Toronto Things To Do # 16

The largest city in Canada, Toronto is home to over 5.1 million residents. Situated on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in the province of Ontario, settlers have lived in the area for millennia, but not until British colonial officials founded the town of York in 1793 did the community begin to truly develop. By 1834, the village became the city of Toronto, now the center of Canadian cultural, commercial, financial and industrial activity.

Toronto offers no shortage of landmarks and attractions, from the iconic CN Tower to the newly-renovated Art Gallery of Ontario (by architect Frank Gehry) to, of course, the Hockey Hall of Fame. A diverse theater and performing arts scene provides plenty of entertainment options, from the Canadian Opera Company in Canada’s first opera house to the Toronto Fringe Festival during the summer, with everything from dramas to musicals to improv. For sports fans, every major sport is represented, though of course, the NHL’s Maple Leafs will always be held above all others.

Toronto’s culinary scene is marked by the diversity of more than 7,000 restaurants of every ilk; to discover something unique, peruse the 50 gourmet food vendors at the St. Lawrence Market in the Old Town neighborhood, considered by Food and Wine magazine one of the world’s 25 best food markets.