Toronto is Canada's largest city and one of the most ethnically diverse on the planet — the United Nations has called it the most multicultural city in the world. It sprawls along the north shore of Lake Ontario, and its skyline is dominated by the CN Tower, which held the title of the world's tallest free-standing structure for decades. The city is a serious metropolis, with excellent museums, a thriving restaurant scene, and a cultural calendar that runs year-round.
The best way to understand Toronto is to walk its neighbourhoods. Kensington Market, a few blocks west of Chinatown, is a dense, chaotic cluster of vintage shops, fruit stalls, fishmongers, and cafés. The Distillery District, converted from the old Gooderham & Worts distillery, is all Victorian industrial architecture now filled with galleries, restaurants, and a year-round farmers' market. Yorkville is the upscale alternative — boutiques, galleries, and the kind of restaurants where reservations are required weeks in advance. West Queen West is the arts and design strip; The Annex, around the university, is where the bookshops and independent cafés cluster; Cabbagetown holds the largest stretch of intact Victorian houses in North America; and The Beaches along Queen Street East gives the city a genuinely seaside character in summer.
The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is the city's biggest museum, with a striking Daniel Libeskind crystal addition to the original 1914 building and a collection covering natural history, world cultures, and art. The Art Gallery of Ontario, redesigned by Frank Gehry (who grew up in Toronto), is excellent. St. Lawrence Market, open Tuesday through Saturday, is one of the best food markets in North America.
Toronto's multicultural character is reflected directly in its food. Chinatown, Little Italy, Little Portugal, Greektown on the Danforth, Little India on Gerrard — each has its own food culture at street level. The city also has a serious fine dining scene that has emerged in the last decade.
