It's a pity more American tourists don't choose Toronto as a must-see destination. Recently, I spent a weekend there for Conde Nast Traveler, and I found Canada's largest city utterly entrancing. Now take it from a veteran travel writer: I'm sure you will love Toronto, too, if you only give it a chance.
If you're an event organizer, you should know that Toronto has aggressively sold itself as a great place to hold a convention. When I arrived I learned that something called the G20 Summit - whatever that may be - was in town, and many high-profile people were attending. I was certainly impressed that Toronto was carrying it off with a minimum of disruption and fuss.
Soon after I arrived, I took a tour through the downtown core and found it every bit as vibrant as Torontonians assured me it would be. See my video tour here: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/video/take-a-spin-through-ghost-town-to/article1618491/
Yes, as you just saw, it was absolutely teeming with activity and full of pedestrian traffic. At first, I found it a little disconcerting that everyone was dressed in blue flak jackets, and armed with nightsticks with riot-police helmets hitched to their belts.. But I was assured that it was only a local fashion craze labelled "police-state chic." I'm sure it's a look that will filter south once US travelers get a look at it.
Now, fashion arouses a lot of passion in T.O. As the weekend wore on I learned not all Torontonians dress this way, and sometimes these different sartorial styles ... well, they sort of clash in more ways than one. People who dress down to go downtown often get into heated confrontations with the police-state chic set. See a video example here: http://www.thestar.com/videozone/828878--tense-moments-during-g20-protest
I strongly suggest when one of these arguments breaks out, you retreat to one of Toronto's delightful sidewalk cafes, order a capuccino from one of the skillful local baristas and watch the free entertainment from a distance. Believe me, it's even more entertaining than a hockey fight!
Another charming feature of Toronto is that many people still get around the downtown core on horseback. And touchingly, they show great consideration for their magnificent steeds, kitting them out in special visors to protect their eyes. Be careful, though, they can get quite skittish in crowds.
Now, Toronto boasts a wealth of tourist attractions, such as the world's longest street, the soaring CN Tower and the world's first retractable-roofed stadium, the Rogers Centre(both of which were inexplicably closed when I was there, along with all the theatres and museums). But the most amazing attraction I saw was the world's longest and most expensive chain-link and concrete security fence. It snakes all around the downtown core like the Great Wall of China. And the best thing about it is that unlike the CN Tower, admission is free ... if you have the proper ID, of course. But if you take your kids to see it, make sure to tell them to keep their hands off ... that razor wire is awfully sharp!!!
So, take a weekend trip to Toronto and see why its proud citizens call it The Centre Of The Universe. You might get clubbed over the head by an over-zealous cop, but you won't be sorry!
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