Tourism in Toronto

The city of Toronto consists of many unique and famous museums. The Royal Ontario Museum is Canada's largest museum of natural history and world cultures. It presents various galleries of art, archaeology and natural science from around the world.{{cite web |title=About the Museum |url=https://www.rom.on.ca/en/about-us/rom |publisher=Royal Ontario Museum |accessdate=March 9, 2019}} It is located at 100 Queens Park in Toronto. The Royal Ontario Museum offers a unique platform to engage with cultures from all around the world at the centre of one of North America's busiest cities.{{cite web |title=Visitor Information |url=https://www.rom.on.ca/en/visit-us/vistor-information |publisher=Royal Ontario Museum |accessdate=March 9, 2019}} The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) is one of the largest art museums in North America. Its collection of approximately 95,000 works includes many genres from around the world.{{cite web |title=About the AGO |url=http://ago.ca/about/about-the-ago |publisher=Art Gallery of Ontario |accessdate=March 10, 2019}} The Bata Shoe Museum consists of shoes from many different geographic areas, time periods, and cultural groups. It is located at 327 Bloor Street West, and it contains 12,500 artifacts that are exhibited time to time at specific exhibitions.{{cite web|url=http://www.batashoemuseum.ca/ |title=The Bata Shoe Museum |accessdate=March 9, 2019}} For hockey fans, the Hockey Hall of Fame is the biggest attraction, as it is more than 57,000 square feet of interactivity, hands-on games, theatres, the Stanley Cup and the finest collection of hockey artifacts from not only Canada but also around the world.{{cite web |title=Hockey Hall of Fame |url=https://www.hhof.com/ |accessdate=March 9, 2019}} Other museums include the Aga Khan Museum, Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art, Ukraine Museum of Canada, Toronto Police Museum and Discovery Centre, Textile Museum of Canada, the Museum of Inuit Art, Oral History Museum and many others.

The Toronto Zoo is Canada's premier zoo that includes over 5,000 animals, which represent about 500 different species.{{cite web |url=http://www.torontozoo.ca |title=Toronto Zoo|accessdate=March 9, 2019}} The High Park Zoo is also located in Toronto, which comprises 399 acres of land that includes animals including peacocks, deers, sheep and others.{{cite web |title=High Park Zoo |url=http://www.highparktoronto.com/zoo.php |accessdate=March 9, 2019}} More than 250,000 people visit the High Park Zoo every year.{{Cite news |last=Rainford |first=Lisa |date=5 May 2023 |title=High Park Zoo celebrates its 120th anniversary |url=https://www.toronto.com/news/high-park-zoo-celebrates-its-120th-anniversary/article_d50a629d-67d1-5016-a69f-7d38e108a7f9.html? |access-date=2 February 2024 |work=Toronto.com}} Various farms are also present in Toronto, which include substantial numbers of farm animals. Furthermore, Ripley's Aquarium of Canada is an attraction that is located in downtown Toronto.{{Cite news |last=O'Brien |first=Abby |date=3 April 2023 |title=Toronto aquarium welcomes new endangered animal |url=https://www.cp24.com/news/toronto-aquarium-welcomes-new-endangered-animal-1.6340682?cache=yes%3FclipId%3D263414 |access-date=24 January 2024 |work=CP24}} It is Canada's largest indoor aquarium,{{Cite web |title=Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada |url=https://attractionsontario.ca/attraction-listings/ripleys-aquarium-of-canada/#:~:text=Ripley's%20Aquarium%20of%20Canada%20%E2%80%93%20Located,pools%20and%20over%20100%20interactives! |access-date=24 January 2024 |website=Attractions Ontario}} which means that it is easily accessible in not only the summer but also the winter time. It consists of 5.7 million litres of water, representing marine and freshwater habitats from all around the world.{{cite web |url=http://www.ripleyaquariums.com/canada/ |title=Ripley's Aquarium of Canada|accessdate=March 9, 2019}}

