Fun facts about Toronto, Canada

Toronto is located on the shores of Lake Ontario in south-eastern Ontario.  It is the biggest city in Canada and the country’s main financial and business hub.  Together with neighboring municipalities, it forms one of the largest urban centers in North America.  Toronto has a reputation for being safe and clean; it has been described as being like a ‘New York City run by the Swiss’*(1).

“Bought at a bargain price”:
What is now Toronto was originally sold to the British by the Indigenous Mississaugas in 1787, for 24 brass kettles, 2 dozen hats, 10 dozen mirrors, a bale of flowered flannel, 96 gallons of rum, 200 gunflints and a small sum of cash.  For these items, the British obtained 1,000 square kilometres (386 square miles) of land bordering Lake Ontario.  The total value of all these items is probably a just two or three thousand dollars, at most, in today’s money.  Definitely not enough to buy much real estate in downtown Toronto today.

“Another New York”
Toronto was originally called “York”.  Just like New York City, it was named after the town of the same name in Yorkshire, England.  The name was changed to Toronto in 1834.  The name York still survives, however, in some areas in and around Toronto.  There is the City of York, East York and North York within Toronto.  North of Toronto there is a suburban municipality called the Region of York.

“The original Toronto”
Mississauga, a suburb west of Toronto, was named after the Mississauga First Nations who had originally sold the Toronto land to the British.  Mississauga was created when the city of York officials bought additional land from the Mississaugas.  The original name for Mississauga was Toronto Township.  Its name was later changed to Mississauga.

“York becomes the capital of Upper Canada”
Toronto, which was then still called York, became the capital of Upper Canada in 1797.  The former capital of the colony had been Newark- not Newark, New Jersey, but the town of Newark in Upper Canada, which was later renamed Niagara-on-the-Lake.

“Fort York is built- and built again”
At the foot of Bathurst street, near to the lake shore is the historic Fort York.  Fort York was originally built in the 1790s.  It was poorly constructed, however, because the British government diverted necessary building materials to help fortify the town of Kingston to the east.  The British felt that Kingston, which guarded the Lake Ontario entry to the St. Lawrence River, was of more strategic importance than York.  The poorly built original fort was soon abandoned and a new fort was built 100 meters to the east.

“It is never too late to return stolen goods”
During the war of 1812, an American force, 4 times the size of the British defenders, managed to take the fort.  American soldiers spent 6 days in York, looting and pillaging.  The recently built government buildings were burnt down, and the ceremonial Assembly Mace was taken.  British forces retaliated the following year by burning down the Capitol and Presidential Mansion in Washington.  The Mace was returned over 100 years later by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1934.  Some rare books, taken by the Americans from York’s library in 1812, have never been returned.

“Fort York is rebuilt, better then ever”
American forces returned a second time to in 1813.  This time they faced no resistance in reoccupying the city.  But by the time they came back for a third time in 1814, the British had rebuilt Fort York into a relatively formidable fortress and American forces were forced to withdraw.

“Yonge Street, the world’s longest road”
Yonge Street, is the main street in Toronto and the longest street in the world.  It was originally begun as a military road in 1796 to connect Toronto to the Great Lakes to the north.  This was in case the Americans were able to take control of the southern Great Lakes.  Upper Canadian Governor John Graves Simcoe named the road in honor of former British War Secretary Sir George Yonge.

“Toll roads return to Toronto, after 100 years”
In 1997, Toronto opened highway 407, a toll road.  Although toll roads had not been seen in the city for over 100 years, they were not altogether new.  Beginning in the 1830s, the government charged fees on Yonge Street.  Bloor Street, another main Toronto road, was originally called Toll-gate road.

“So it wasn’t just to show off?”
Toronto’s famous CN Tower was built ...
Read the full article here

Great things to do in Toronto, Canada

Great things to do in Toronto, Canada

Toronto is a city that can easily overwhelm a visitor (or a resident) with the sheer volume of diversions it offers.  There are so many things to see, and so many things to do that, you will never be able to get everything done.  It is a city that is definitely worth a second, third or fourth visit.

Toronto is Canada’s biggest city and the country’s main economic and financial centre.  It is located on Lake Ontario in the southern part of the province of Ontario.  The city is a few miles away from Niagara Falls and just a 2 hour drive away from the city of Buffalo in Upstate New York.

