Toronto is a modern metropolis that impresses tourists with its skyscrapers and numerous exquisite architectural monuments. Here, business centers are located next to majestic temples and beautiful museums harmoniously coexist with residential buildings. When travelers come here, they get into another dimension, where life flows slowly and unhurriedly. People come here for impressions, quality education and high salaries. The city welcomes everyone hospitably and sincerely thanks with unforgettable emotions.
Toronto is the largest Canadian city and every resident of North America knows about it. We offer you to learn interesting facts about this metropolis at toronto-future.
Toronto is the only Canadian city with streetcars
Streetcars are rare in North America. Among all Canadian cities, only Toronto can boast of this type of transport, which has existed here since 1891.
The network of tram railways covers the downtown as well as close to the city center eastern and western suburbs. They are numbered from 501 to 512 and it’s easy to find the needed one. People can use this type of transport from 6 a.m. until late at night. Interestingly, some underground lines are connected to subway stations, so passengers have the opportunity to transfer for free.
One of the longest and busiest routes is the 501. It operates between the central part of the city and the waterfront, bypassing a lot of blocks and opening incredible landscapes to passengers. Toronto fascinates from any angle and has something to surprise even the most demanding tourist. You can get off at Humber Loop station and walk down to the water, enjoying a magical view of the city from afar, or if you’re a walker, you can reach downtown Toronto via the Humber River Bridge. You will never regret such a journey.
Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market, one of the largest food markets on the planet
Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market dates back to 1803 and is located on Front and Jarvis Streets in the Old Town neighborhood. There are more than a hundred large and small companies as well as meat and fish farms offering a variety of products, such as vegetables, fruit, meat, fish, dairy products, seafood, spices and delicacies.
The market is divided into two parts with bakeries, restaurants, cafes and delis located in the south one and farmers and antique markets in the northern part. Christmas trees are also sold here from mid-November to the end of December.
You can find alleys of artists, musicians, restaurants and bars around the market. Interesting events, street festivals and theater performances often take place there. Also, you can buy some food at the market and have a picnic on Lake Ontario, which is just a few blocks away.
Toronto is one of the most multinational cities in the world
Toronto is the largest Canadian city. It is the capital of the Ontario province, which is one of the most populated regions of Canada. Many people dream of living here because the metropolis offers a wide range of opportunities. In addition, local authorities care about every citizen who crosses the border of this city.
As of 2016, 2,731,571 people lived in Toronto. According to the 2006 census, 47% of Toronto’s population wasn’t born in Canada. The largest share of immigrants came from India – 9.6%. There are also 8.2% of immigrants from China, 5.6% from Italy and the Philippines and 1.2% of Ukrainians. Only in Italy, there are more Italians than in Toronto.
Toronto is called “the world in one city”, as residents communicate in 180 languages and dialects. The local government doesn’t prevent the development of cultural traditions of newly arrived residents and supports their customs and religious beliefs. Toronto is ranked among the safest cities in North America, where many nations and cultures live conflictless.
Even in the 20th and 21st centuries, the city is a leading immigration center. Among all the metropolises of the world, Toronto is in the top ten in terms of the number of immigrants with Dubai and Miami above.
Yonge Street, one of the longest streets in the world
Yonge Street is Toronto’s 1,896 km long central street, which until 1999, was recognized as the world’s longest one. It was even listed in the Guinness Book of Records.
Yonge Street begins at the Ontario Waterfront and divides Toronto into two parts. It stretches to the town of Cochrane and reaches the Minnesota border. There is a legend that in the past, part of the street served as a trail for the Indians and North American aborigines. When European colonizers came to current Canadian territories, they clashed with the Indians and the main battles were taking place on Yonge Street.
A lot of years have passed and generations have changed after that. At the end of the 18th century, John Graves Simcoe founded the city of York. He was the first governor and under his leadership, Yonge Street was transformed from a poor lane into a tidy and modern street. The politician named it in honor of Sir George Yonge and made the owners of the land lots located nearby clean and develop the area in order to turn it into a roadway. Wagons and carriages regularly rumbled down that road since 1816 and by the middle of the 19th century, Yonge Street had become Toronto’s central street. Interestingly, George Yonge has never walked down the famous street and never visited Canada either.
Torontonians are proud of their main street. It runs through the city’s financial district and near Eaton Center, one of Canada’s largest supermarkets. The nearby Yonge-Dundas Square hosts free concerts and open movie screenings.
Yonge Street features numerous restaurants, clubs, boutiques, cinemas and shops, as well as wide sidewalks. Life is busy and never dull here.
In addition, Toronto lies on the path of the longest highway, the 48,000 km long Pan-American Highway. It connects the cities of North and South America, crossing the USA, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Argentina and El Salvador.
What are other Toronto tourist attractions?
There are even more interesting facts about Toronto:
- Almost a third of Canadians live within a radius of 500 kilometers from downtown Toronto.
- Toronto’s subway could serve as a bomb shelter.
- Toronto receives electricity from 8 nuclear power plant reactors located in a nearby town.
- Toronto is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the country with the longest underground pedestrian tunnel system. They are almost 30 kilometers long and connect 50 towers, 5 subway stations, 6 hotels and 1 railway terminal.
- Toronto is famous for its Casa Loma castle, the only authentic castle in North America.
- Every year, the city authorities arrange auditions for street musicians and issue 75 licenses, which gives them the right to perform at specially allotted time and place, and even pay them for this service.
- The busiest airport in Canada, Toronto Lester B. Pearson International Airport, is located in Toronto too.
- There are about 8,000 restaurants in Toronto, so if you visit a new one every day, it would take 22 years to visit each of them.
- Toronto is famous for its well-heated and lit underground city PATH, which features restaurants, cafes, parks and shops.
- In Toronto, there is a huge TV tower, the CN Tower, which was built in the 70s of the XX century. For about 30 years, it held the honorable title of the tallest building in the world (the height of the building is more than 555 meters).
- The Toronto Zoo is the largest one in Canada.
- About a quarter of Hollywood films were shot in Toronto.
- The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is the second most prestigious one after the Cannes Film Festival.
