Canada’s biggest city and the fourth largest in North America, Toronto was once dubbed "Toronto the Good," and known as a center of morality bordering on saintliness. Today, the city has outgrown its stodgy reputation and come to rival even the most famously cosmopolitan urban areas for arts, culture, nightlife and culinary delights.
Downtown has seen recent revitalization, with development all along the waterfront and small businesses taking over former working class, industrial, or red light districts. For example, the west end neighborhood of Bloordale, a former drug-ridden hub for the down and out, is now home to a selection of eateries, coffee shops, vintage stores and art galleries.
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A whole new gallery scene has also sprouted up practically overnight in the adjacent warehouse zone on and around Sterling Road, as the area prepares opening of the expanded Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art in fall of 2017.
Another interesting development is the transformation of Ossington Avenue, between Dundas and Queen streets in the west downtown core. Just over 10 years ago, this strip was dangerous and ridden with gangs. But as rents on the then-cooler Queen West increased, businesses began moving into the comparably cheaper Ossington spaces, and it’s since become the hottest restaurant and nightlife district in town.
(Local tip: Head to Foxley for Asian Fusion Cuisine, The Dakota Tavern for live country music, or the Bellwoods Brewery for handcrafted beer.)
Meanwhile, Toronto boasts an active live music scene, and art aficionados know and love it for Luminato, a 10-day global multi-arts festival in June; and Nuit Blanche, an all-night extravaganza that attracts about a million people to the downtown core each year at the end of September/beginning of October.
For the Torontonian accustomed to the luxury lifestyle, the city has no shortage of culture and entertainment offerings.
Opera and Ballet
The Four Seasons Centre for Performing Arts on University Avenue in the Financial District, was established as the new home of both the Canadian Opera Company and the National Ballet of Canada in 2006, breathing new life into both companies (and into the Financial District as well). The Canadian Opera Company is renowned for both its roster of talent and its inventive and bold staging and has been called "astounding," "radical," and "thrilling" by some of the most respected opera critics. The remaining 2017 roster includes "Gotterdammerung," "Louis Riel," and "Tosca."
The Four Seasons Centre for Performing Arts
Colin McConnell / Getty ImagesThe National Ballet, meanwhile, is regarded as one of the best in the world. The 2017 season includes "Pinocchio," "Swan Lake," and "A Streetcar Named Desire."
Theater
Toronto’s live theater scene is small compared with New York City’s and London’s but still vibrant. In the Entertainment District, the venerable Mirvish Productions stages versions of many of the same shows you’d find on Broadway and in the West End. The production of "Come From Away," which ended Jan. 8, was sold out before its move to Broadway, and Peter Morgan’s "The Audience" premiered on Jan. 17. The city also holds an annual Fringe Festival in the summer to showcase smaller and more experimental productions.
And about a two-hour drive away is Stratford, Ontario, where the Stratford Festival stages the plays of Shakespeare and other celebrated writers from April to October every year.
Food
More than 140 languages are spoken in Toronto, and more than half of the city’s 2.8 million residents were born outside of Canada. One of the many upshots of this level of diversity is the range of available ethnic cuisine. Nowhere is this on display more than in neighborhoods like Koreatown, Greektown, Little Italy, Little India, Little Tibet, or the city’s several Chinatowns.
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Toronto also has some of the most innovative and respected chefs in the world working its restaurant scene. These include Carolyn Reid of Scaramouche, and Anthony Walsh, John Horne and Coulson Armstrong of Oliver & Bonacini restaurants. All this creates endless eating options for both the most adventurous and discerning palettes.
Mom-and-pop shops, one of a kind upscale dining experiences, an abundance of hipster joints with changing chalkboard menus and artisanal cocktails, a burgeoning food truck culture, Toronto is a foodie’s paradise. Try Campagnolo or Enoteca Sociale for incredible Italian and The Black Hoof for charcuterie and cocktails.
Shopping
On the strip of Bloor Street West from Yonge Street to Avenue Road, known as the Mink Mile, you’ll find Hermes, Prada, Gucci, Chanel, and other luxury designer stores. It’s hard to believe that in the 1960s, this area—Yorkville/Bloor West—was Toronto’s Bohemian center. Now it’s best known for high-end retail, restaurants, and luxury condos. Plus ca change.
Northeast of downtown, you’ll find the Bayview Village Shopping Centre, where those in the nearby areas of York Mills and the Bridle Path shop for luxury goods from fashion (Brooks Brothers, Betty Barclay) to kitchen (Le Creuset).
Queen Street West still offers a vibrant shopping experience, even if the nightlife has moved elsewhere, and if you’re into the thrill of the find and kicking it old school fashion-wise, vintage shops are studded everywhere around the downtown core.
Toronto International Film Festival
Founded in 1976 The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is now one of the largest public film festivals in the world and one of the greatest things about Toronto. Attracting nearly 500,000 people every year, TIFF is known for the number of A-list celebrities it brings to the glitz fest of star-studded screenings and parties every September
Oh, and there are movies, too, of course. In 2016 TIFF held more than 1,200 screenings of 296 features. "American Beauty," "Ray," "Slumdog Millionaire," and "Black Swan," among many others, premiered in Toronto.
And the fest, which takes place in September, is no longer only an annual event; in 2010 The TIFF Bell Lightbox opened as headquarters for the TIFF, and now operates year-round, offering movies, talks, art exhibits, and events.