocolate-canadian-candy-bark/
This is so great!
We went to Toronto probably ten years ago. Beautiful city. We attended a private function at the Boldt Mansion. I highly recommend a side trip to Niagra-on-the-Lake.
We also visited Niagara-on-the-Lake. Would like to have spent more time there and visit the wineries.