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ON THE ROAD North of the Border High finance and a polyglot population shake up Toronto. Canada's financial capital, until recently known as Hogtown, was long one of the world's least-loved cities. "It must be good to die in Toronto," wrote physicist Leopold in 1941. "The transition between life and death would be scarcely noticeable." But suddenly, during the seventies, the reviews changed from bad to good. Fortune magazine declared Toronto "the world's newest great city." More recently, Connoisseur raved about its vibrant cultural life (35 theaters) and its restaurants (5,000 at last count). Urban experts say that the densely populated inner city keeps Toronto (pronounced T'ranto) dynamic. People of all social classes live in neat rows of brick houses in neighborhoods surrounding the central business core and in new apartments and condominiums within the business district itself. A woman can walk these busy downtown streets, alone and after dark, knowing that her chances of being mugged are slim. Even slimmer, unfortunately, are her chances of climbing to the top of the executive ranks of one of Canada's major corporations, most of which are headquartered in Toronto. "You could probably count on one hand the number of women in really senior positions," says Nadia Senyk, a corporate lawyer who founded her own consulting firm, Senyk Associates Ltd. "I think women here still have to work much harder and be much better [than men]," adds Lonti Ebers, whose company, Lonti Ebers Fine Arts Inc., advises corporations on art acquisitions. But while women are still scarce at the forefront of Toronto's business community, they are increasingly visible in middle management and in the professions. And the city's rapid growth has permitted many, like Senyk and Ebers, to set up business for themselves. "Every businesswoman has had an experience where it's assumed she's somebody's wife," says Wendy Cecil-Stuart, vice president of corporate relations for Brascan Ltd., a financial [[image]] Left: Downtown at Yonge and Front Streets, a busy mix of old and new. Upper Right: Waterfront recreation in the shadow of CN Tower. services company. "But that's not the norm anymore." The presence of women in business is only one of the factors that have helped to transform Toronto during the past two decades. Growth was so swift in the early seventies that Toronto was a world leader in the number of building permits issued. A tidal wave of immigrants made it a major Italian city (more than 400,000 Italian-speaking residents) and gave it one of the largest Portuguese communities in North America. Restaurants serve a mind-boggling variety of cuisines, from Armenian to Thai, and some neighborhoods have signs in Greek and Chinese. But for all the international influence, on the surface, Toronto, with its gleaming office towers and teeming traffic, still resembles an American city. It's well to remember, however, that it's in a foreign country. Canadians often have difficulty explaining what being Canadian means, but one thing they know for sure is that they're not Americans and don't like being taken for granted. Visitors to Toronto must cope with two inconveniences. One is the outrageous price of liquor, a result of over-taxation; a glass of local whiskey costs more in Canada than it does in the U.S. The second disadvantage is a climate that is hot and sticky in the summer and cold and windy in winter. (But don't equip yourself for the North Pole. Toronto gets less snow than Buffalo and isn't any colder.) One way to avoid winter is to stay in the underground city- six blocks of interconnected malls beneath the downtown office towers. Without ever putting on a coat, you can get to two hotels (the Sheraton and the Royal York), the tain station, the most important office buildings, 600 retail stores, and a 21-screen movie complex. - SIGHTSEEING Toronto has plenty to offer when the business day is over. On a clear day, the best city view is from the 1,815-foot-tall CN (Canadian National) Tower, the world's tallest free-standing structure. For those who [[image]] want to work out or relax, the Elmwood Club (18 Elm Street, 977-6740), one of two downtown women's clubs, offers a one-day pass for $10. The pass entitles a guest to swim, participate in fitness class or play squash, and use the steam room, sauna, and whirlpool. You'll find that Toronto is very much like a collection of villages within a city. One such village, Queen Street West (just to the west of the central business district), a haven of antique shops, offbeat bookstores, and good small restaurants like Peter Pan and La Folie. Another village is Yorkville (take the subway to Bay station), Toronto's Fifth Avenue. Creed's and Holt Renfrew, both on Bloor Street, are two of the leading high-fashion emporiums. Hazelton Lanes, 55 Avenue Road, stocks clothes by St. Laurent, accessories by Hermes, chocolates by Teuscher of Switzerland, men's shirts by Turnbull and Asser, and Cuban cigars by Davidoff. Also worth a look, for its architecture as much as for its shopping, is the Eaton Centre, 300 shops on a glass-domed mall linking Eaton's and Simpson's, Toronto's major department stores. For a reminder that Toronto is a port city, take a cab to Queen's Quay Terminal, an art-deco style warehouse recently renovated into condominiums, shops, and restaurants. In summer, you might want to stroll along the water and admire the sail boats on Lake Ontario. The Toronto Art Gallery has an important collection of Henry Moore sculptures, and the Royal Ontario Museum is strong in Chinese antiquities. You can catch a play at the beautifully restored Royal Alexandra Theatre, a concert at the new Roy Thomson Hall, or a ballet or opera at the O'Keefe Centre. The latter three establishments are within easy walking distance of most of the large downtown hotels. - TRANSPORTATION Toronto International Airport is in the western suburbs, a half-hour drive from the city center. There's a strip of good hotels near the airport that cater to the business traveler, but to experience the flavor of Toronto it's best to stay downtown. The airport bus service costs six Canadian dollars and stops at five major downtown hotels. To take a cab downtown will cost about twenty Canadian dollars, but look instead for signs on the arrivals level for limousines; for two dollars more, a uniformed driver will chauffeur you downtown. The main street of Toronto is Yonge (pronounced Young), which runs south to north. It's easy to find your way in the central business area if your remember that addresses on cross streets are numbered east or west depending on their relation to Yonge. The best way to navigate downtown is on foot. The worst is by car [[right column]] [[image with writing]]Enjoy the romance... A luxurious color catalogue of the latest American and European lingerie fashions. Order yours today! Victoria's Secret designer lingerie Send $3 for a year's subscription of 4 catalogs to Victoria's Secret, Dept. SA-024, P.O. Box 11693, Columbus, OH 43216 [[image]]
