Cheap Flights to Toronto  

Canada’s largest city is one of North America’s most diverse communities, where people from every other country in the world have come to make this their new home. That diversity makes Toronto one of the most colorful cities in the world and its neighborhoods – Chinatown, Little Italy, Greek Town, to name just a few – are what visitors love about a city also known as Hogtown. The CN Tower, once the tallest structure in the world, is the city’s defining landmark but over the past decade Toronto’s skyline has expanded at a record rate and now resembles a mini-Manhattan. Toronto’s Lake Ontario waterfront reminds people of Chicago’s lakefront and what many people don’t know is that the two cities share much in common, including jazz and other music festivals. Toronto has also been called Hollywood North – many films are made here and the city’s film industry is one of its biggest contributors to the local economy. The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) draws a star-studded entry list each year and is considered by industry insiders as the most influential in the world. The city’s diversity is showcased each year in two major cultural events – the annual Gay Pride Parade, North America’s biggest, and Caribana, a summer festival which showcases the city’s large Caribbean population. Niagara Falls is just an hour’s drive away from Toronto. Toronto’s theatre scene is second only to New York’s in North America.

Best time to visit: Spring, summer and fall.

Getting around: Toronto has an excellent subway system and is one of the last cities in North America offering streetcar service. Cabs are expensive.

Our favorite hotel:  Toronto’s iconic Fairmont Royal York – where Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and other royals stay when they visit Toronto, is still No. 1 in the city but with a new Four Seasons – Toronto is the luxury chain’s world headquarters – as well as entries from 5-star chains like Ritz-Carlton, Shangri-La and a number of high-end boutique properties coming to the city, the landmark Royal York will be hard pressed to keeps its No. 1 ranking in the years to come.

Our favorite restaurant: Joso’s (202 Davenport Road; 416- 925-1903) – There’s not many restaurants like Joso’s in the world. Located on the edge of Toronto’s trendy Yorkville district, this room that specializes in Mediterranean  dishes, is an eclectic establishment where statues of bare breasted women stare down at your while you inhale house specialties like squid ink pasta and fish so fresh it’s tails are still flipping on the serving plates.