While it may not be true that all the world's a stage, in Toronto it sure seems that way. Be it theater, dance, or opera, an average of 75 productions take to the limelight during any given month. This staggering number puts Toronto right after New York and London as the third-largest theater center in the English-speaking world. Toronto is also a major center for sporting events, with a world-renowned stadium and four professional teams. Add in over 5,000 restaurants, 1,000 parks, two miles of beachside boardwalk, the world's tallest structure, and the longest street on Earth (well, part of it), and this is a city that provides an endless amount of entertainment.
With humble beginnings as a fur-trading post, Toronto today is a burgeoning city graced with a lakefront location and a multicultural population. As Canada's largest and North America's fifth-largest city, Toronto boasts over 2.3 million residents. Among those who call Toronto home are 80 different ethnic groups, including the largest Italian population outside of Italy. This multiculturalism reveals itself in the wide range of cuisine served in city restaurants, crafts for sale at local markets, and performances on stage at the city's many theaters.
Move Over, Broadway
Numerous music halls, cinemas, and theaters line Toronto's bustling entertainment district, many of which hearken back to an earlier era. The first vaudeville house in the British Empire traces its origins here. Known as Pantages Theatre, the meticulously restored building today hosts Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera. The Elgin & Winter Garden Theatre Centre dates back to 1913 and is a designated national historic site. It functions as a fully operational double-decker theater, including a garden section full of leaves and trees. World-renowned theatrical and musical acts consistently perform on its stage. Toronto's famous Royal Alexandra Theatre is the place to view major productions in plush, Edwardian style. The building's opulent design deserves as much of a look as the performances themselves.
Music lovers are also in for a treat at Massey Hall, which dates back to 1889 and boasts superb acoustics. For music in a more modern setting, there's the Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts, which frequently features the talent of the National Ballet of Canada and the Canadian Opera Company. Additionally, the city is host to an impressive number of smaller clubs, bars, lounges, and cafés that showcase local talent ranging from traditional jazz to screaming-guitar rock 'n roll.
Stepping up to the Plate
What with the Blue Jays fielding fly balls, the Maple Leafs going after the puck, the Raptors slamming dunks, and the Argonauts hiking the football in the Canadian Football League, Toronto's got its share of teams to support. Not to worry--the fans in Toronto come out in droves to cheer on the home team. What better way to enjoy a game with over 50,000 yelling fans than to head to the SkyDome? The first of its kind, the SkyDome stadium has a roof that retracts during the summer season. A unique architectural wonder, this is a stadium that is about more than just sports. Within the colossal structure is a fully functional hotel (rooms have views of the playing field), a modern fitness club, seven restaurants and bars, and the largest display board in the world. To give some sense of its enormous scale, if all the building's concrete were stretched out to form a sidewalk, it would reach from Toronto to St. Louis. In addition to sporting events, the stadium is also host to major musical acts and auto shows.
Leading out of the SkyDome, the SkyWalk provides an indoor link to the equally impressive CN Tower. Visitors to the Tower can ride the glass elevator to the observation decks on top of the world's tallest freestanding structure. On clear days, views stretch all the way to Niagara Falls. A floor below the top, brave souls can step out onto a hair-raising observation deck with a see-through glass floor. Although it's not for the faint of heart, it's a great place to appreciate the city's skyline and layout. The CN Tower is also home to an entertainment complex and a revolving restaurant.
Intermission
Perhaps the most entertaining things to do in the city is to shop. At 1,178 miles, Younge Street is the longest street in the world. Antique shops dot its end at the Waterfront, and the stretch between King and Bloor Streets offers its share of fashions, street performers, and curio shops. Exclusive Yorkville, located in a neighborhood of beautiful Victorian homes, is where to find brand-name designers and chic boutiques. At the top of most shoppers' lists, however, is a trip to Eaton Centre.. Beneath the glass roof of this top tourist attraction, exquisite Fiberglas Canada geese float from the ceiling between a wide array of stores.
Serious bookworms agree that no visit to Toronto is complete without going to the enormous World's Biggest Bookstore, whose impressive selection of books is laid out on 17 miles of shelves. Most shoppers also make sure they pick up a bottle of the city's deliciously sweet maple syrup, sold in stores all over town. For a true display of the city's rich multiculturalism, there are the lively Kensington and St. Lawrence Markets. At Kensington Market, shoppers are greeted with a maze of vendors hawking everything from specialty foods to vintage clothing. St. Lawrence Market offers two levels, 120 merchants, and great people watching. Fresh foods are sold along with jewelry, crafts, and clothing.
Double Feature
Outside the theater, music, sports, and shopping arenas, Toronto itself puts on its own good show. It has a clean and easy-to-navigate public transportation system, a climate-controlled hive of pedestrian walkways, safe city streets, and reliable ferry service to the outer islands. The city even puts on a show when it comes to the weather. A changing display of lights on the Canada Life Building signals the weather forecast to everyone in town. If the lights run upwards, then the temperature is rising. If they flash white, then snow is on the way.•
