TORONTO - HOGTOWN

Toronto is Canada's largest city, but it doesn't seem like it - it is clean, busy but not crowded, and energetic. A relatively small downtown area belies the true nature of Toronto - a massive collection of municipalities that stretches for miles in all directions. Toronto is truly huge, but for the most part, the downtown is where everything happens.

Toronto's southern edge borders on Lake Ontario, and the downtown core begins here, stretching north for a couple of miles, Yonge Street is the main thoroughfare, filled with stores of all varieties.  The CN Tower, Skydome, Union Station, and the Air Canada Centre are all close to the Lakeshore, and other key attractions are located nearby.

One of the interesting features of the city is the University of Toronto, located right in the middle of downtown. Students use city streets to move between classes, so the area is always busy during the day; as well, the school provides some interesting architectural contrasts as older, traditonal buildings lie right next to new, fancier ones. It was at U of T that insulin was first discovered.

Toronto is a great sports town, as the Maple Leafs of the NHL can attest to - even though they haven't won anything since 1967, their games are nearly always sold out. The NBA's best expansion team is the Toronto Raptors, while the poor boy CFL sponsors the Argonauts. The Toronto Rock of the National Lacrosse League are another team that vies for the hearts of Toronto sports' fans. Once the golden children of the city, the Blue Jays are now yesterday's news. 

Our impressions: The Toronto subway is the easiest to navigate - there are only two lines. If you are downtown, you should be able to find a stop close to you, but if you are out in the suburbs, plan on driving in. Driving into Toronto on the 401 can be fun if you don't know where you are going, and once you are downtown, keep your eyes open for pedestrians, who are used to Canadian drivers who are very patient with jaywalkers. There are also a lot of cyclists, as Toronto is a very friendly city for bikes. 

During the summer of 2001, Toronto was home to lots of moose. Specifically, there was an art exhibit based on the Cows on Parade idea, but using moose as the object. This added some colour to the city, which can be a little drab at times.

Mountie moose

Toronto is very clean. It is impossible to believe that nearly 4 million people live in the Greater Toronto Area, but most of them actually use garbage cans to dispose of their refuse. Toronto is also affected by the new provincial by-law against smoking in restaurants. This has led to some restaurant entrances being filled with smokers who are taking a break during their meal. But the inside of the restaurant or bar is now devoid of the hanging pall of smoke, which is a welcome change.

The weather is typically Canadian, with humid summers and cold winters, but the spring and fall are decent. Because of the underground corridors, known as PATH, you can generally avoid the weather if you are walking around downtown.

Downtown

Overall, Toronto is a great city, with a lot to do. Canadians generally regard Torontoians as arrogant and self-centered, but in reality they are just like any other city people - on their way to do something. Although Skydome may not be the best ballpark in the world, it is definitely worth paying a visit to see the Jays, and then staying for a couple more nights to enjoy the city.