Toronto - a Perfect City in Summer

Toronto is one of the most amazing cities I've seen! There's something different to do every day and with events scattered right through July and August you'll never find yourself bored.

Climb the CN tower on a clear day to see right over Toronto and on to Lake Ontario and arrive back to ground level for fresh lemonade at the kiosks outside. Pick up a designer bargain in the summer sales on Bloor Street and walk along Queen Street for the best boutiques in town - having been first inspired by the Bata Shoe Museum!

Check out Richmond Street for the coolest bars and clubs, having discovered Elm Street's eateries just hours before. Sit on the grass for summer open air Shakespeare or climb up Casa Loma, an amazing city mansion.

It may not be the most obvious holiday destination, but Toronto has a bit of everything for everyone - splendid sights, super shopping...there's always something exciting to be done!

Quick Tips:

Pick up a copy of Toronto's 'Metro' in the morning - it's the free newspaper that everyone here reads and will keep you informed of events coming up! The Toronto Star is also great for giving notice of events - especially on a Thursday.

Eating out is pretty cheap so you don't have to stay in, even if on a budget! Many of the clubs have representatives standing near, with vouchers for free entry - so if you're impartial to where you end up on the night out, it's a good idea to grab a token or two!

If you're visiting in summer bring sunscreen and a floppy hat - it's roasting outside!

Best Way To Get Around:

If you don't mind walking most of the city centre sights can be reached on foot, but Toronto's public transport is really good as well. One journey costs .75 to anywhere in the city - and that includes transferring from bus, subway or streetcar. The subways are safe and connect the major sights. Toronto has a system for women travelling alone at night on the buses - simply tell the driver where you need to get off and he or she will make a special stop for you.

A great place to go...if you don't hate queueing! Canada's Wonderland is an immense theme park, well outside of Toronto. If you're going, set aside a whole day because by the time you line up and go on each ride, the park will be ready to close.

We arrived via the 165A bus - a bad idea because, as it winds its way along suburban streets and industrial buildings, the journey takes almost an hour. Much better was the Go! bus that brought us back to Yorkdale Station, from where downtown Toronto was just subway stops away.

Entry to Wonderland costs around $60, so if you're going more than once (and you'll need to, given the size of the park!) a $90 season pass may make more sense. Once inside there's something for everyone - children and toddlers are well entertained in Kidzville while thrill seekers can be scared witless on one of the many crazy rollercoasters - fancy backwards loop the loops??? The water rides were brilliant (bring a bathing suit!) but the lines long and cold in anything but the warmest weather! We were glad to take refuge from the high heat at the ice skating show, where totally amazing world class ice dancers wowed avid audiences for half an hour three times a day.

The park ticket won't let you bring food inside the grounds but the grass outside is a good place to picnic and avoid the extortionate food outlet prices.

Wonderland would be a great, albeit pricey, place for a family day out. But get there early and stay pretty late to avoid the long queues and get the most from the park!

Families with young children will love Ontario Place - a great place to cool off on a hot summer's day. We arrived at 5pm and were entertained for some hours, especially in the water park - everything else is geared much more towards kids.

Queues weren't very long for all the steep slides and - what was best of all - you could go down them together - it's always more fun when someone's there to scream with you!

We were hungry and kept going at Pizza Pizza, Toronto's ubiquitous takeaway place. The food was pricey but, unlike Canada's Wonderland, I think you could probably take your own in okay.

It cost us $33.50 for each adult admission and that was with the west of the park closing for the Chinese Lantern Festival later on. A word of advice - if you're going to this buy your tickets once inside Ontario Place - it was much cheaper than buying both entry plus park rides right at the door.

It was easy to reach Ontario Place via subway and streetcar, but we elected to walk along the waterfront on our way - tiring but really pretty to watch the canoers and bigger boats.

On a hot day I'd definitely go back to Ontario Place. Not as big as Canada's Wonderland but much more convenient to Downtown Toronto, with fewer queues and a fun waterpark inside!

This place was amazing! Boys beware: the visitors were almost only female! There was plenty to keep girls of all ages entertained.

From Polly Pockets and Barbie shoes to Cinderella stories from all over the world, the bottom floor has a history of shoes across continents and eras, each telling a distinct story. Upstairs, celebrity shoes are celebrating in a short film, while the top floor's examples from the permanent collection vary from frivolous footwear to eminently practical shoes.

The museum's current exhibitions change from time to time. I was there to see the Rococco collection of beautiful embroidered, elegant high hells, exhibited to a soundtrack of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik - very refined! - and Chinese children's shoes, inspired by the animals of the Chinese Zodiac.

Admission to the museum was very inexpensive - $12 for adults and $6 for students - but beware! You'll spend much more in the totally unique Shoe Museum shop! High heeled cake cutters and charm bracelet charms vie for space with shoe themed cards and even paper tissues! Perfect for buying presents for back home!

website: www.allaboutshoes.ca. Subway stop: Museum is probably best!

This was an amazing end to a day at Ontario Place. The Chinese Lantern Festival runs until October 7th this year, and it's definitely worth checking out.

Every night, over 40 enormous lanterns light up - from Chinese dragons and stories behind legends to cute pandas and logos for the next Olympic Games. We enjoyed Chinese acrobatics and a soundtrack of Asian music as we sampled familiar food in a seemingly perfect setting.

The crafts on sale were amazing - you could pick up a parasol or learn how to make a lantern for yourself as you walked along wondering just how long it took to make each massive display.

If you're planning to go to Ontario Place also, try to do this on the same day: it makes admission much cheaper. Whether discounted or full price, however, this is something you don't want to miss!

Information line: (866) 660-8996.

In the heart of Toronto's Downtown, just off Dundas en route to the Eaton Centre, lies an interesting way to spend the afternoon: the Textile Museum of Canada.

I hadn't really been aware of what to expect when I made my way inside but (once I had dodged past two enormous hairy dogs!) I was really glad I went! The exhibitions change every so often and when I was there I loved what I saw.

One of the most interesting things was clothing made from salmon skin especially for the museum. I couldn't believe anything so intricate could come from the scales of a fish!

Cloths that Shook the World was a great exhibition - it paired cloth with major world events and described how it led to revolutions and, in turn, was inspired by troubled times. Upstairs, the indigo exhibition gave an insight into the colour blue used in cloth that really made one think.

It was relatively inexpensive to get into the museum - $10 for an adult and $6 for students, with Wednesday evenings being Pay What You Can. For fashionistas and indeed any art lovers, it was well worth seeing this and spending at least an hour inside!

A shopping centre with everything you'll ever need! Or so someone said before I visited Toronto. Having had a look around it, I'm inclined to agree.

The Eaton Centre houses hundreds of shops over three floors and a basement. Chemists, fashion, gadgets, kitchenware... you name it, they sell it.

Staples like Gap and Banana Republic nestle alongside designer names in the centre so there's something for everyone, splashing out or on a budget. Note - the prices seem to go up with the floors. If you're short of cash, probably better to buy fashion further down on level one!

I liked to call in for some window shopping on my way back from work all summer. I soon found that Starbucks inside the third floor bookstore sells 'original oat fudge bar' buns - to die for!

You won't buy anything too original in the Eaton Centre, but it's a lovely way to spend an afternoon's hard shopping - interspersed with coffee breaks at the cafés all around, of course!