Toronto
As an international center of business, finance and arts, Canada's largest city is an urban cultural mosaic. Toronto is one of the world's cleanest, safest and most diverse cities. Friendly faces, welcoming establishments and a GLBT community of almost 350,000 creates an environment other big cities strive to achieve.
The fact is, Toronto really is a great place to be gay. They're leading the way toward a more out, equal, and accepting existence with legal same-sex marriage. Same-sex couples from around the world have flocked to Toronto to get married (thanks to its lenient residency laws) and some even stay! Applications by gay couples to emigrate here have been in hot demand.
Rather hook-up than get hitched? No worries, Toronto pleases diverse GLBT sub-cultures with choices of gay, lesbian and mixed nightclubs, queer theater, thematic and fetish parties and festivals, popular patios, coffee shops, drag extravaganzas, leather bars, lodgings and saunas. These gay essentials are concentrated on or near the famed Church Street 'Village' featuring many GLBT-specific establishments: it's like an outdoor gay mall.
The gay beat easily mixes with a straight vibe over to Yonge street and down to to 'College West' & 'Cabbage Town' neighborhoods where you'll find various interpretations of urban cool. Then you must see Toronto's awesome skyline featuring the needle-sharp CN tower. Other activities include cruising the Harborfront, or riding the ferry to the Toronto Islands for cycling and sun worshiping on numerous beaches. If you're not shy: hike to the far end of Hanlan's point.
Special events, sports and festivals are celebrated year round. Toronto's Pride Week festival alone attracts an estimated one million attendees, and rightly so. Your choices of museums, attractions, shops, bars, restaurants and lodging in this authentic melting pot are never-ending. If you're the type who appreciates beauty, culture and diversity, you'll be sure to fall in love with Toronto.
