The tour starts at the Southwest end of the campus at the intersection of Spadina and Bancroft and ends at the Eastern end of the campus at the intersection of Queen’s Park and Wellesley.  A full map of the tour can be found here and a brochure detailing the event can be found here.  However, being a student of the university I have been inside many of these buildings before, so I’d like to take the time to offer a few comments on some of the twelve buildings that are going to be part of this tour.

University of Toronto Multifaith Centre – Stop #1

Located at Spadina and Bancroft, the Multifaith Centre is arguably one of the most important cultural buildings in the City of Toronto.  It is home to all of the different spiritual student groups and for that reason forms a sort of hub of faith-based student activity not just within the university, but really across the city.  The University of Toronto is home to over 80,000 students and for that reason forms the lion’s share of the post-secondary student population residing within the city.  It’s a real education chatting with many of these groups and you’ll get a chance to see firsthand just how richly diverse the religious community within the city actually is.

Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library – Stop #3

The Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library really doesn’t have anything to do with spirituality, but the tour has billed it as being a “temple to the book.”  While that’s perhaps overstating things a little bit, it is certainly true that the inside of the library does lend itself to that type of imagery.  With many of the rarest books in the world being housed within this area, getting a chance to see them firsthand could be considered a spiritual experience for anyone that is inclined to reading as a hobby.  This building is located at St. George and Harbord and is very hard to miss.

Hart House – Stop #9

Well, no tour of the University of Toronto would be complete without a stop at Hart House and luckily enough for the people going on this tour there happens to be a chapel right inside where people can pause for a moment before continuing the tour.  Hart House is one of the central hubs of the university and even on the weekend you can expect it to be bustling with activity.  The architecture of the building is spectacular as well and according to the University of Toronto public relations division, it is one of the most photographed buildings in the country.

These are just three of the twelve major stops on the walking tour of the university and truth be told you can probably check out many of the adjacent buildings as well.  The University of Toronto is one of the most spectacular campuses in the country in terms of its historical value and aesthetic beauty and for that reason a walking tour of the campus is always a fun thing to do.  When the added bonus of a tour from a cultural point of view is thrown into the mix however, the results are that much more pronounced.

Post from: The Toronto Traveler

Are you interested in visiting Toronto sometime in the near future?  Well, whether you’re planning to drive across the border from the US, hop into Pearson International Airport from another continent or simply take a bus or train ride into the city from elsewhere in Canada, the upcoming weekend of May 24th and 25th should be your top priority when doing the scheduling.  The reason for this is that a great event will be taking place during this time. 

Known as Doors Open Toronto, this event will showcase some of the best of the city as 150 buildings will open their doors to the public over the weekend.  These include places that show off Toronto’s distinct multicultural heritage and religious diversity as well as the historical heritage that the city has come to be proud of over the years of its existence.  Some of these buildings would not normally be open to tourists because of their private nature, but during Doors Open Toronto you can tour them to your heart’s content.

Event Details

Doors Open Toronto 2008 is the 9th incarnation of this event and it is going to be the biggest one yet.  Admission to all of the buildings participating under Doors Open Toronto is completely free during the May 24-25 weekend.  To get an idea of how remarkable that is, every single building on the list is either a building that would not normally be open to the public during those hours or alternatively would charge an entrance fee for you to enter.  However, during the weekend that Doors Open Toronto is going on, admission is free and accessibility is universal.

More information about the event can be found by visiting the Doors Open Toronto Website, by e-mailing doorsopen@toronto.ca or by phoning 416-338-0628.

Buildings on Display

A full list of buildings on display is readily available from the Toronto City Website, but in looking over it I’ve come up with some highlights that I think warrant special attention:

Allan Gardens, located on 19 Horticultural Avenue, is one of the premier botanical garden sites in Toronto.  It was created in an act of philanthropy more than fifteen decades ago and ever since that time it has been a must see site within the City of Toronto.  During Doors Open Toronto, it will be open on both days from 10 in the morning until 5 in the afternoon.

The City of Toronto Archives is a site that doesn’t get mentioned much in traditional tourism, mostly because access to the archives is restricted by the city’s governing council.  However, all of the information that you could ever want to know about Toronto’s rich cultural and historical tradition can be found inside the archives and for people that love to totally immerse themselves in a city both past and present, the accessibility to the archives during Doors Open Toronto is an opportunity that can’t be missed.  The archives will be open on Saturday from 10 in the morning until 4:30 in the afternoon and will be closed on Sunday.  It is located on 255 Spadina Road.

There’s no specific reason for me to mention these two out of the 150 that will be available aside from the fact that I haven’t covered either before on The Toronto Traveler.  The fact of the matter is that every single site on the list is an important one for understanding Toronto, so you can quite easily scan the list and pick out the buildings that interest you the most.

Photo Credit: Flickr, Flickr

Post from: The Toronto Traveler

One of the things I haven’t talked that much about on The Toronto Traveler is the outdoors in Toronto.  Most of the things I mention are either places you can visit or things you can do inside one of the many buildings located in the city, but I have yet to discuss something that you can do outside if you’re just looking for some time to kill or want to get some fresh air.  Well, there are many great places that you can walk in Toronto, but one that should definitely get first mention because of its close proximity to many of the main tourism areas in the city is Philosopher’s Walk.

