Dec 26 2008
Toronto Harbor Cruises
A few years ago I went up to Toronto on a business trip. I really wasn’t sure what to expect because I had never been to Canada, and all of the big cities I was familiar with were typical US metropolises like New York, Atlanta, Dallas and the like. I was totally unprepared for the sprawling yet clean nature of Toronto.
I rented a car and cruised the area when I wasn’t in meetings, and found an area as diverse as the people there. From the high rises of downtown to the beautiful vineyards farther out near Niagara, the Toronto area had amazing contrasts.
The biggest surprise to me though, other than how clean the entire city was, had to have been the Toronto harbor. I really had never realized that not only did Toronto have a significant waterfront, but that it would be big enough for you to take a Toronto harbor cruise! I thought that harbor cruises and dinner cruises were the sole territory of place like, well like Charleston and San Francisco – places on the ocean! I never knew that when people talked of the great lakes, they really were Great Lakes.
I remember taking a ferry out to Toronto Island and the Toronto Island State Park. It was a beautiful area. I wander out there for hours amazed at the small island and all of the resources, including a clothing optional beach, that were available. Unfortunately I was there just into the off season so there weren’t as many facilities open and the flowers weren’t in bloom, but it was still an amazing place and so convenient to the downtown area.
While in Toronto I also ate at some excellent restaurants, browsed some well stocked book stored, and even took in the Broadway troupe showing of The Lion King. Oh, and of course, being a train person I marveled at the streetcars. Man I love those things. Never did get to take a full Toronto Cruise, but I would love to go back and do so.
Just thought I would pass on those thoughts. I hopefully will be traveling a bit more this year, and I was thinking about places that take you pleasantly by surprise. Toronto was certainly one of those.
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Tags: canada, harbor cruise, toronto
Toronto is a great city. I went to school there and lived downtown many years ago. Need to get back. Think of visiting Montreal. It is a real treat as well. All of the charm of Europe without the hassle and travel.
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Would love to visit Montreal, I have heard a lot of good things about it. And heard exactly what you say – that is like Europe.
After our quickie JOP marriage, my husband and I snuck off to Duluth, MN. I was stunned to see that Lake Superior had waves.
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Toronto has several different cruises available, if I recall correctly there are two that are tall ship cruises on schooners in excess of 100 feet. There are only two places on the lakes where I have found schooners of this size so far. Toronto and Traverse City, Michigan. Both are offering shorter cruises that only last a couple of hours, although in Traverse City, the schooner Manitou mays a couple of longer trips each year that can last for several days.