Understand

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In 1998 the cities of Toronto, Scarborough, North York, Etobicoke, and York and the Borough of East York amalgamated to form the current City of Toronto. This is also known as Metropolitan Toronto or "the 416" after its area code (although now there are some new area codes, the overwhelming number of area codes in the Toronto are still "416") and has a population of over 2.6 million people. Fully half of these were born in some country other than Canada - a fact obvious to any visitor immediately, as the city has many vibrant bustling neighborhoods with street signs in several languages.
Toronto and its surrounding suburbs are collectively known as the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Outlying suburbs are also known as "the 905" after their area code, although technically this code is also used in both Hamilton and the Niagara Region, stretching to the border in Niagara Falls. The entire area including Toronto is known as the "Golden Horseshoe" and has a population of over 8 million people.

Free weekly newspapers, distributed from boxes on street corners and in racks in stores and restaurants (can be good sources of information on cinema, dining, music, theatre, and other events and local news):

Eye Weekly - Thursdays

Now Toronto - Thursdays

Depending on where you go in Toronto, you will be able to find locally printed newspapers in a variety of languages. For example, in Chinatown you'll find Chinese newspapers. In "Little Italy" you'll find Italian newspapers. You'll also find newspapers in Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Tagalog, Greek ...

A popular urban myth has it that the United Nations rated Toronto as "the most multicultural city in the world". While the UN and its agencies are not in the habit of rating cities, it remains a fact that Canada is a nation of immigrants. A UN agency lists Toronto as second only to Miami as the city with the most foreign born residents. Most immigrants either pass through Toronto on their way to other parts of the country, or they stay in Toronto permanently. This contributes to the overall cultural mosaic that is Toronto today. Within Toronto, most ethnic groups will work their way into the fabric of Canadian society but still retain their distinct ways such as language, dress (for special occasions), customs, and food.

As a result of this cultural mosaic, Toronto is home to many ethnic festivals throughout the year. Toronto also boasts several radio stations which broadcast in various languages as well as a multicultural television channel. The City of Toronto officially deals in 16 different languages while the Toronto Transit Commission (public transit) has a helpline that deals in 70 languages. Even large department stores such as The Bay in downtown Toronto proudly advertise service in 9 languages. The lingua franca of Toronto however, remains English.

Eat

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Toronto is generally considered to be one of North America's top food cities. It has the same variety as New York or San Francisco, the compact and safe downtown...