4 Best Sights in Toronto, Ontario

The design for Toronto's modern city hall, just across the way from the Old City Hall building, resulted from a 1956 international competition that received 520 submissions from architects from 42 countries. The winning presentation by Finnish architect Viljo Revell was controversial—two curved towers of differing height—but logical: an aerial view of City Hall shows a circular council chamber sitting like an eye between the two towers that contain office space. Revell died before his masterwork was opened in 1965, but the building has become a symbol of the thriving metropolis. A remarkable mural within the main entrance, Metropolis, was constructed by sculptor David Partridge from 100,000 nails.

Annual events at City Hall include November's Cavalcade of Lights celebration, featuring fireworks and live music amid the glow of more than 525,000 lights illuminated across both the new and old city halls.

In front of City Hall, the 9-acre Nathan Phillips Square (named after the mayor who initiated the City Hall project) has become a gathering place for everything from royal visits to protest rallies, picnic lunches, and concerts. The reflecting pool is a delight in summer, and even more so in winter, when it becomes a skating rink. The park is also home to a Peace Garden for quiet meditation and Henry Moore's striking bronze sculpture The Archer.

Opened in 1899, and used until 1965 when the new City Hall was built across the street, the old municipal building now operates solely as a courthouse. This imposing building was designed by E. J. Lennox, who was also the architect for Casa Loma and the King Edward Hotel. Note the huge stained-glass window as you enter. The fabulous gargoyles above the front steps were apparently the architect's witty way of mocking certain turn-of-the-20th-century politicians; he also carved his name under the eaves on all four faces of the building. The building has appeared in countless domestic and international TV shows and feature films.

This 1893 Romanesque revival building is often referred to simply as "Queen's Park," after the surrounding grounds. The detail-rich exterior is made of pink Ontario sandstone; inside, the huge, lovely halls echo half a millennium of English architecture. The long hallways are hung with hundreds of oils by Canadian artists, and a permanent space is devoted to rotating works by Indigenous artists. Take a 30-minute-long tour from the lobby (advance registration required) to see the chamber where the 124 MPPs, or members of provincial parliament, meet. It is also possible to watch parliament in session from the public gallery. Statues dot the lawn in front of the building, including one of Queen Victoria and one of Canada's first prime ministers, Sir John A. Macdonald.

This small working post office dates from 1833 and still functions with quill pens, ink pots, and sealing wax—you can use the old-fashioned equipment to send a letter for C$5 plus postage stamp. Exhibits include reproductions of letters from the 1830s. Distinctive cancellation stamps are used on all outgoing letters.