Luxury hotels in Toronto

Toronto guide

Toronto: the CN Tower and Niagara Falls

Canada's largest city from 553 metres up, and the falls a short drive away.

The CN Tower, 553 metres tall, is the most cited sight in Toronto: its glass floor and observation decks look over Lake Ontario, and the brave can try the EdgeWalk outside. Dinner at the revolving restaurant at sunset is the classic way to see it.

The day trip to Niagara Falls, about ninety minutes away, appears on every list; take the boat into the mist of the Horseshoe Falls and stop in the wineries of Niagara-on-the-Lake. In the city, the Distillery District, the Royal Ontario Museum and St. Lawrence Market are worth a day.

The Distillery District and the Royal Ontario Museum

The Distillery District, a pedestrian quarter of Victorian industrial buildings once home to the world's largest distillery, is one of Toronto's most cited areas, with galleries, restaurants and a famous Christmas market. The St. Lawrence Market, nearby, is known for its peameal bacon sandwich.

The Royal Ontario Museum, with its crystal-shaped extension by Daniel Libeskind, is one of the largest museums in North America, and the Art Gallery of Ontario, redesigned by Frank Gehry, holds a major Canadian collection.

Niagara-on-the-Lake and the wine country

Niagara-on-the-Lake, about twenty minutes from Niagara Falls and ninety from Toronto, is one of the most cited excursions from the city: a nineteenth-century town of tree-lined streets and the Shaw Festival theatre, surrounded by the wineries of the Niagara Peninsula.

The region is famous for icewine, made from grapes frozen on the vine, and dozens of wineries offer tastings and restaurants. Combined with the falls, best seen from the Hornblower boat or the Journey Behind the Falls, it makes a classic day.