Casa Loma, Toronto

City Tours and Excursions in Toronto

City tours

Bus tours

Grayline Tours offers tours through the city center with open top double-decker buses and trolleybuses from the turn of the century, with which you can get on and off as you wish. The tour lasts about two hours.

Toronto Hippo Tours offers a one-hour amphibian bus ride through the city streets, passing the CN Tower, SkyDome, and City Hall, among others, before embarking on a half-hour harbor cruise on Ontario Place.

Phone: (416) 594 33 10 (Grayline Tours); (416) 703 44 76, (877) 635 55 10 (Toronto Hippo Tours)
Website: http://www.grayline.ca/toronto

Tours

Tours are offered in Toronto by Toronto Footsteps and A Taste of the World , who also have bike tours in their program. Walking tours of the city’s natural origins are organized by Toronto Field Naturalists and architecture tours by Unique Views. You can also make your own way, because there are a number of signposted paths that lead through the many parks and green areas of the city. As an alternative, visitors can also explore the huge labyrinth of connected shopping arcades that are located beneath the downtown office towers. The ten-kilometer PATH network connects shopping, service and entertainment venues between the two branches of the Yonge University Spadina subway south of Dundas Street.

Phone: (416) 483 54 83 (Toronto Footsteps); (416) 923 68 13 (A Taste of the World); (416) 593 26 56 (Toronto Field Naturalists); (416) 531 77 70 (Unique Views)
Website: http://www.torontowalksbikes.com (A Taste of the World)

Trips

Algonquin Provincial Park

For many visitors, the Algonquin Provincial Park (Tel: (705) 633 55 72. Internet: www.algonquinpark.on.ca)  is the archetype of a forested Canadian landscape – shimmering blue lakes, huge pines and granite rock walls characterized by receding glaciers. The park was founded in a wild, beautiful region in southern Ontario in 1893 and soon became very popular with canoeists and outdoor enthusiasts.

For a day trip, the best way to get there is via Highway 60, because it leads directly through the park. From here you can admire the beauty of the park and with a little luck you can see deer or elk. More active visitors can use one of the 13 hiking trails; the local visitor center provides interesting information.

Since Algonquin Provincial Park is 300 km north of Toronto, the best way to organize your journey is by car. A fee is charged for vehicles passing through; Permits to camp cost extra.

Phone: (705) 633 55 72
Website: http://www.algonquinpark.on.ca

Elora

A pleasant rural location 100 km from Toronto and founded in the 1930s by settlers who used the water of the Grand River to power their mill. The mill still exists, but today it is an inn called Elora Mill Country Inn. Shops, restaurants and horse-drawn carriage rides are available in the village itself. However, the real attraction of Elora is that it is a good starting point for exploring the local landscape. The Elora Gorge is a three-kilometer-long limestone gorge lined with cedars.

The surrounding countryside, with its rolling hills, is very picturesque and home to some Mennonite communities, a religious sect who, like the Amish, have chosen to live without technology. You can often see them driving along the road on their horse-drawn carriages and their idyllic courtyards offer a soothing sight. Although you can travel by bus, traveling by car is easier (Highway 401, then Highway 6 through Guelph, then Country Road 7 to Elora).

Further information is available from the Elora Information Center and the Grand River Conservation Authority (tel: (519) 846 97 42. Internet: www.grandriver.ca).

Telfon: (1877) 242 63 53 (Elora Information Center)
Website: http://www.elora.info

McMichael Canadian Art Collection

McMichael is located 40 km northwest of the city center in the picturesque town of Kleinburg and has one of the largest collections of Canadian art from the 20th century. The permanent exhibition contains many works by the country’s most outstanding painters – Emily Carr, Tom Thomson and the ‘Group of Seven’.

The artistic focus matches the mood of the wooded surroundings of the gallery. The art gallery also has a compelling collection of works by the country’s Native Americans and the Inuit. Special exhibitions are held all year round. It is possible to reach the gallery by public transport, but traveling by car is preferable (Highway 400).

Phone: (905) 893 11 21
Website: http://www.mcmichael.com

Niagara falls

Since they were first seen by indigenous people, the world-famous Niagara Falls have attracted visitors and are now one of the most popular tourist destinations in North America. Though not the tallest waterfalls in the world, they carry an incredible 168,000 cubic meters of water per minute over a 51m drop.

The neighboring town of Niagara Falls (Tel: (905) 356 75 21. Internet: www.niagarafalls.ca)  is a famous, if somewhat cheesy, honeymoon destination. There is a lot on offer for visitors, including a casino, the Skylon lookout tower and boat trips to the waterfalls on board the Maid of the Mist (Tel: (905) 358 57 81. Internet: www.maidofthemist.com). The Niagara Falls are 130 km west of Toronto and can be reached by car, bus, train or hydrofoil followed by a bus ride. Further information about the waterfalls is available from the Niagara Parks Commission (tel: (877) 642 72 75, (905) 371 02 54. Internet: www.niagaraparks.com).

Wine tours are offered in the surrounding region. The neighboring Niagara-on-the-Lake (Internet: www.niagaraonthelake.com)  is rich in theaters, avenues from the 19th century and picturesque inns. Many visitors are particularly drawn to the annual Shaw Festival (Internet: www.shawfest.com) , which has specialized in pieces by Bernard Shaw and his contemporaries over the past forty years.

Tel: (416) 203 26 00
Website: http://www.seetorontonow.com

Casa Loma, Toronto