August / September Places to Visit

OBW Orientation

August 2011

Toronto

Royal Ontario Museum (ROM)

• Permanent Exhibitions– World Cultures– Natural History

• Hot Tip– Free guided walking tours in Toronto

• www.rom.on.ca

ROM:Current Special Exhibitions

• Water: The Exhibition• Bollywood Cinema Showcards: Indian Film Art from the

1950s to the 1980s• Who’s Drawing the Lines: The Journey of Judith Snow• Embellished Reality: Indian Painted Photographs• Sitting Still: Faces of Childhood• Riotous Colour, Daring Patterns: Fashions + Textiles 18th

to 21st Centuries• Godin Tepe• Jane Ash Poitras: New Acquisitions of Contemporary

First Nations Art

Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO)

• Permanent Collections• Current Temporary Exhibitions

– Abstract Impressionist New York– Haute Couture: General Idea– Songs of the Future: Canadian Industrial

Photographs, 1858 to Today– Painting on Paper: The Drawings of Robert

Motherwell– The Thomson Collection

• www.ago.net

Other Toronto Museums

• Museum of Canadian Contemporary Art• Ontario Science Centre• Bata Shoe Museum• The Design Exchange• Fort York• Black Creek Pioneer Village• Etc., etc.

• www.toronto.ca/culture/museums.htm

Fresh Air in Toronto

• Toronto Islands

• The Beaches

• The Ravines

• High Park

• www.toronto.ca/parks/

Other Fun Stuff in T.O.• Kensington Market• St. Lawrence Market• Distillery Historic District• Chinatown, Greek Town, Little Italy• Ontario Parliament Building• CN Tower• Harbourfront• Ontario Place• Canadian National Exhibition (The Ex)• Pro Sports: Blue Jays, Argonauts, Maple Leafs,

Toronto FC• Clubs, Live Music, etc.• Toronto International Film Festival

Public transportation(Long-distance buses)

• Greyhound Bus– Check for special offers, buddy fares, etc.– ISIC discount– Website includes other bus lines– Check journey times– May pick-up and drop on campus at

weekends (certain universities)– www.greyhound.ca

• Megabus– ca.megabus.com/

Transportation(Trains)

• Via Rail– More comfortable and usually more expensive

than bus– Schedule is limited (sometimes very limited!)– Discounts for booking ahead– Tickets are train-specific (certain trains sell-

out ahead of time)– ISIC discount– Check journey times

• www.viarail.ca

Trainsportation (Air)

• From Canada– Air Canada (Canada, USA, International)– Westjet (Canada, USA)– Porter Airlines (Toronto and points east, mostly)– Air Transat (Charters, holiday destinations, incl. Europe)– Major US airlines (to USA and beyond)

• In USA– Look at departures from Buffalo, Detroit, etc.– Major airlines (American, United, Northwest, Delta, etc.)– Discount airlines (Spirit Air, Jet Blue, Independence Air, etc.)

• Seat sales• Add-on fees (beware!)• Package trips (mostly Carribean, Latin America, Florida)

– Travel agencies– Last-minute offers

Renting a Car

• Shop around– Big companies (Alamo, Avis, Hertz, Budget, etc.)?– Local company?

• Unlimited kms. or pay by distance driven?• Age restrictions? Young driver fee?• Collision Damage Waiver (CDW)?• Liability Insurance• Credit cards• Options for ADAC members

Around Toronto

• McMichael Canadian Art Collection– www.mcmichael.com

• Canada’s Wonderland– www2.paramountparks.com/canadaswonderland/

• St. Jacob’s / Elora Gorge– www.stjacobs.com

• Royal Botanical Gardens– www.rbg.ca

Niagara F

alls

Niagara Falls

• Getting there (from Toronto)…– Bus (2¼ - 2½ hours each way)– Train (2 hours)– Car (1½ - 2 hours)– Guided tour

• Canadian Falls• American Falls• Niagara Parkway• Niagara-on-the-Lake• Niagara Peninsula

Parry S

ound /T

hirty Thousand Islands

Parry Sound / Thirty Thousand Islands

• Getting there (ca. 2 hours from Toronto: bus or car)

• Holiday town• Hiking• Canoeing• Camping• Boat tours• Float plane flights

Ottaw

a

Ottawa

• Getting there (from Toronto)...– Bus (5 - 5½ hours)– Train (4 - 4½ hours)– Car (4 - 5 hours)– Air

• Parliament Buildings• National Gallery• Museum of Civilization (Hull, Qué.)• Other museums and galleries• Byward Market• Rideau Canal• Laurentians

