Toronto, Canada

Toronto
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:122_-_Toronto_-_Septembre_2009.jpg
Author: Martin St-Amant


Toronto is the biggest city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. With a population of 2.5 million people, and a metropolitan area with 5.1 inhabitants, Toronto is also the fifth largest municipality in North America.

St Michael's Cathedral, Toronto
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cathedral_Sunset_%28II%29.jpg
Author: Brian


Toronto today is Canada's economic capital. It is a center of finance, business, film, television production, medical research and publishing, among others. The Toronto Stock Exchange is also the eighth largest in terms of market value.

The area of Toronto was inhabited by the Huron indigenous tribe prior to the arrival of Europeans. The name Toronto is believed to have come from an Iroquois word "tkaronto", which means "place where trees stand in the water", in reference to a site in northern Lake Huron, where the Huron had planted trees in the water to catch fish.

Christmas tree at Toronto Eaton Centre
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eaton_Centre_Christmas_Tree_Toronto.jpg
Author: paul dex busy @ work


French traders established Fort Rouillé in 1750 on the site where the Exhibition grounds of Toronto is located today. The site was abandoned nine years later. British settlers moved in during the American Revolutionary War. In 1793, Governor John Grave Simcoe established the town of York on the site of present-day Toronto, but the town only came to be called by its present name on 6 March, 1834. Many of its inhabitants back then were escaped African American slaves.

Toronto served as the capital of the Province of Canada twice, in 1849-1852 and 1856-1858. It became the capital of the province of Ontario since its creation in 1867.

Lady Pellatt's Suite in Casa Loma, Toronto
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lady_Pellatt%27s_Suite,_Casa_Loma,_Toronto,_Canada.jpg
Author: Steven V. Rose


Metropolitan Toronto was created in 1954 out of the City of Toronto and twelve surrounding municipalities. In 1967, the seven smallest municipalities were merged with their largest neighbors. Another round of merger in 1998 dissolved the metropolitan government and amalgamated the remaining municipalities into one, creating the current City of Toronto. The city celebrated its 175th anniversary on 6 March, 2009.

Travel to Toronto

The Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) is the main gateway to the city. It is located about 40 minutes from downtown Torontto. The airport comprises two terminals. Terminal 1 is used by Air Canada and a few Star Alliance carriers.

The most economical option of leaving the airport is by taking the public bus by Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). Single-journey fare is C$3.00 (you can buy five-pack tokens which cost only C$2.50 each) from the Bureau de Change at the Arrival Hall. The bus takes you to the Kipling Station of the Bloor-Danfort Subway Line. From there, you can transfer to the subway which takes about 1.5 hours to reach downtown Toronto.

The Mill, Black Creek Pioneer Village
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mill_at_Black_Creek_Pioneer_Village_in_Toronto.jpg
Author: John Vetterli


There are express buses operated by GO Transit to downtown Toronto. Journey to Yorkdale and York Mills subway stations cost C$4.05 and takes about 45 minutes. From there, you can tranfer to the subway, which takes an other 20 minutes to reach downtown. The subway fare is separately charged at C$2.75.

An even faster option, for those who have already booked their hotel rooms, is to take the Pacific Western Airport Express, which stops at major hotels in downtown Toronto. The journey costs C$19.95 one way per adult.

Lastly, you can hail a taxi to downtown Toronto for C$40 or airport limousines for C$50-C$70.

Travel within Toronto

Toronto has the third busiest subway network in North America after those of New York City and Mexico City. You can use it in combination with buses and streetcars to fully explore Toronto. If you are planning to use public transport a lot, I would suggest that you buy the one-day pass, which costs C$10 and allows you unlimited rides on all the TTC services within the City of Toronto, except for the Downtown Express buses. The passes are good from 9:30 am in the morning until 5:30 am the following morning, meaning you should avoid traveling during the morning rush hour of 5:30 am to 9:30 am, when you will have to pay the regular fare.

Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Ontario_Museum-Michael_Lee-Chin_Crystal.jpg
Author: Staka


There is also a weekly pass for C$36. With this, you get unlimited travel from 5:00 am Monday morning until 5:30 am the following Monday, so this offers travel any time of the day, but you lose out if you arrive at the later part of the week, such as Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

The single-journey ticket costs C$3.00 while a 5-token and 10-token pack bring down the fare to C$2.50 per ride. If you plan to make more than 4 trips a day, then the day pass is more worthwhile.

Downtown Toronto, Canada
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikipedia6_by_betts.jpg
Author: Norm Betts

Places of Interest in Toronto

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Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.