The CN Tower is one of the tallest buildings in the world and the most visible landmark in the city, for reasons that should be obvious.  The tower has a distinctive and easily recognizable shape.  If you are in downtown Toronto the tower will always be visible and can be used for orientation.  The southernmost point of downtown Toronto is the lakeshore.  The tower is located near the Lakeshore.  So when you are downtown, the direction where you see the tower will always be south.  Not surprisingly, the CN Tower has traditionally been a tourist favourite; the cost of admission is about $20-30 Canadian.

Toronto is home to a wide variety of professional and amateur sports teams and sporting venues.  Some of the larger, downtown, sporting venues are the Ricoh Coliseum, the Air Canada Centre and the Rogers Centre, formerly known as the skydome.  Major league sports teams in the city include the NHL Maple Leafs, the NBA Raptors and the Toronto Blue Jays of American League baseball.  The Leafs and the Raptors play at the Air Canada Centre, while the Blue Jays play at the Rogers Centre.  The Toronto Argos of the Canadian Football League (CFL) play at the Rogers Centre.  These stadiums also host other sporting events as well as concerts.

Toronto is home to a variety of shopping centres.  The Toronto Eaton Centre is a large mall located in the heart of downtown Toronto, at Yonge and Dundas.  Large shopping centres outside of the downtown core include Yorkdale Mall in North York and upscale Sherway Gardens in Etobicoke.  Square One Mall is a large shopping centre located in Mississauga, a suburban municipality west of Toronto.  Pacific Mall is a large, Asian-style mall that is located just outside Toronto city boundaries in the suburb of Markham.

There are many museums, art galleries and similar attractions in Toronto.  The Royal Ontario Museum (the ROM) is located in downtown Toronto.  The Bata Shoe Museum is about a block away from the ROM.  The Shoe Museum contains a collection of footwear from various parts of the world and from various time periods.  The city is home to several art galleries, including the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Gardiner Museum.  Other downtown attractions include the Hockey Hall of Fame, the Toronto Reference Library, both of which are located on Yonge Street.  The Science Centre is outside of the downtown core but it is a still great place to visit, especially for those who have children.  Canada’s Wonderland and Wild Water Kingdom are two amusement parks located north and northwest of the city.

Toronto’s history is preserved in a variety of historical sites.  Black Creek Pioneer Village, in the north end of the city, is a recreation of a typical early colonial community in southern Ontario.  Fort York, in the west end of downtown Toronto, is a relic of the earliest days of British settlement in the area.  The Fort was originally established as a British military garrison in 1793 and saw action against American forces in the War of 1812.  Also of historical interest is Casa Loma, the palatial home of a wealthy turn-of-the-century investor.  When the owner was unable to pay his taxes during the Depression, the home was seized by the government.  Today it is open to the public.

Toronto has a wide variety of parks and neighbourhoods to explore.  Yonge Street is the city’s main commercial strip.  Yonge-Dundas Square is just across the street from the Eaton Centre.  It hosts free, open air events throughout the year.  Bay Street, one block west of Yonge, contains the financial center of the city.  Another block west is the sprawling downtown University of Toronto campus.  The University is the oldest post-secondary institution in the city.  The city’s main Chinatown runs along Spadina Avenue and along Dundas Street.  The area includes brightly lit signs in Chinese characters and food stalls along the sidewalk.  There are other Chinatown areas in city including East Chinatown and Agincourt in the east end.  Just west of Chinatown, off Spadina Avenue, is Kensington Market.  Kensington consists of narrow streets and shops that sell a wide variety of food and other items.  There are shops selling fresh fish, clothing stores, Caribbean grocery and food stores and stores selling food from a variety of other cultures.  Other ethnic neighbourhoods include Greektown on the Danforth, Koreatown on Bloor Street, Little Italy, Little Portugal, Little India and Little Jamaica on Eglinton West.  Queen Street West is a street known for its avant-garde scene.  The entertainment district runs along Richmond Street West and Adelaide, just south of Queen Street West.  Yorkville, at Yonge and Bloor, is an upscale area.  It is known to be frequented by visiting celebrities, especially during the Toronto International Film Festival.

Toronto wide variety of festivals and events going on throughout the year.  The International Film Festival, in early to mid-September, draws famous actors and directors to city.  The Caribana parade in late July/early August attracts visitors from Montreal and the United States to watch a Caribbean-style parade along the Lakeshore.  There are countless other events in the city, including Doors Open Toronto and Taste of the Danforth. 
read the entire article here