Algonquin P

rovincial Park

Algonquin Provincial Park

• N.E. Ontario

• Getting there– Car (3+ hours from Toronto)

• Camping

• Hiking

• Canoeing

• Wildlife (very wild)

Bruce T

rail

Bruce Trail

• Niagara Escarpment• Hamilton area (Royal Botanical Gardens)• Guelph area• Collingwood area• Bruce Peninsula

– Tobermory– Chi-Cheemaun ferry: Manitoulin Island– The Lion’s Head Trail (highly recommended!)– Bruce Peninsula National Park– Fathom Five National Park

• Bruce Trail Reference (26th ed.)• Most trails reached only by private transportation• www.brucetrail.org

Manitoulin Island

Manitoulin Island

• Chi-Cheemaun Ferry from Tobermory– www.ontarioferries.com/chi/english/index.html– www.ontarioferries.com/chi/french/index.html

• Access from Hwy 17

• M‘Chigeeng (West Bay) First Nation Annual Traditional Pow-Wow (Labour Day Weekend [I think])

Killarney P

rovincial Park

Killarney Provincial Park

• N.E. Ontario (near Sudbury)

• Getting there– Car (4 hours from Toronto)

• Hiking

• Canoeing

• Group of Seven (Ontario Artists Society)

Frontenac Provincial Park

• E. Ontario (near Kingston)

• Getting there– Car

• Camping

• Hiking

• Canoeing

• Near Thousand Islands National Park

The P

inery Provincial P

ark

The Pinery Provincial Park

• S.W. Ontario (near London, Windsor)• Lake Huron• Getting there

– Car (1 hour from London)

• Camping• Beaches• Walking• Grand Bend

Suggested Road-Trips (10+ Days)

1. Eastern Ontario (and beyond)

2. Georgian Bay Circle

3. Georgian Bay / Huronia / Southwestern Ontario

Road Trip 1Eastern Ontario and beyond

• Suggestions….– Kingston– Frontenac Provincial Park– The Thousand Islands (National

Park)– Lake Placid, NY– Ottawa– The Laurentians– Montréal– Algonquin Provincial Park

Road Trip 2:Georgian Bay Circle

• Suggestions– Parry Sound– The 30,000 Islands– Killarney Provincial Park– Sudbury (The Big Nickel)– Manitoulin Island– Bruce Peninsula (Lion’s Head!)– Bruce Peninsula and Fathom Five National Parks– Collingwood / Wasaga Beach– Grand Bend / The Pinery Provincial Park– Mennonite Country

Road Trip 3:Georgian Bay / Huronia / S.W. Ontario

• Midland / Sainte Marie au pays des Hurons• Collingwood / Wasaga Beach• Bruce Peninsula• Lake Huron Shoreline• The Pinery Provincial Park• London, Stratford, K-W• St. Jacobs / Mennonite Country• Extensions

– North-East: Parry Sound– South-West: Pointe Pelee (Pelee Island)– South-East: Niagara Peninsula

City Destinations

• Montréal

• Québec

• New York

• Boston

• Chicago

Montréal

• Getting there (from Toronto):– Bus (7½ - 10½ hours)– Train (4¼ - 5 hours; 8 overnight)– Car (5+ hours)– Air

• La vieille ville• Le plateau• Clubs• Food• Museums and galleries• Festival des Films du Monde

Québec

• Getting there (from Montréal)…– Bus (3½ - 4 hours)– Train (3 - 3¼ hours)– Car (3+ hours)– Air

• La vieille ville

• Further east: the Gulf of St. Lawrence….

Whale Watching in Québec

• Government of Québec website– http://www.bonjourquebec.com/qc-en/

observationfaune0.html – http://www.bonjourquebec.com/qc-fr/

observationfaune.html

• Whales online – highly recommended!– http://www.whales-online.net/

Whale Watching in Québec

• National and Provincial Parks– Saguenay-St.Lawrence Marine Park

• www.parcmarin.qc.ca

– Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve• www.pc.gc.ca/mingan

– Forillon National Park• www.pc.gc.ca/forillon

New York

• Getting there (from Toronto)– Bus (10 – 18 hours)– Train (13 hours)– Car (10+ hours)– Air

Boston

• From Toronto (bus: 13 - 21 hours)

• From Montreal (bus 7½ - 13 hours)

• From New York (bus 4¼ - 8 hours)

Chicago

• Getting there (from Toronto)– Bus (11½ - 17½ hours)– Car (10+ hours)– Air