The Royal Ontario Museum's new wing, the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, looks as if a glass meteor had crashed into the stodgy Romanesque structure.  Andrew Sun / For China Daily

On the east coast of Canada, Toronto is probably the most visited city for holiday-makers. Andrew Sun says the city holds many surprises which are legacies from its colorful history.

For many, Toronto is where you go to visit relatives or send the kids to school. Often lauded for its cleanliness, politeness and a culturally diverse populace where everyone gets along with everyone else, Canada's largest city is certainly among the most livable in the world.

Part of this sensible and orderly ethos comes from its WASP-y (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) roots. Settled in the 18th century as the town of York and nearly razed to the ground by Americans in the War of 1812, the city officially came to being in 1834.

Its anti-colonial streak attracted Irish Protestant immigrants who came for freedom, tolerance and opportunity - the very same reasons new arrivals continue to show up to this day.

The city's beauty is timeless too. Charles Dickens visited in 1842 and was apparently taken aback by the gas-powered incandescent streetlights.

Despite the ethno-mosaic and a downtown boom in modern high-rise condos, its Anglo heritage still defines much of Toronto from white elephant behemoths like Casa Loma to the arresting and still functioning Gooderham "flatiron" building on Wellington Street East.

But by far the whitest thing about Toronto is the glamour-chic area of Yorkville (which in winter some call the Mink Mile). The designer fashion ghetto of Cumberland Street and Hazelton Avenue is elbow to elbow with see-and-be-seen cafes, art galleries and luxury shops. Nearby is the very first Four Seasons Hotel, a five-star hotel chain founded right here.

An even more historic lodging is the Victorian Gothic charms of the Windsor Arms Hotel (18 St. Thomas St.), on the other side of the busy Bloor Street thoroughfare. Originally built in 1927 for the University of Toronto, the four-story building became a hotel in the 1930s. However, years of neglect led to its closing in the mid 1990s until businessman George Friedmann restored the 28-suite inn to its former glory.

"I grew up with this hotel," the owner Friedmann explains. "This hotel is very important to Toronto. For a long time, this was the center of town because it was the only hotel around. It's a mainstay of the city."

To make it financially viable, he also added a condominium tower on top but kept the original red-brick structure. Inside, the modest reception area feels more like a parish church until you notice the spectacular atrium of the Courtyard Cafe. Elton John got engaged here, we're told.

Another outlet is the baroque, purple Tea Room. These days women who nibble on scones and sandwiches are as likely to be Asian debutantes as silver-haired matrons from the nearby posh residences of Rosedale and Forest Hill.

"For every 75-year-old customer, there's a 23-year-old now." Friedmann drops another celebrity anecdote here. "Richard Burton proposed to Liz (Taylor) at this fireplace," he pointed out.

During the annual Toronto International Film Festival in September, the Windsor Arms is quickly filled by celebrities looking for an inconspicuous hideaway, but normally it's easy enough to book a room and feel like a privileged royal.

The marriage of old and new continues if you stroll west on Bloor.

A dramatic sight is the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM)'s spectacular new wing, the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal. Designed by Daniel Libeskind, the 2007 addition looks as if a glass meteor crashed into the stodgy Romanesque structure. While at the museum, you might pick up a brochure for its many guide-led walking tours that traverse through various city neighborhoods; most of the walks are free. However, you can just as easily explore one of North America's safest cities on your own to discover its many surprises.

A casual stroll or bike ride west and south will immerse you in the ivy-covered red brick architecture and Victorian facades of the University of Toronto.

The picturesque 2-square-kilometer campus within the city extends down to Queen's Park, the seat of the province's legislature. On this particular Saturday afternoon, the tree-lined grounds of the political building host an African music festival. Jerk chicken and Bob Marley T-shirts are sold to revelers while a bronze statue of King Edward VII on his horse looks on from behind.

This is typical of the casual mingling of cultures and heritage in a city where 50 percent of the populace is born outside the country.

Continuing south, eventually you'll hit the 'Entertainment District' of King Street West. It's worth noting Toronto has as big a theater scene as Broadway's.

If you're going to see any show in town, be sure to see it at the Royal Alex Theater. At 104 years old, the Royal Alexandra is North America's oldest operating theater and a national historic monument of beaux-arts architecture. Although its Edwardian exterior might be dwarfed by its shiny neighbor the Princess of Wales Theater, the 1,500 seat Royal Alex - named for Queen Elizabeth's great-grandmother - is uniquely elegant with its liberal use of marble, hand-carved cherry and walnut wood, and gilded plaster. Speaking of combining old and new, Sex and the City's Kim Cattrall will take on a role in Noel Coward's Private Lives in September.

The most recent heritage revitalization project in Toronto is the Distillery District at Mills Street in an East End corridor. Previously the site of one of the world's biggest spirits factory managing 75,000 gallons annually, it is now a residential and entertainment block with al fresco bars among the industrial brick buildings. On any given weekend, the place is as spirited as ever, only now there's more consuming than distilling taking place.

You can contact the writer at sundayed@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily 08/14/2011 page16)