Originally Posted by Northern Light
I think most of you here are underestimating just about every city.
If you imagine a City is 3 tourist attractions, a show, 2 neighbourhood strolls and a scenic drive, I suppose you can get that done in 2-3 hectic days.......
But I can't fathom wanting to experience a place that way.
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I'll grant, most of us have limitations in time and budget than means you can' just blow off work for 2 months to go exploring.
And, if you could, most of us would want to get more than one place in for said exploring over that two months.
Still
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To me, seeing Chicago is riding the L; its walking the Magnificent Mile, its Millenium Park, its the Waterfront (not just a 2-block stretch either).
So far I've blown a day without visiting a local university campus, taking in a single show, or visiting even one of many great museums.
When I go somewhere, I want to soak up the essence of the place, meet locals, experience life the way they do. No, I don't need rush-hour traffic, or to spend much time in the very worst neighbourhood (though if I could safely see the latter, I'd be interested).
But I think any City over 500,000 shouldn't merit less than a week. Any major urban centre, at least of any quality, will always offer more than you can take in, in one trip.
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For Toronto, any list would be edited according to time and budget, and what the person was interested in experiencing.
But to me, I would think about taking them to (in no particular order); 1 pro sports event, 1 fine arts event (opera/ballet etc.), I would take them on a series of walking tours, bike Toronto's ravines, visit the Islands, CN Tower, Canada's Wonderland, St. Lawrence Market, attend (audit) a class at a local University, a range of restaurants, the Scarborough Bluffs, the Royal Botanical Gardens (Burlington,ON), The Ontario Science Centre, the shopping districts (particularly the Eaton Centre, and Yorkville) for a start.
While there are certain boxes to check and many tourist experiences are somewhat similar from one city to the next; what you want to capture is that vibe, that sense of place; but also those experiences that are offered in relatively few other places.
In Toronto, that's Edge Walk (hanging off the edge of the CN Tower); that's Rouge National Park (not many cities have a 15,000acre park within their urban boundary); that's underground path under the downtown skyscrapers (endless miles of shopping/food courts connecting offices, hotels, condos etc.). That's getting an Ethiopian meal for lunch, and then a Korean meal for dinner. (authentic, not food court quality).
But the same could be said for Chicago, or for that matter Buffalo, NY is easily worth a full week.
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