Toronto

Toronto — the city Drake calls the 6ix — packs the diversity, the lake, the food, the islands and the architectural restlessness of a much bigger metropolis into a walkable downtown.

Highlights of the visit: the CN Tower's EdgeWalk, the Distillery District at sunset, breakfast at the St Lawrence Market, the ferry to Centre Island for the city skyline from the water.

Then dinner in Kensington Market, where the multicultural eats along Spadina justify a separate trip just for them, and a slow afternoon along Queen West for the galleries and the bookshops.

Stay at the Drake Hotel or the Gladstone if you want the art-led indie experience; the Shangri-La if you want the proper-hotel calm. Either way, fly into Pearson, take the UP Express into Union, and start walking.

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