Joanne Sisco

T = Toronto, Canada

I had to give a lot of thought to what city I would feature for the letter *T*, and selecting my adopted city of Toronto became an obvious choice.

A couple of years ago, I realized that although I had travelled extensively around the world, I actually knew very little about the city I lived in.  I made it a quest to correct that omission.

Playing tourist at home has proven to be considerably more fun than I expected, with a ton of learning along the way.

It is said that Toronto is comprised of over 200 distinct neighbourhoods.  The following photos are just a small selection from some of the areas I’ve been exploring.

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Cabbagetown
T = CN Tower
Downtown on the Waterfront
T = Downtown
Union Station – Downtown
T = Downtown-2
Downtown – on the Waterfront
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Lesleyville “Doll House” – Originally posted Jan 2015
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Humber River on an extraordinarily balmy winter day
T = Kensington Market
The Village
T = The Beach
The Beach Boardwalk
T = Kensington Market-2
Kensington Market
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Little Portugal

Toronto is an interesting city of contrasts, small communities, grand buildings, and simply things that will puzzle or delight.

T

82 comments

  1. I’ve only been to Toronto once, when I was 17 – I had a great visit staying with relatives (who are sadly no longer with us), and have very fond memories of my trip 🙂

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  2. What a colorful city to live in…great for photo ops! I too have begun exploring the areas that are closer to home and it truly is surprising what you find.

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  4. A great choice for T…I too enjoy exploring Toronto neighbourhoods like a tourist… and now that we live just North in a smaller city I guess that’s technically what we are!

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    • … and because I look like a tourist when I’m poking around downtown with camera in hand and neck craned up to the sky, I love it when someone stops to ask me if I need directions 🙂

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    • Toronto is a beautiful city, but I wouldn’t call it particularly creative.

      There are sparks of it throughout the city, but generally our city council has been rather dysfunctional for a long time and little innovation happened – unless you count endless condo highrises along the waterfront.
      We rarely get creative development on a grand scale.
      … and when we do, the whiners complain endlessly about the cost without giving any consideration to the legacy it leaves or the attraction it brings.

      Really great cities have a strong mayor with a vision, and thankfully I think Toronto finally has one.

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  7. Robin Cochran sent me over here to see the “dollhouse” you posted on here because I published a book of poetry called Doll God (that of course has some doll poems in it). I’ve been to Toronto a few times because hubby’s mother’s family lives there, but have never even heard of this place! Fabulous, and I love your photos, too. Beautiful blog!

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  8. Fabulous. It reminds me of Bristol, England, near where I live, except for the HUGE building, which is entirely too big for an English city. The houses are in rows and all colours in several of the districts. Particularly Totterdown, where my daughter lives. It’s called ‘Totterdown’ because Bristol is built on hills and the roads in Totterdown are particularly steep, some so steep you can’t drive down them, and you can only ‘totter down’!

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    • Great question … this building is called The Power Plant and is actually an art gallery of Canadian contemporary work.
      “More Than Enough” was the name of a lecture conducted back in 1998 by Lawrence Weiner. For reasons I don’t know, it was added to the smoke stack … and is still there 🙂

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  12. Hi Joanne,

    Like this post a lot! I love playing tourist in TO as well. There is SO much to see! BTW, let’s not forget our beloved city was called Hogtown as well!! Yikes. I love all the street art on the electric boxes that have started recently. Thank you, your post reminds to get out there and play tourist again. Now that the weather is getting better…
    BTW2, have you ever taken one of the free ROM Walks offered by the Royal Ontario Museum? They start May 1st, Sunday afternoons, Wednesday evenings, very popular, led by very knowledgeable ROM volunteers and there is one for pretty much every neighbourhood. No sign up needed either.

    Thanks!

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    • Thank you so much!! I didn’t know about the ROM walks and now I’ll have to look into them. So much appreciated!!

      I agree about the artwork on the utility boxes. They seem to be mostly downtown and I have an outstanding note to myself to make a trip downtown to do some random touring 🙂

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  13. Nice collection of images of Toronto. We lived there for 25 years and our last house was one street over from the Leslieville doll house… And the Humber Bridge was a favourite of ours; I should post of our best pictures of this very photogenic bridge on my blog. (Suzanne)

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  15. I want to visit The Village and Kensington Market. They both appear to be artsy, interesting, inviting places. What do they sell at Kensington? Anything and everything?

    I was very close to Toronto several years ago. The then husband and I were on a motorcycle trip and we hit the edge of the city long enough for me to see a population sign. I remember it was over 2 million and I thought, “Wow, glad we’re not taking the bike into that.” That number scared me a bit.

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    • If I can drive in Toronto, it can’t be that bad 😉

      Kensington is a VERY eclectic place that does seem to sell everything and anything on the cheap end.
      They are a key place that actually stock stuff specifically for Red Dress Day for Bike Rally participants.
      I had one store tell me it is their biggest single sale month of the year as riders equip themselves for the Bike Rally Red Dress Day 🙂

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  18. Playing tourist at home is so much fun, we try to do it at least a few times a year.
    Our last visit to Toronto was really the first time we explored on foot without a specific goal or destination and it was amazing to see how much we discovered.
    I don’t know when it will be, but I’m very much looking forward to going back.

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    • Thanks Lynn – the more I explore Toronto, the more interesting I find it.
      eg – until I was asked the question about Cabbagetown, I had no idea about its being the largest continuous area of preserved Victorian housing in all of North America.

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  20. Joanne, the diversity and artistic displays in Canada you gave us are fantastic! When I married my college sweetheart, we honeymooned and took the Niagra Falls route, then north around Canada, including Toronto. I have my favorite photo of a stone building carving from there. It has a detailed scene with native Canadians in canoes with beautiful trees.
    Like a typical 22 year old, I did not think my mind would forget the name of the building! No note on back. . . We stayed in the towering Toronto Harbour Castle Hotel, where the honeymoon suite was wonderful with a view of Lake Ontario. I gave my oldest daughter the wedding photos (since a lot of family are gone now, especially on his side of the family) but the honeymoon was exceptional and I kept the album. I enjoyed every place we went in Canada! ❤

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    • That is so nice to hear! We all would like to believe that everyone who visits our city would see its beauty like we do.

      I too have stayed at the Harbour Castle and attended many functions there. It is a great venue – at least it still was the last time I was there!

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      • This was marriage to my college (met him first day there!) sweetheart and so our marriage took place on 7-8-78. Our rings had the date engraved inside. I am not sure I will make it back to the Harbour Castle but it was a “dream come true!” I mentioned my favorite places before but need to keep this on my list! 🙂

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  24. Nice T, Joanne! Never been to Toronto … in fact I’ve never been to any big city in North America. I’d love to go … I haven’t travelled much in my days.

    Toronto really seems to be a multifaceted city … When I read ‘Cabbagetown’, I was reminded that there used to be an area of our city here, named ‘Bugtown’ LOL It is no more.

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  25. Beautiful photos that give me a feel of what it’s like to be Toronto, which is another Canadian city I visited as a child, and need to get back to as an adult. Nice “T.”

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  26. I was last in Toronto in 2003 for a conference. My daughter, and a family friend and I drove up. I saw some of these sights (I’m sure my daughter saw more, as she explored the city while I was stuck in sessions). Thanks for another peek.

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  28. I really like the idea of being a tourist in your own town. When moved to Portland, right years ago, my daughter and I did just that. There are still many places to explore here. Well have to get back to that. I love the pictures. Such variety!

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