REVERSAL ROLE When her daughter took the lead on a recent trip to Toronto Jane Anderson was delighted to pass the baton and be gracefully guided around the city and beyond
W hen your daughter gets the opportunity to study fine art overseas in Toronto, what does every mother do? She packs her bags, jumps on an Air Transat flight from London Gatwick and heads off to visit her, first chance she gets! Perched on Lake Ontario’s northwestern shore (which younger kids will be convinced is a sea not a lake) Toronto is known for its free-standing CN Tower: the tallest building in the world when it opened in 1975. Your teens might recognise it from rapper Drake’s ‘Views’ album cover. Along with its big city attractions, Toronto is a place that slowly unfolds its more localised secrets and it’s a good alternative to New York City - especially with teens. Having my daughter Scarlett as a guide was wonderful, not least as she’d been in the city for a
a Deco feel as well as super-comfortable beds, and daily wine-o’clock in the lobby lounge at 5pm is another hit; Scarlett joins me for a glass of Canadian white in front of the fire with chess and interesting coffee table books to hand. Right opposite the hotel is the BATA Shoe Museum. I can hear you asking, What? A museum dedicated entirely to shoes? Yes indeed, and the clever way it takes you through the evolution of mankind, makes you realise that what we wear on our feet tells us much about how we live, from the Anasazi people, who 6,000 years ago wove yucca plant sandals, to modern day sneakers by MSCHF, a Brooklyn based art collective: proof shoes can most definitely be art. Toronto has so much to explore for kids of all ages and interests. Top of my list would be the Hockey Hall of Fame to learn more about the national obsession with the sport, as well as Ripley’s
“TORONTO SLOWLY UNFOLDS ITS SECRETS”
month finding her feet whilst studying at OCAD University, originally founded in 1876 as the Ontario School of Art. You can’t miss OCAD’s flagship building - the Rosalie Sharp Centre for Design, the work of British architect, Will Alsop. Kids may think it’s a colossal piece of LEGO on stilts, and it’s certainly a bold statement, sitting right next to Grange Park: a great spot for a picnic. Just next
Aquarium of Canada, the Royal Ontario Museum, and Little Canada, where you can experience the history and architecture of Canada in miniature. Toronto is also home to the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre. But if you want somewhere outdoors to run around or have a picnic, head over to High Park, Toronto’s largest green space, which is
door is the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), well worth a look for its indigenous art past and present. And don’t miss Joice Wieland: Heart On, opening on June 21. Toronto-born Wieland’s humorous and biting artworks helped shape Canada’s changing ideas about gender, nationhood and ecology in the 60s, 70s and 80s. Scarlett is also now a dab hand at getting around the city by tram, bus and a subway with only two lines: easy to navigate for a London child used to the Tube. We get off at King Station for St Lawrence Market, a great foodie stop with casual places to eat, including Buster’s Sea Cove. I’m staying at the Kimpton Saint George Hotel on Bloor Street, just around the corner from Scarlett’s student accommodation. Toronto has many old residential streets mixed with its high rises and urban sprawl, and the hotel has
so expansive it has hiking trails. In summer a walk down to the waterfront is a must for bike trails opposite swanky high rise condos. Here families can catch the ferry from Jack Layton Ferry Terminal across to Toronto Island Park with its Gibraltar Point Lighthouse, boating and bird watching. And of course, along with amusements and splash pads, gardens, a petting farm and four of Toronto’s 10 beaches, the lake is also perfect for paddleboarding and kayaking. Back in downtown, a must-visit area is Kensington Market, whose Victorian houses, once home to migrant populations, are still holding back the high-rise tide. This bohemian district is where independent shops and tattoo parlours rub along with Tibetan cafes, artisan bakeries and vintage shops. We loved ‘Courage my Love’, a cavernous store with buttons, silk slips, turquoise jewellery, glasses, good cashmere and
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