To settle in communities across Canada, many of our ancestors would have traveled into the Town of York, on the north shore of Lake Ontario, before proceeding to their final destinations. The Town of York was a busy place and served as a secondary capital for Upper Canada in the eighteenth century and the location for various commercial activities. Today, the Town of York is known as Toronto.
While Toronto today is a booming metropolis, there are still a lot of historical sights to see and to help you connect with your ancestors, the first peoples of the land, and many of the early pioneers. While you are at the Conference in June 2024, why not take this opportunity to walk where they walked.
Toronto is an exciting city to visit, especially during the summer months. Things to see before or after the conference: CN Tower (experience 360-degree views of Toronto); explore the Toronto Islands – a short ferry ride yet still in the city centre; and many different neighbourhoods that make up distinct communities within Toronto, including: the Danforth (Greektown); Little Italy, the Beaches, the Scarborough Bluffs, Chinatown, or the Junction, to name just a few!
The fabulous architectural icon, Union Station, was built between the years 1914-1927, and is the central transportation hub for people to travel into and out of Toronto by train. So why not walk through the impressive building to get a sense of their experience.
The Distillery Historic District, formerly the Gooderham & Worts Distillery, was founded in 1832 and has been transformed into a 13-acre multi-purpose site with interests to appeal to everyone: shopping, galleries, food and entertainment.
Other notable buildings: Casa Loma, the castle in the city; St. Lawrence Market, which is situated in the buildings of Toronto’s first city hall; Historic Zion Schoolhouse, Montgomery Tavern, Fort York, and more! Museums to pique your interest include the Royal Ontario Museum, Spadina Museum, Gibson House Museum or, if you are interested in local art and innovative artists, visit the Art Gallery of Ontario. If you’re a tadophile, you may wish to visit the various cemeteries in Toronto, including the St. James’ Cemetery and Crematorium, Toronto’s oldest operating cemetery, which opened in July of 1844.
Toronto is an easy transportation hub so if you would like to visit points beyond the city, there are many options. Toronto has two airports, the Lester B. Pearson International Airport and the smaller “City” airport Billy Bishop, on Toronto Island. Great links from the Toronto airport into central Toronto via the UP Express train will get you downtown in under an hour. Rome2Rio outlines various types of transportation around the city. Getting around Toronto using the GO trains, subway and streetcars is simple. If you wish to venture further out to other towns around Ontario, within a two-to-three hour drive you could visit Niagara Falls, London, Cottage Country or Kingston. Even Ottawa, and Library and Archives Canada, is just five hours away!
Of course, Toronto is also a genealogy hub. The Archives of Ontario are located in the north end of the city, the City of Toronto Archives and the Toronto Reference Library are in the centre of the city, and all are easily accessed.
While you are soaking up all things genealogy, there are many activities for the rest of the family.
Fancy a Blue Jays game? Head to the Rogers Centre. Mad about hockey? The Hockey Hall of Fame is in an historic bank building right downtown. The Ontario Science Centre is a short jaunt away in North York. Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada is downtown on the Toronto Harbourfront, where everyone can enjoy the kilometres of trails along the water.
To top off your experience of a fabulous genealogy conference, why not stay a little longer and bring the family to fully enjoy everything that Ontario’s capital has to offer!
