"Ontario's Capital" a Toronto Travel Page by daffodil

Toronto is a really great place! There are lots of things to do and some of the best places to eat in the world (you can pretty much eat food from every country and ethnic group). Toronto is very large in size, about 40 km across and 25 north to south, and is surronded by many suburbs and smaller cities. This means that you can drive for more than an hour (no traffic) from downtown and still be surronded by people. But this is a great place with great people so it isn't such a bad thing. The best thing about Toronto is that for a city of almost 4 million, it is very clean and has very little crime. We have one of the safest , fastest, easiest and cheapest public transportation systems in the world (http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/ttc/index.htm). I hope that you enjoy a trip here soon! Make sure that you check out all the other tips that the page doesn't automatically display!

Toronto.com is a good place to start planning your trip, and since they have recently updated it, it is easy and fun to use.

Toronto is not an old city, founded in the early 19th century, but it is proud of its history and the history of Upper Canada. Upper Canada was the name for the area now called Ontario before 1867's Confederation, when Canada became a country unto its own. The main areas for getting into the history are Historic Fort York and Black Creek Pioneer Village. York was the original name given by the British to the city; Toronto was the First Nations name and was adapted by the British later; the meaning of "toronto" is "meeting place". Toronto is now the capital of the Province of Ontario (http://www.gov.on.ca/), although originally it was Niagara-on-the-Lake. Since its beginnings Toronto has become a multicultural city since it has been one of the main destinations for waves of immigration to Canada, starting first with British Loyalists forced to leave the newly established United States of America, after the American War of Independence; in the mid-19th centurythe Irish came fleeing the Pototo famine and the Black slaves of the American South came to find freedom via the underground railroad, and 20th century migrations first from Western and then Eastern Europe and more recently from Asia, and continuing today.

If you want to see more of Ontario (other than urban areas), be prepared to drive for at least an hour and mainly in a north or northeast direction. To the south there are some nice areas, but it still part of the most populated region of Canada. One of the nicest areas to the south is the Niagara Region, which I described in the travel log. If you are looking for wilderness, try out some of the great Provincial Parks at www.ontarioparks.com. I have written a bit on some of the popular ones I have visited in Province of Ontario page.