With a new addition to the family coming in just a month and a half, we’re staying pretty close to home for the near future. The boys and I did get a chance to travel into the ‘Big City’ on a beautiful early May Sunday, though.
With the Toronto Marathon on, we took the subway down to Union Station and walked to the Toronto Islands Ferry station. We spent a few hours on the island before returning to the mainland.
Following that, we leisurely trekked through the downtown core, ending up in Kensington Market for an awesome Burrito lunch.
The early season view from the beach at Centre Island, looking back toward the city.
If you like swans, you will like the Toronto Islands. It seems there are more swans than ducks on the inland waterways of the islands.
A typical view of the Toronto skyline from the shores of Centre Island. Of course, the CN Tower stands prominent in the centre with the Rogers Centre (formerly Skydome) looking deceivingly close to the waterfront. For photographers looking to get some good night shots, the last ferry back to the mainland leaves at 11:00 on weekends over the summer months.
The ferry arrives at the Centre Island terminal with the downtown skyline in the background. The Ferry runs every half hour on weekends. Adults fare is $7 for a return trip.
The buildings of Toronto’s financial district as seen from Front Street.
The Canada Life Building. The 15 storey building was completed in 1931. There is a weather beacon at the top of the building that is visible in the picture. The beacon is updated four times a day by Environment Canada with the current conditions. This is what is all means:
- Steady green = clear
- Steady red = cloudy
- Flashing red = rain
- Flashing white = snow
The white lights along the support tower show:
- Lights running up = warmer
- Lights running down = cooler
- Steady = steady temperature
This street graffiti was found along an alley off Kensington Market. The painting went much further down the length of the alley.
One last parting view of the downtown before dropping below University Ave. to catch the subway train back to Yorkdale Station. It should be noted that the TTC has started to integrate a new style subway train with no dividers between cars. The only other place I’ve seen this is in Paris.
Downtown Toronto, Ontario Driving Tour
The following video was taken a handful of years after the images in the article above. This is an extensive driving tour of downtown Toronto and is definitely worth a look. If you like what you see, please give it a ‘Thumb’s Up’ in YouTube. If you love what you see, please consider subscribing to our YouTube Channel!
