2 Best Sights in Toronto, Ontario

Looking for all the world like a setting from one of the Harry Potter novels, this neo-Gothic student center opened its doors in 1919. Originally restricted to male students, Hart House has been open to women since 1972. Revolving selections from Hart House's robust art collection, which includes pieces by the Group of Seven and Emily Carr, hang throughout the building. Each year, new pieces are carefully curated by committee, with a focus on living Canadian artists. The Justina M. Barnicke Gallery comprises two rooms of mixed-media art showcasing contemporary creators from Toronto and beyond. The stained-glass windows and vaulted ceiling in the Great Hall are impressive, but so is the cuisine at the on-site Gallery Grill, which offers a menu of grilled seafood, house-made pastas, and creative veggie options from September through June.

Almost a city unto itself, the University of Toronto's student and staff population numbers well over 100,000. The institution dates to 1827, when King George IV signed a charter for a "King's College in the Town of York, Capital of Upper Canada." The Church of England had control then, but by 1850 the college was proclaimed nondenominational, renamed the University of Toronto, and put under the control of the province. Then, in a spirit of Christian competition, the Anglicans started Trinity College, the Methodists began Victoria, and the Roman Catholics began St. Michael's; by the time the Presbyterians founded Knox College, the University was changing at a great rate. Now the 12 schools and faculties are united and accept students from all over the world. The architecture is interesting, if uneven, as one might expect on a campus that's been built in bits and pieces over 150 years.