Gay Toronto - Community Listings
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General Information - historyTORONTO is the centre of Canada's largest metropolitan area whose population exceeds 5.6 million.(Census 2001) Situated on the northwest shore of Lake Ontario, Toronto has grown from a small trading post in the 1700s to a thriving commercial, financial and cultural city of international importance. The city is also known for its vibrant film production and publication businesses. Toronto is Canada's largest city, and the country's most diverse "melting pot." It has a prominent gay neighbourhood and offers a lively social life to gay visitors. Toronto is a city of sharp contrasts. To see old Georgian buildings nestled between modern high-rise apartment buildings is not unusual. A stone's throw from the Financial District with its glittering new buildings like the BCE Place, you find neighbourhoods that have been in decline for many years. A growing number of homeless people sleep in the shadows of expensive new condominium blocks, throughout the city. Toronto is home to various ethnic communities. It has the largest Italian community outside Italy, three Chinatowns, a Greektown and a little India. It is no surprise therefore that the city boast more than 5,500 restaurants of every ethnic cuisine imaginable.
Yonge Street, one of Toronto's more gay strips, is the longest street in the world running over 1,900 km/1,190 miles from Lake Ontario past Lake Superior. The CN Tower, probably the city's best know tourist sight, is the tallest free standing building in the world and measures a height of 553.3 meters/1.815 ft. Toronto would be similar to any other big city in the world without its Lake Ontario shoreline. True, there are cities with a more impressive and beautiful waterfront like Halifax or Vancouver, but just a short ferry ride away, busy city dwellers and tourists alike can find peace and tranquillity on the Toronto Island. From here you can enjoy a spectacular and totally different view of the city. For an even more impressive experience of nature's power, just board a hydrofoil ferries nearby that will take you to the Niagara Falls.
Toronto has so many interesting historical sites and tourist attractions we can not list them here all. The following recommendations are centrally located and definitely worth a visit. For those interested in Toronto's early history the Campbell House, a restored Georgian building (1822) provides an insight in the early days of Toronto. Another restored Georgian mansion and the oldest brick house in town is The Grange Historic House. Both houses offer guided tours by costumed guides. Canada's largest museum is located in Toronto. The Royal Ontario Museum is world famous for its collection of Chinese art. Tourists interested in Canadian art should visit the Art Gallery of Toronto. The Gallery is home to the Henry Moore Sculptures Centre and houses the world's largest collection of his works. A number of different neighbourhoods are worth checking out. In the downtown area, Chinatown offers a variety of inexpensive restaurants. Visitors with architectural interests will enjoy the Old Cabbage town district north of Carlton and just west of Parliament Street, with its many beautiful restored buildings. Old Cabbage town is a very popular social and residential area with lesbians. Affluent gays like to settle in the Bloor-Yorkville area, which is well known for it's many beautiful old buildings and excellent shopping facilities. On nearby Bloor Street you find branches GGGof many of the larger stores.
Gay Toronto's - Old Village Most of the bars and other gay businesses can be found in between Yonge and Sherbourne Street. The main gay drag and centre of all gay activities is Church Street. It is easy to spot with its rainbow flags hanging from the streetlights. While the street may not be that attractive during the day it becomes very lively at night and is the perfect place to do some bar hopping. Most bars are very close to each other. Cover charges are rare apart from a few late night places that charge a few dollars after 1.30 or 2 a.m. in the morning. Many of the bars have existed for a while and it shows. If you are looking for more trendy places you have to leave Church Street and try some of the newer places nearby. Drag shows are really popular here and there is at least one show nightly somewhere in the locality. On weekends many bars have drag shows at around 11 p.m. Local drag celebrities have recently served as advertising models for Baileys Liqueur, which gives an idea of how popular they are here. The gay scene seems less sex orientated than a few years ago, though one theory is that the action has moved from the bars to the bathhouses, of which there are many. If you are more into outdoor activities you will probably be interested to learn that Toronto is a much safer place than most other cities in North America.
Toronto's nightlife offers something for everybody. There are circuit parties and dance clubs, packed with Muscle Mary's, trashy (and less trashy) drag shows bars, leather bars and saunas. Cruise and dance bars offer opportunities for those who dislike big clubs and cover charges. If dining around 8 p.m. one can enjoy an aperitif at one of the bars without being the only one there. While you can party through the night, most people either go home after the 2 a.m. bar closing time or spend the rest of the night at a bathhouse. Toronto now has its own official nude beach on Toronto Island that is especially popular on warm summer weekends. It is called Hanlan's Point and had been popular with gays since the 1920s but now nudists no longer have to travel to Vancouver, though the water in Lake Ontario is definitely a lot dirtier than around Wreck Beach, but who wants to go swimming anyway?
The gay/lesbian Community Centre at 519 Church Street is an excellent place to find information about local gay life. It is home for many gay related groups and the staff is always helpful. Just behind the switchboard located in a small park you find the AIDS Memorial. The names of the deceased have been carved on stones since 1983. To get a name on a stone you just have to pay a small fee and no questions are asked. There is still lots of room that will hopefully never be needed. Since almost all businesses are gay or gay friendly the gay village is very safe and probably the best place to stay. It also has the advantage of being centrally located with good links to the public transport system. There are no gay hotels in Toronto but a few reasonably priced gay and gay friendly guesthouses as well as one women only Bed & Breakfast offers good accommodation deals.
Gay Toronto's Queer West Village
Gay Toronto's - New Queer West Village is more of an attitude than an identity; new and radical, and has a thriving underground gay scene The West Village is rapidly developed a reputation for innovative and challenging work, while gaining notoriety on the international arts scene as an important platform for queer arts and visual artists. The Bars and clubs are to a degree randomly spread along, Bloor St., College St., and Queen Street West. In the past several years there has been a welcomed increase in the number of businesses catering to the Gay market. It's celebration of everything queer - with the very best of theatre, music, dance, live art, comedy, cabaret, burlesque, visual art and literature from across the globe The Queen West Village has more than 500 gay friendy happenings, occuring in bars, cafes, restaurents, theatres and galleries. This new queer district, is quickly overtaking the Church Street's gay village as the in-place to socialize. The gay/lesbian Community Centre serving the West Village is Gay West Community Network
Climate Between May to October is the best time to visit Toronto, though sightseeing can be exhausting in July and August because of regular heat waves. Generally speaking Toronto's climate varies according to the winds. Warm and moist air is carried by southern winds, cold and dry air descends from the north. The weather can be quite unpredictable as temperatures may drop and rise frequently within a short period. Lake Ontario preserves the summer heat so autumn can be quiet pleasant and still mild while the frozen lake keeps spring temperatures pretty low until late May. With no mountains to protect the city, winds can have dramatic effects, especially in winter. The average temperatures in January/February vary between -1° C/30° F during the day and -8° C/18° F at night, though it can be much milder or considerably colder (do not forget the wind chill) too. From June to September daytime temperatures rise well above 20° C/68° F and can reach the low 30s/80s in July and August. Summer nights are warm and humid though humidity is less in the regions along the St. Lawrence River. Toronto gets rain or snow on an average of 7-8 days a month the whole year round. June and July are the sunniest months with an average 9 hours of sunshine a day. Expect only 2 hours of sunshine daily in December and January.
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Media Toronto has four daily newspapers. The Toronto Star , claims to be Canada's largest daily, and tends to be more conservative than liberal in most of its editorials. The Toronto Sun is more colourful and tries to voice the general public's opinion. Both papers publish Sunday Editions. The Globe and Mail a national paper of merit and the new upstart is The National Post.
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