Recommend November 2011 - (Page 25)

“[Toronto is] North America’s most exciting cultural and gourmet destination, after New York City.” Tom Buchberger, Director of Business Development, Travel Bound than 300 movies on 33 screens, with selections from 65 countries, topped a quarter-million. Toronto’s arts scene also showcases impressive architectural work by giants such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Santiago Calatrava and Daniel Libeskind. But it was the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) that brought home favorite son Frank Gehry to deliver a bold renovation of the 111-year-old museum. Gehry, who grew up a few blocks from the site, wrapped the original Beaux Arts structure in sheets of billowing glass and swaths of Douglas fir, and added a glass roof to the new contemporary-art wing. The gallery’s 79,000-works collection includes outstanding pieces of Canadian art (the iconic Group of Seven landscapes, for starters), along with the largest public collection of Henry Moore works, European art from Tintoretto and Frans Hals to Van Gogh and Picasso; not to miss are the 2,000 works of art donated by the late media mogul Kenneth Thomson. Another artistic high is the must-visit Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), Canada’s largest and home to more than six million objects—from the Djedmaatesankh Mummy to a living beehive—showcasing human civilization and the natural world. The highlight of the museum’s recent renovation is the magnificent Michael Lee Chin Crystal, designed by Libeskind. The jagged crystalline structure of interlocking forms and jutting angles now forms the museum’s dramatic entrance, and inside the Crystal—with no right angles—are four levels of galleries and spaces such as the Spirit House and the Stair of Wonders. Within a 5-minute walk from ROM are two additional and essential museums: The Gardiner Museum with a world-class collection of ceramics, and the Bata Shoe Museum, resembling a stylized shoe box and housing more than 10,000 shoes that cover 4,500 years of footwear history. The museum makes footwear fascinating, from Egyptian funerary shoes and Napoleon’s socks to Elton John’s 1973 silver and red platforms and Marilyn Monroe’s red leather pumps. A bit farther away is the Toronto Dominion Gallery of Inuit Art, some 200 pieces fashioned by the indigenous people of Canada’s Arctic region; it’s housed in the TD Bank Tower, designed by Mies van der Rohe. Every visitor has to go up the CN Tower, Toronto’s most famous architectural landmark, which is 1,815 ft. tall and stands head and shoulders above the city’s skyscrapers. Glass-fronted elevators whisk you to the Observation Deck, where on a clear day you can see Niagara Falls in the distance. Have lunch here at the Horizons Cafe or reserve a table at the revolving 360 restaurant, serving up Canadian specialties and changing views. Tower-goers with nerves of steel can walk the Glass Floor—the view is 1,122 ft. straight down. And down at street level, one of Toronto’s hottest destinations is the Distillery Historic District, a 13-acre plot that was once the largest distillery in North America. Victorian buildings, bordering cobblestone streets, have been infused with new life, occupied by cafes, restaurants, galleries, art studios, performance venues and specialty shops. Check out Artscape where you can chat with potters and jewelers as they work in open studios. Another restored district, with pretty Queen Anne cottages and Victorian row houses, is Cabbagetown. It was settled in the 1840s by the Irish who grew cabbages in their front gardens. Toronto’s ethnic neighborhoods and markets scene reflects the United Nations-like vibe that comes from a city with a population half foreign-born, speaking 140 languages and dialects. Markets are great fun for foodies and indeed, with 120 stalls, the 200-year-old St. Lawrence Market (closed Mondays) is all about food, including the pea meal bacon sandwich with mustard—a classic and hearty Canadian snack. On sale is a huge selection of meat, fish and cheese, as well as hand-crafted gifts. Move over to Kensington Market, once a Jewish neighborhood and with waves of immigration, now adding Portuguese and West Indian flavors. There are great food buys here, as well ÍÍ The Frank Gehry-designed Art Gallery of Ontario. november 2011 25 The ToronTo ConvenTion and visiTors assoCiaTion

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend November 2011

Editor's Notes/Agent Speak
Hotel Desk: RockResorts
Tour Talk: International Expeditions
River Cruise Product Expands Even More for 2012
Hot (or Cool) Toronto is Staid No More
Timeless Boston
South Africa Always Steals the Limelight
BVI: Beauty on the Water
Private Islands Sizzle
Barcelona Will Leave You Beaming
Unspoiled Myanmar is Open for Business
The Lowdown on South America's Capital Highs
Riviera Nayarit in the Pink
The Three Faces of Baja Sur

Recommend November 2011