Toronto Guide
Toronto
The CN Tower
Address: 301 Front St W
Opening time: Daily Sun– Thurs 9am–10pm, Fri & Sat 9am–10.30pm, sometimes later
Price: Observation deck & glass floor $22, Sky Pod $4 extra
Website: www.cntower.ca
Much to the dismay of many Torontonians, the CN Towerhas become the city's symbol. From anywhere in the city, it's impossible to miss its slender form poking high above the skyline.
Unlikely as it may seem, the celebrity status of the CN Tower was entirely unforeseen, its origins plain and utilitarian. In the 1960s, the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) teamed up with the railway conglomerate Canadian National (CN) to propose the construction of a bigger and better transmission antenna. CBC eventually withdrew from the project, but CN, who owned the land, forged ahead. Much to the company's surprise, they found that the undertaking stirred intense public interest – so much so that long before the tower was completed, in 1975, it was clear that its potential as a tourist sight would be huge: today, broadcasting only accounts for about twenty percent of the tower's income, with the rest provided by the two million tourists who throng here annually. Come early (especially on school holidays) to avoid the crowds.
The tallest freestanding structure in the world, the sleek and elegant tower tapers to a minaret-thin point 553m (1815ft) above the city centre. The background information provided reveals all sorts of odd facts and figures, though it is hardly reassuring to know that the tower is hit by lightning between sixty and eighty times a year.
From the foot of the tower, glass-fronted elevators whisk you up the outside of the building to the Look Out level galleries at 346m. These circular galleries provide views over the whole of the city, which appears flattened and without much perspective – markers point out the most conspicuous sights. This is also where you'll find the revolving 360 The Restaurant and the reinforced glass floor - a vertigo shock that goes some way to justifying the tower's pricey admittance fee. You are, however, still 100m from the top of the tower, with a separate set of lifts to carry visitors up to the Sky Pod, a confined little gallery that doesn't justify the extra expense.