Toronto The Good
Daniela Costa
Bright lights and billboards, crowded crosswalks and countless cabbies. Times Square much? No, this would be Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto. The natural comparison, however, further cements the city’s reputation as a friendlier, less busy New York City. But it’s right here in the heart of Toronto’s downtown that you’ll find a piece of the city to love. It’s just a matter of north or south, east or west.
Depending on the time of year, you won’t even have to budge. Yonge-Dundas Square is famous for its summer concerts and community events. And just across the street is the Toronto Eaton Centre, which, despite simply being a mall, is one of Toronto’s top tourist attractions.
Since we’re already traveling south, let’s continue on to several of the city’s historic theaters, like the Ed Mirvish Theatre and the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres, the latter of which is the last operating double-decker theater in the world. And tucked away between the two is Massey Hall, a celebrated concert hall that’s featured artists such Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, the band Rush, Neil Young, and, yes, even Justin Bieber.
If it’s political theater you want, a few short blocks away is Toronto City Hall. Admittedly, it’s less boisterous now that Rob Ford is no longer mayor …
Now if you’re looking for a place where money is even more so on the agenda than the home of city politics, see Toronto’s financial district, but unless you’re a fan of skyscrapers or the Toronto Stock Exchange, you might not wish to stick around for long. (Great restaurants, though!) Sports lovers shouldn’t leave as quickly. The Hockey Hall of Fame is nearby, and for those wanting to check out some live action, there’s the Air Canada Centre where the Maple Leafs, Raptors, and the Rock (this last one belonging to the National Lacrosse League, lest we forget, Canada’s actual national sport) play their home games. And how about them Blue Jays? They play a bit of a trek away at the Rogers Centre, located right by the legendary CN Tower. (Ok, now we’re getting touristy. Check out the CN Tower, then head right back to Yonge-Dundas Square.)
From here, let’s go west where you’ll soon arrive in Chinatown (not to be confused with Toronto’s smaller Chinatown East). This neighborhood is a usual suspect on top 10 Toronto tourist attractions lists, an intriguing fact that speaks to the city’s cultural diversity. Other ethnic enclaves include Little Italy, more. While it’s true that gentrification is chiseling away at several of these neighborhoods, for now at least they remain distinctive and serve as a physical manifestation of Canada as a cultural mosaic.
Chinatown is big, so get your kicks there before again heading back to Yonge and Dundas. And while at this point it would be nice to encourage you to shuffle east, that would be misleading. Unless you want to party with university students, that neck of the woods leaves a lot to be desired. But that’s a part of Toronto’s reality too — it’s not all pretty and (for the sake of affordable living) that’s a good thing. So instead, let’s head north.
Making your way up Yonge Street, it’s hard to imagine that up until the late 70s, it was widely considered a “seedy” strip. Yes, you’ll still find sex shops and strip joints, but the sex trade no longer defines these blocks. Now, retail stores and restaurants rule. But on the east side of Yonge and Wellesley streets, you’re on the cusp of something great — the Church Wellesley Village, Toronto’s LGBT village.
Here, there are numerous clubs in which to dance away the night. Drag shows are a staple of the neighborhood and many of the queens and kings are local celebrities. Say hello when you see them walking the streets decked out in stage wear.
And there hasn’t been a better time in recent memory to check out “the village.” To prepare for World Pride in 2014 (hosted by Toronto), the city pumped quite a bit of money into the village for beautification purposes. Visitors can now take in several stunning murals and a renewed neighborhood park.
By now, it must feel like you’ve just been dragged all over Toronto. Yet none of the spots highlighted are more than a 1.4 mile walk from the square where we began. Most, in fact, are a lot closer than that. So while you can’t experience all of Toronto in a day — much less in one article — you can certainly make your way around the center of its downtown where you’ll figure out that Toronto is a city that defines itself.
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