The Niagara Falls is a series of 3 waterfalls between the Canadian province of Ontario and the US State of New York.{{Cite web |date=2013-09-30 |title=Niagara Falls |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/niagara-falls-ontario |access-date=2023-11-28 |website=Travel |language=en}} The falls are visible on both sides. A common tale that is told is that between America and Canada, people would throw things over the falls to the border. The water that falls is mostly flowing in the Horseshoe Falls. The Niagara Falls is the greatest source of electricity in the whole world, and makes up a large portion of the electricity generation for both the Northeastern United States and Ontario.{{Cite web |date=2017-11-23 |title=Turning on Toronto: Harnessing the Power of Niagara |url=https://www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/history-art-culture/online-exhibits/web-exhibits/web-exhibits-local-government/turning-on-toronto-a-history-of-toronto-hydro/turning-on-toronto-harnessing-the-power-of-niagara/ |access-date=2023-11-28 |website=City of Toronto |language=en-CA}}

The CN Tower is Canada's National Tower, and it is one of the attractions that is open the entire year. It is visited by approximately 2 million people every year.{{cite web|url=http://www.cntower.ca/en-ca/ |title=CN Tower|accessdate=March 9, 2019}} In 1995, the CN Tower was classified as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers, and for more than 30 years it was the world's tallest free-standing structure.{{cite web |title=Astounding |url=https://www.cntower.ca/en-ca/about-us/history/astounding.html |publisher=CN Tower |accessdate=March 9, 2019}} The CN Tower consists of many inner attractions like the Glass Floor, SkyPod, 360 restaurant and EdgeWalk. EdgeWalk is a full circle hands-free walk on a 5 feet wide ledge encircling the top of the Tower, which is 1,168 feet aboveground. It has also been mentioned in the Guinness Book of World Records for the highest external walk on a building.{{cite web |title=Toronto's Most Extreme Attraction |url=https://www.cntower.ca/en-ca/plan-your-visit/attractions/edgewalk/edgewalk-overview.html |publisher=CN Tower |accessdate=March 9, 2019}} Also, the CN Tower provides various services for individuals with disabilities and special needs.

The St. Lawrence Market is a major public market, located along Front Street and Jarvis Street in the neighborhood of the same name, St. Lawrence.{{Cite web |title=Building Toronto – St. Lawrence Market |url=https://www.heritagetoronto.org/explore/building-toronto-map/building-toronto-lawrence-market/ |access-date=22 June 2024 |website=Heritage Toronto}} To the south of the market, over The Esplande, lies the St. Lawrence Market South, the southern half of the building.{{Cite web |title=St. Lawrence Market District |url=https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/venues-facilities-bookings/booking-city-facilities/st-lawrence-market/ |access-date=22 June 2024 |website=toronto.ca}} The St. Lawrence market was first established in 1803, later being replaced in 1814, from henceforth being used as both a public market and post office before burning down in the Great Fire of 1849.{{Cite web |last=Bradburn |first=Jamie |date=9 April 2024 |title=How the Great Fire of 1849 reshaped Toronto |url=https://www.tvo.org/article/how-the-great-fire-of-1849-reshaped-toronto#:~:text=Over%20the%20early%20morning%20hours,James'%20Cathedral. |access-date=22 June 2024 |website=TVO today}}{{Cite web |date=30 May 2024 |title=St. Lawrence Market |url=https://www.destinationontario.com/en-ca/attractions/st-lawrence-market |access-date=22 June 2024 |website=destinationontario.com}}{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=John Doug |date=19 September 2015 |title=Toronto’s first Post Office |url=https://tayloronhistory.com/2015/09/19/torontos-first-post-office/ |access-date=22 June 2024 |website=Historic Toronto}} It was then replaced, with the modern St. Lawrence north building being built on the site. The new St. Lawrence market had two floors, with the bottom floor as a market and the upper floor as Toronto's new city hall, designed by E.J Lennox, only replaced in 1899 where city officials moved to what is now called today as Old City Hall.{{Cite web |title=Toronto's First City Hall and The St.Lawence South Market |url=https://www.lostrivers.ca/content/points/southmarket.html |access-date=22 June 2024 |website=Lost Rivers}} The market today features more than 100 vendors, in addition to once being named, by National Geographic, the world's best food market.{{Cite web |date=13 September 2011 |title=Top 10 Food Markets |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/food-markets |access-date=22 June 2024 |website=National Geographic}}

