Known to locals as “the Gladstone,” this hotel is located in the trendy Queen Street West area, where there is an abundance of arts and design studios and galleries. The hotel attracts both tourists and locals on a daily basis, hosting art exhibits and music gigs every night of the week.
The café also has menus for any time of day or night.
The most original hotel rooms in the city can be found here: there are 37 unique, individually designed rooms by local Toronto artists. The Biker Room features furniture and accessories influenced by motorcycles and biker culture. The Canadiana Room has an antler chandelier with forest wallpaper on one wall and cedar paneling on another.
Built in 1889, the Gladstone is Toronto’s oldest continuously operating hotel, with one of the last hand-operated elevators in the city. A true gem. Prices start at C$165, about £104 or 120 €.

www.gladstonehotel.com/
1214 Queen Street West Toronto, ON M6J 1J6, Canada
+1 (416) 531 4635
Google map: bit.ly/vUC8Tw

* Giulia is our Been there local for Toronto. You can see her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/places/canada/toronto/index.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/GiuliaFalsetti

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Toronto’s downtown core has an underground tunnel system that links over 50 buildings and office towers, five subway stations, six hotels, parking garages and major attractions in the city, all with underground passageways full of places to shop.
According to the Guinness World Records, PATH is the largest underground shopping complex linking 28 km (17 miles) with over 1,000 shops and services. Once a year, the PATH hosts the world’s largest underground sidewalk sale. The underground system also provides a great haven from the elements, with heating in winter and air conditioning in summer.
I love taking the PATH in the cold, winter months, where I can walk without a coat for miles at a time. I must admit, it can be a bit confusing getting around, but that’s all part of the fun.
Wandering around, not really knowing where I’m going on a lazy day, browsing shops, sitting in a café, it’s all great fun when the weather outside is dreadful.
To help you get around easier, each letter in the PATH is a different colour and represents a
direction: P is red and represents south, orange, A, directs pedestrians to the west, blue, T, directs them to the north, and the H is yellow and points to the east.

www.toronto.ca/path/pdf/path_brochure.pdf

* Giulia is our Been there local for Toronto. You can see her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/places/canada/toronto/index.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/GiuliaFalsetti

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Honest Ed’s is more than just a store – it’s a Toronto landmark that locals have shopped in at least once and where tourists must visit before they leave the city.
It is named after its founder, Ed Mirvish, who opened the store in 1948 and ran operations until his death in 2007. Running the length of an entire block, this building can be seen several metres away: the exterior is covered with thousands of huge red and yellow signs lit up like a theatre marquee, advertising the name of the store. There are also several slogans covering the exterior, with puns such as, “Our prices are for the birds – they’re cheap, cheap.”
The 160,000 square foot place sells all sorts of kitsch, as well as low-priced goods ranging from clothing, kitchenware, hardware, toys, furniture and appliances, grocery and pharmaceutical items.
The walls of the very modest interior are crammed with autographed photos of personalities such as Frank Sinatra, Liberace, Lauren Bacall, and many others. There are also posters and photos from old film and stage productions from theatres that Mirvish owned in Toronto and London.
Once you’re done looking and buying, the surrounding neighbourhood, called Mirvish Village, has unique boutiques, book stores, antique shops, cafes, and restaurants.

honesteds.sites.toronto.com/
581 Bloor Street West, Toronto, M6G 1K3
+1 416 537 1574
Nearest subway: Bathurst station
Google map: bit.ly/rYMHWq

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The CN Tower is the tallest free-standing structure in the Western hemisphere, standing at 1,815 feet.
This communications and observation tower, located in downtown Toronto, is a familiar icon of the city’s skyline. Its name refers to Canadian National, the railway company that built the tower.
In 1995, the CN Tower was declared one of the modern Seven Wonders of the World by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Taking the glass floor paneled elevator up to one of the observation decks is an exciting
experience in itself. It takes about 1 minute to reach the Look Out Level at 1,135 feet.
Other observation levels include the Glass Floor Level, at about 1,120 feet, which allows you to see straight down to street level. Brave children can sometimes be seen jumping on the glass floor, while those with less nerve remain on the sidelines. Also on this level is the Outdoor Observation Deck, where you can get a bird’s eye view of the city. The Sky Pod level is one of the world's highest public observation galleries, at an elevation of 1,465 feet. In June 2007, the tower installed 1,330 super-bright LED lights inside the elevator shafts, which shoot upwards to light the tower from dusk until 2am. The tower changes its lighting scheme on holidays and to commemorate major events.
If you want to be pushed to your limits, literally, the CN Tower opened EdgeWalk on August 1, 2011, where thrill-seekers attached to a safety harness can walk full circle and hands-free around the 5-foot ledge encircling the main pod of the tower, at 1,168 feet.

www.cntower.ca
301 Front Street West, Toronto, ON
+1 416 868 6937
Google map: bit.ly/okKTb1

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Built in 1892 to house the head office of the Gooderham and Worts distilling company, the Flatiron was the first building of it’s kind constructed in North America. Known for its distinct narrow, wedge shape where Wellington Street merges with Front Street to form a triangular intersection, the building is an historic site. It has a mural on its back wall, making it appear to have more windows than it does. The Flatiron is still being used as an office building and there is a small pub in the basement with a large patio around the south side of the building. Beyond the pub, the building is open for viewing from Monday to Fridays from 9AM to 5PM.

49 Wellington Street East (near Front Street)
+1 416 703 1100
Google map: bit.ly/nbkpED

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Heritage Toronto Walks offers free neighbourhood walking tours, from April to October, covering all areas of the city. A walk may focus on architectural, historical, archaeological or natural heritage, depending on the area and the theme of the walk. Most walks are scheduled on weekends, although there are some on summer weekday evenings. Reservations are not required.

www.heritagetoronto.org/discover-toronto/walk

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