Beautifully crafted thoroughfares like the one shown to the left are commomplace in Philosopher’s Walk, which is a walkway that starts on Bloor Street West between the Royal Conservatory of Music and the Royal Ontario Museum and continues southward to Hoskin Avenue.  The walk itself is only a few minutes long, but it gives you a chance to bask in a beautiful walkway and take the pulse of the city in a very real way.  It also gives you the chance to encounter a number of people.  University students, music performers, city residents that live nearby and tourists walk back and forth through Philosopher’s Walk all day and with the benches that are available for your use you can just sit there and watch them come and go.  It is a great place to reflect and a great place to relax.

One final point that is worth mentioning about Philosopher’s Walk is the fact that it allows you to branch off and visit many of the other nearby areas.  In addition to being able to visit the Royal Conservatory of Music and the Royal Ontario Museum, you can also go take a look at the University of Toronto’s Varsity Arena and field as well as tourisn some of the nearby campus buildings, most notably the very beautifully constructed Trinity College.

Philosopher’s Walk is also located walking distance from St. George, Bay and Museum Subway Stations; if you check out the subway line map and take a look at many of my past posts, you will notice that these three subway stations form part of the downtown core where most of the action takes place vis-a-vis tourist attractions in Toronto.  That is the main reason why Philosopher’s Walk is shorter than normal, but there are other places in Toronto where you can take a really long walk without stopping that I will talk about in later posts.

Photo Credits: Flickr, Flickr, Flickr

Post from: The Toronto Traveler

Photo Credit: Scarborough Canada Day from cbcstreetteams on Flickr

Click here for a map of Thomson Park

In honour of this month’s Travel & Culture Theme Day, I thought I’d talk about a park in Toronto that I’ve been to many times.  Thomson Park is one of the premier parks in the city and since it also happens to be walking distance from my house, that works out pretty well for me!  I’ve travelled around most of the continent and I’ve rarely seen a combination of natural beauty and community spirit as good as the one that Thomson Park has going.

First and foremost, Thomson Park is a monument of natural beauty situated right within the Scarborough suburb of Toronto.  It’s just over 50 acres in terms of the total area of the park and this allows seclusion for people that want it from the rest of the events that go on daily.  There are many trails available for hiking, roller blading or bike riding and you can easily lose yourself inside the park’s trails for a day if that’s your idea of relaxation.

For the people that are interested more in the group outdoor activities, then the fact that Thomson Park has a number of amenities to facilitate that should be something to take notice of.  With public parking, picnic areas and washrooms all located within easy walking distance of each other, there are many families that choose to make Thomson Park part of a weekend afternoon spent with each other.  There’s also a playground for the kids and during the summer months a public pool that everyone can enjoy.

If you’re sports orientated, then you can have your pick from baseball, football, rugby, soccer or tennis facilities or you can even just head out into the field and come up with a de facto field for any other game that you might want to play.  There’s enough room to accommodate over a dozen different games going on at the same time and it’s a good thing too because of how often the park is used.

All in all, Thomson Park is one of the great outdoor places located within Toronto and since it’s also one of my favourite places in the city to go, I thought it would make a good Nature Theme Day addition.

Post from: The Toronto Traveler

When: Tomorrow @ 12 PM

The Santa Claus Parade is one of the annual institutions within the City of Toronto.  With all of the different events that go on within Toronto every year it is perhaps surprising that any event can be thought of as an institution, but if one exists then it is definitely this parade.  I used to go to it all the time as a kid and since the first parade was held in 1905, I’m sure many generations before me have done the exact same thing.

The parade itself starts at Bloor and Christie at 12 PM, traveling east on Bloor Street until it gets to Avenue, at which point it makes a right turn and starts traveling south.  It travels south as Avenue becomes Queen’s Park and then University until reaching Queen Street, where a left turn is made and the parade is once again traveling east.  It travels east to Yonge Street, making a right turn to travel south on Yonge to Front Street at which point it takes a final left turn and travels all the way to the termination point at the intersection of Front and Church Streets.

A map of the parade is available from the website of the event showing both the route of the parade as well as the 10 different TTC stations that the route touches.  There is no cost to view the Santa Claus Parade and you can go to any point along the route to watch.  If you have kids, then this is a wonderful event to take them to because they get to see a bunch of extremely artistic floats as well as jolly ol’ Saint Nick himself bringing up the rear of the parade!  You might want to get their early if you have kids though, because the spectating areas tend to fill up pretty quickly and unless you get a front row seat you might end up with them sitting on your shoulders for the duration of the hours long parade .

Post from: The Toronto Traveler

High Park is a big and open space.  And, like many other big and open spaces, it has a plethora of different myths and legends about it that concern ghosts, goblins and the spirits of people long dead that haunt its paths in an attempt to resolve whatever unfinished business has left them on Earth as ghosts.

The Colbourne Lodge in particular is a place where ghost stories abound.  It was the residence of John and Jemima Howard, who lived there right around the turn of the 20th century.  The one hour tour of Colbourne Lodge starts at 6:30 PM on the 27th and includes a number of ghoulish tales guaranteed to make the adults think and the kids curious (and maybe just a little afraid as well – after all, it is Halloween).  Best of all, the price is at most $10 and depending on your age, might be knocked down to $5 as well.

This is a great way to experience Halloween in Hogtown, for the simple reason that before and after the guided tour, there are the pathways of beautifully scenic High Park for you to wander through and take in.

More information about this event can be found by calling 416-392-6916.

Post from: The Toronto Traveler