With cool neighbourhoods, spectacular attractions and a feast of food and drink to savour, Toronto is a city offering every kind of travel adventure.
So when Sir Richard Branson resumed Virgin Atlantic’s daily direct flight service from London Heathrow to Toronto Pearson in April for the first time in a decade, he declared he was delighted to return to a “city with so much spirit and energy”.
Not only a thriving financial hub, it’s one of the most diverse cities in the world, which prides itself on being home to citizens from 230 countries, speaking 140 different languages.
Sports fans have plenty to celebrate too, as the city is home to an array of pro teams, including the Toronto Maple Leafs ice hockey team, which dates back more than a century, and the Toronto Raptors basketball team – Canadian rapper Drake is a super fan. There’s also baseball with the Blue Jays, Canadian football with the Argonauts, and soccer with Toronto FC.
Next year Toronto will stage six matches at the FIFA World Cup 26, including Canada’s opener at Toronto Stadium on June 12. Canada’s largest city sits upon the shore of the enormous Lake Ontario, creating a coastal illusion with giant skyscrapers dominating the skyline.
Amid the glass and steel high-rises are reminders of Toronto’s industrial past. None more so than 145 Front Street East, where you will find the Toronto Packing House once occupied by William Davies & Co. This shot to prominence in 1868 as a meat-packing business that became the largest pork packer in the British Empire.
It is claimed that at one time, for every person in Toronto, there were 10,000 hogs, earning the city the nickname “Hogtown”. William Davies would eventually meet his maker in 1921 when he was butted by a goat, so perhaps the millions of slaughtered animals had the last laugh after all.
To get a true taste of Toronto, I took a tour of St Lawrence Market. This sprawling spot has more than 120 vendors, with everything from brilliant bakeries to butchers, fishmongers and cheesemongers. Highly knowledgeable guide, Caitlin from Culinary Adventure Co, is passionate about not just Toronto food but small businesses producing it.
On the market-food tour she introduced the group to Toronto’s signature Peameal bacon sandwich and the beauty of Balzac coffee. I even found myself swallowing oysters before 10am at Mike’s Fish Market before sampling salmon gravlax and premium mustard on blackberries.
A two-and-a-half hour tour costs $99 per adult, including 15 treats.
Since my visit, the brand new St Lawrence Market North, opposite the original site, has finally opened. Designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, the new building is a four-storey, multipurpose facility, and home to the Sunday Antique Market, year-round events and is an exciting new chapter for the 200-year-old city landmark.
While food is one of the forefronts of Toronto tourism, the city has also become known for its craft beer and spirits. Drinkers in search of a Canadian tipple can head to one of Toronto’s 70 indie hop houses.
The city’s distilling roots run deep, tracing back to the 19th century when the Distillery District, a collection of beautiful Victorian brickwork buildings, housed North America’s largest distillery, Gooderham & Worts. Today the district is a major shopping, dining and cultural hub.
If time is limited, you can be whisked around the best bits by eccentric tour guide, Erik Bell from Go Tours Canada, who also performed the unexpected role of stand-up comedian. Although there was to be no actual whisky consumed, it gave a fascinating insight into the city’s past, with tales behind Trinity Street’s Victorian architecture and Prohibition era.
No visit to Toronto would be complete without a trip up the CN Tower. Standing at 1,815.5ft, it held the record as the world’s tallest free-standing structure for 32 years, before being surpassed by Dubai’s Burj Khalifa in 2007.
The Top, at 1,465ft, however, (33 storeys up from the main Observation Level) is the highest observation platform in the Western Hemisphere. From here you can actually feel the Tower sway in the wind.
I chose to experience the breeze and the scenery from EdgeWalk, which involved walking along the outside edge of the tower’s main pod, 116 storeys up, secured only by a harness. Very nerve-racking but utterly exhilarating.
The high-speed elevators whisk you from the ground floor to the Main Observation Level in 58 seconds (at 15 mph), sending hearts racing and ears popping before you’ve even glimpsed at the view.
Head just 80 miles southwest of Toronto and you’ll find Niagara Falls, where I was blown away by the sheer power and beauty of 3,160 tons of water cascading over the edge every second.
You can make the most of this wonder from a boat tour, observation tower, and even by ziplining. Underwater tunnels that lead behind the Horseshoe Falls are incredible with cave-like portals. These open at the back of the falling water to enable visitors to hear and feel the force of the falls up close.
Or if you want a vantage point on a whole other level, take a helicopter ride. Choppers from Niagara Helicopters fly down the river and circle the falls from above creating an otherworldly experience. Those high-octane thrills left me in need of a stiff drink so the nearby Two Sisters Vineyards was the ideal place to decompress.
Founded by siblings Melissa Marotta-Paolicelli and Angela Marotta in 2007, the 130-acre vineyard and winery is Italian-inspired, has won multiple awards and is renowned for its full-bodied reds and elegant whites.
I sampled five tipples on a Vine to Wine tour before tucking into a lunch of Italian specialities such as beef carpaccio, burrata, homemade focaccia, and chicken Milanese.
After days of exploring Toronto and the surrounding areas, it was wonderful to relax in the 1 Hotel on Wellington Street. This chic abode prides itself on sustainability with its interiors and furnishings – and there’s even a DJ booth made out of a fallen tree.
A variety of dining options are complemented by a panoramic sky bar with rooftop swimming pool. For cuisine with a view, head to the Bisha Hotel to dine at rooftop restaurant KOST. Its 44th-floor infinity pool is a show-stopper, ideal for a zinging plate that smacks of California.
With beef tacos and fried calamari going head-to-head with oysters and salads, the food is matched by a range of high-quality cocktails that must make this place one of the hottest tickets in town at sunset – a perfect way to end a once-in-a-lifetime trip.
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