There are a number of tours of different kinds available to visitors in Toronto, giving them the chance to view the city or specific areas of the city, led by local guides. Some of these include:

Bus tours within the city (e.g. City Sightseeing Toronto{{Cite web|url=https://www.citysightseeingtoronto.com|title=City Sightseeing Toronto {{!}} Toronto's #1 Tour Operator|website=City Sightseeing Toronto|language=en-US|access-date=2018-09-21}}), showcasing some of the major attractions and points of interest, as well as day tours to the nearby Niagara Falls{{Cite news|url=https://www.niagarafallstourism.com|title=Niagara Falls Canada {{!}} Official Destination Website|work=Niagara Falls Canada|access-date=2018-09-21|language=en}}

Boat tours on Lake Ontario (e.g. Toronto Harbour Tours{{Cite web|url=https://harbourtourstoronto.ca/about-us/|title=About Us |publisher= Toronto Island Tours and Cruises|website=Toronto Harbour Tours|language=en-US|access-date=2018-09-21}}), which show guests the Toronto skyline from the water and give them a close-up view of the Toronto Islands.

Food tours (e.g. Tasty Tours{{Cite web|url=https://tastytourstoronto.com|title=Toronto Food Tours & Chocolate Tours {{!}} Tasty Tours Toronto|website=tastytourstoronto.com|language=en|access-date=2018-09-21}}), walking tours that guide guests to some of Toronto's foodie hotspots for samples and a history of the area. These tours usually aim to highlight the variety of cuisines in Toronto, sometimes focusing on the dense food scenes in specific areas (e.g. Kensington Market{{Cite web|url=http://www.kensington-market.ca/|title=Kensington Market - Home |website=www.kensington-market.ca|language=en|access-date=2018-09-21}}).

Haunted Tours (e.g. The Haunted Walk of Toronto{{Cite web|url=https://hauntedwalk.com/toronto-tours/|title=The Haunted Walk of Toronto |publisher=Haunted Walks Inc.|website=hauntedwalk.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-09-21}}), these evening tours take guests to some of the city's oldest and most haunted buildings and neighbourhoods (e.g. Black Creek Pioneer Village,{{Cite web|url=https://blackcreek.ca|title=Black Creek Pioneer Village - A pioneer museum of Ontario in the 1860s|website=Black Creek Pioneer Village|language=en-US|access-date=2018-09-21}} where they also offer a séance).

Segway Tours (e.g. Go Tours Canada{{Cite web|url=https://www.gotourscanada.com|title=Toronto Walking Tours, Segway Tours and Corporate Teambuilding - Go Tours|website=Go Tours|language=en-US|access-date=2018-09-21}}), these tours provide guests with their own Segway, helmet, and crash course on Segway driving, before leading them on a short tour of the area. Due to regulations, the tours are not city-wide, often occurring in smaller neighbourhoods with little vehicular traffic (e.g. The Distillery District{{Cite web|url=http://www.thedistillerydistrict.com|title=The Distillery Historic District - Home|website=www.thedistillerydistrict.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-09-21}}).

Bicycle Tours (e.g. Toronto Bicycle Tours{{Cite web|url=https://torontobicycletours.com/ |title=Toronto Bicycle Tours: Explore Toronto by Bike|website=Toronto Bicycle Tours|language=en-US|access-date=2018-09-21}}), giving guests an opportunity to see more of the city in a short space of time. They can experience the environment and see the area while also being able to communicate through the microphones.

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