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Exactly 7 minutes and 52 seconds. That is what a Canadian cop took to huff up to the top of the world. He ran up 2,579 steps of Toronto’s CN Tower, the largest metal staircase on Earth. From the peak of the tallest free-standing structure in the western hemisphere, the cop knew he would find a stunning top-down view of the city. After the sweaty run, he could dig his fork in scrumptious fare at the revolving restaurant or throw in extreme urban adventure by walking the edge at 1,168 ft above the ground. Imagine hanging so close to the sky and gingerly stepping on the 4.9 ft board for the world’s highest full circle hands-free walk (Guinness vouches for that!). No, you cannot tumble off the CN Tower. You are harnessed. Scared in the city that borrows its name from Iroquois word tkaronto (literally, place where trees stand in the water)? Don’t. There’s the superfast elevator. In 58 seconds flat, you can get to the top of tower that equals the weight of 23,214 large elephants and is almost twice as tall as the Eiffel Tower. From the observation deck’s glass panes, Toronto looks like a grey spread laced with Lake Ontario’s azure blue. If you squint harder or peer through the telescope, it is easy to spot the icons — Eaton Centre, Rogers’ Centre, Harbourfront, Casa Lama (ghosts haunt the labyrinthine passageways of this century-old castle), the green blob of Toronto Islands, Royal Ontario Museum, the Fairmont Royal York Hotel that could pass off as a gigantic wedding cake and the historic Distillery District that houses 44 heritage buildings amid 13 acres of pedestrian-only streets. Trust me, it is giddy up there, but if you had just one minute to see Toronto, this is the place.
If vertigo is your nemesis, and instead of a minute you had an hour for Toronto, hop onto the street car that chugs through the streets languorously. At 24.8 km, the 501 Queen Street Route is one of longest street car routes in the world and the best way to see the distinct neighbourhoods that dot the city. In Danforth, the Greek neighbourhood, the streets are redolent with the whiff of sinful honey donuts; in Little India, you’d notice a rickshaw parked in front of Lahore Tikka House (do not miss the kulfi on chopsticks); dumpling kiosks and jade warehouses in the bustling Chinatown; the uber chic Bloor-Yorkville and High Park that is cluttered with East European butchers and bakeries. Sometimes, the street car hoots and bumbles on way, but it is so ol’—world charming that you’d forgive every bump, every delay. There is so much to see in Toronto that not even a lifetime will suffice. One life is not even enough to walk one street. Try walking the Yonge Street that cuts through Toronto’s downtown. You cannot. At 1,896 km, it is the world’s longest street. What, however, is walkable is the 1.5 km Bloor Culture Corridor that includes old cinema, churches, Native Canadian centre and even the Alliance Francaise that has a fascinating display of ceramic tea/coffee pots.
In Bloor, spare half a day for the shoe-box-shaped Bata Shoe Museum that houses nearly 13,000 shoes from six continents. There are artefacts from India as well. Under a glass pane lie a pair of 19th century pure silver filigreed mule that was part of an Indian bride’s trousseau. There’s an 1840-saffron pair of mojaris worn by a temple dancer and an ancient Jaipur paduka with high stilts and gold toe knobs. For a touch of minimalism, gape at a pair of simple thong slippers worn by the Dalai Lama, and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's black pumps. What perhaps will leave you seething with envy is the gold mojaris of Sikander Jah, former Nawab of Hyderabad. Fully embroidered with gold thread and encrusted with diamond, ruby, emerald and sapphire, this pair is currently valued at Rs 90 lakh. Call Toronto an outdoor art gallery Art, actually, lives on the city’s streets. There are 291 public works, monuments and architectural fragments scattered in the City of Toronto. There are 22 private art works (including Anish Kapoor’s Untitled (Mountain)) that were commissioned through the Private Developer Percent for Public Art Program and created by artists from across the world. From the outdoor gallery that the city is, step into Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), Canada’s largest museum. At the entrance, glass and aluminum canted walls bend like burdened boughs. Behind the deconstructivist crystalline form lies the world’s largest collection of fossils from the Burgess Shale; several galleries from world cultures, iconic masterpieces and Indian artefacts that find space in Sir Christopher Ondaatjee Gallery of South Asia. Toronto always looks pretty. However, it is at night that the city is at its glitziest — dreamy, dramatic, shimmering with million neon lights. From the Toronto Islands, the skyline looks resplendent with the CN Tower sticking its nose out of a zillion skyscrapers and the ROM looking surreal in its convoluted design. At night, music flows, buskers strum guitars and on local trains, you travel along impromptu clowns, rappers, crooners, storytellers. In Toronto, exhilaration needs no invitation; everyone is invited. Fact file Where to go: CN Tower, Rogers Centre, 100 workers monument, Town Hall, 501 Street Car Route, Toronto Islands, Harbourfront, Royal Ontario Museum, Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto Zoo. A day-trip to Niagara Falls is a must-do. What to eat: Charcuterie tasting in Reds, gourmet sandwich at My Place, Greek fare at Danforth, coffee at Broadview Espresso, kulfi at Lahore Tikka House. Other must-eats include Milestones, Luma at TIFF Bell Lightbox, Richmond Station, dinner at CN Tower' revolving restaurant. Where to shop: Eaton Centre, Bloor-Yorkville, Hudson Bay Company, Queen Street, Kensington Market.
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