Fodor's Toronto 2001
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Hundreds of hotel and restaurant choices in all price ranges -- from budget-friendly B&Bs to luxury hotels, from casual eateries to the hottest new restaurants, complete with thorough reviews showing what makes each place special.
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Destination: TorontoPopular Joke in the neighboring province of Québec between the wars went "First prize, one week in Toronto. Second prize, two weeks in Toronto. Third prize, three weeks in Toronto." And who could blame them for laughing? Toronto was a deadly city right into the 1950s, at which time its half million citizens used to rush off to Detroit (a four-hour drive to the southwest) and Buffalo (90 minutes to the south, around Lake Ontario) for a good time. Today, of course, the rush is in the opposite direction, for hundreds of reasons that are sprinkled through this book. In the last five decades, Toronto has metamorphosed into a great world city, where colorful ethnic enclaves mix with imposing banks and government buildings -- making this a wonderful town to explore.
The city that once united Canadians from the Atlantic to the Pacific in a shared hatred of Toronto's sanctimoniousness now tends to draw their collective envy at how well the place works. Some critics insist that Toronto remains too smug (well, yes); too regulated (would they prefer chaos?); too provincial (actually, it's municipal; Ontario is provincial); too prim and proper (would they rather be mugged?); too young (as a major city, perhaps, but it was hardly born yesterday).
Montrealers -- a quite different culture of primarily French-speaking Catholics -- still joke that "Toronto is a city where people go around saying `Thank God it's Monday.' " To this day, indeed, Torontonians seem to actually enjoy working, and they appear to lack the ability to enjoy themselves doing anything else. But with the prices of houses, who can afford not to work? And as for "having a good time," there have never been more fine restaurants, theaters, movie houses, concerts, and bars to enjoy oneself in -- even on Sunday!
That's Toronto, in a nutshell: Clean. Safe. Orderly. Yet somehow dynamic and exciting. Groucho Marx sang an old vaudeville tune back in 1917 that went "It's better to run to Toronta/Than to stay in a place you don't wanta." And he was right. Eight decades later, we can honestly change the words to "It's best that you run to Toronta/There's no better place that you'd wanta."
DiningThe city's dining scene flourished in the late '90s, providing a huge range of choices. Formal establishments and even steak houses are thriving, but not at the expense of the many new bistros, tapas bars, and noodle bars. After each of Toronto's immigration waves, an intriguing new batch of restaurants has opened. In the last half century, Toronto has been introduced to everything from Hungarian schnitzel after the 1956 revolution to Vietnamese and other Southeast Asian cuisines in the 1970s and beyond. Italian restaurants dominate the city's dining scene, reflecting the locals' long-term passion for this cuisine in all its regional variations, but you can also choose from an abundance of excellent Chinese, French, Greek, Indian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Thai, seafood, vegetarian, creative contemporary, and, of course, Canadian fare. The wine lists of the finest restaurants include, in addition to international selections, excellent regional wines, while local microbrews provide wonderful accompaniments to more casual meals. If you're visiting in summer, do as the locals do and dine alfresco, a cherished Toronto pastime.
Museums and GalleriesThis metropolis by the lake possesses miles of museums. The Royal Ontario Museum, affectionately known as the ROM, is a sprawling giant that presents a brilliant and wildly diverse collection from mummies and Chinese art to totem poles and musical instruments. For art lovers, Toronto is the place to explore Canadian art, which is definitely overlooked by most American and European curators. The Art Gallery of Ontario is one place to start, and the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg has a superb collection set in lovely woodland. Another outstanding institution is the Ontario Science Centre. Then, too, the city has offbeat museums devoted to the study of hockey, design, history, and even shoes.
ShoppingFrom haute couture to ethnic markets, Toronto has retail options for every purse and personal taste. Megamalls like Eaton Centre vie with intimate boutiques on Bloor Street West and in the Yorkville area for shoppers' attention. Unique areas to explore include the St. Lawrence and Kensington markets; funky Queen Street West, with its street-smart shops; Chinatown and Spadina Avenue, loaded with bargains; Queen Street East, with a treasure trove of vintage and antiques stores; and Queen's Quay Terminal, a delightful converted warehouse on the waterfront (the Harbourfront Antique Market is nearby, too).
