While it reflects its British heritage, it also comes close to having the greatest ethnic diversity of any city in North America, counting in its population large communities of Asians of several nationalities, East Indians, Germans, Greeks, Italians, Native Americans, Portuguese and Ukrainians. Visitors say Toronto has the excitement of a large, multicultural city, the charm and hospitality of English tradition and the architectural diversity and immaculate appearance that rival any city in North America. American visitors are especially entertained by Toronto’s underground city, an entire network of stores, restaurants, offices and other businesses. It’s possible to avoid bad weather by staying below ground for days!

As a large province, Ontario allows active travelers many opportunities for recreation, especially on its lakes and rivers. Those who seek solitude enjoy the tranquility of Ontario’s unspoiled wilderness areas where wide open spaces and natural beauty refresh and renew tired urban souls.

Although all three personality types indicate a solid interest in Ontario, its visitor count largely consist of centrics. Centric-venturers may well spend a day or two In Toronto or Niagara Falls, then head for one of the national parks or conservation areas to fish, hike, water ski or just enjoy nature.

Take the daylong Agawa Canyon Train Tour from Sault Ste. Marie for a look at some spectacular wilderness scenery. You travel 114 miles out before turning back. At mile 102, you begin the descent 500 feet to the floor of the Agawa Canyon. In spring through fall, you can hike in the canyon. In the fall, this is effectively a foliage tour. In winter, it is the Snow Train offering access to a winter wonderland, but with no hiking.

If you understand this one, you may want to attend: the October Rock Paper Scissors International World Championships in Toronto. The event is called “a decision-making game of wits, speed, dexterity and strategy between players who are unable to reach a decision using other means.”

Go camping and hiking in the Lake Superior Provincial Park.

Fish in Ontario and, with enough luck and skill, you may qualify for an Ontario Angler Award. Among other choices, you can fish for Chinook salmon in Lake Ontario off the Toronto islands each September. (Nonanglers can watch the salmon swim up river from Erindale Park in Mississauga and other points along the way.)

Visit a ghost town. In Ontario, there are about 250 partially or totally abandoned towns, for good reason in many cases: You cannot get to them. However, a few are candidates for tourism: Balaclava, Ballycroy, Creighton, Depot Harbour and Millbridge Station, for example. Also, Don Brown, who wrote the book(s) on this subject, leads a tour called the Great Ontario Ghost Town Hunt.

This is really quirky, but here goes: There is a sanctioned nude beach on Hanlan’s Point, an island in Lake Ontario near Toronto’s harbor. So, you can shed all and sit on this beach, but it is illegal to enter the water without wearing a swimsuit, and you wouldn’t want to anyway. Believe it or not, here is the spot in Ontario that is too polluted for swimming.

Attend the July Collingwood Elvis Festival to pay tribute to the “king” and watch a parade of impersonators sing and bid for top honors at this event.

Ride the rails, and make a day trip of it. Take the Polar Bear Express from Cochrane, a mining and lumbering center, to Moosonee, where the Hudson Bay Company established a trading post in the 17th century.

Get a good look at Niagara Falls, which is best viewed from the Ontario side. There are some venturesome viewing methods, too: You can take an incline railway, a helicopter ride or an areocar (cable car) that is guaranteed to make you dizzy.

Go hiking and canoeing in Algonquin Provincial Park. It is a wildlife sanctuary at the headwaters of five major rivers. Near the highway, the park is well-developed, but in the interior, no motor vehicles are allowed.

Attend a hockey game, then visit the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, a must-see for even casual fans of the sport. It’s an excellent museum of its kind.

Use the marked 217-mile Lake Ontario Waterfront Trail for any of a number of favorite pastimes: walking, jogging, cycling, in-line skating. It extends from Stoney Creek to Brockville through 31 cities, towns and villages (including Toronto) and leads to 170 marinas and yacht clubs and 37 major waterfront festivals.

Go to the theater in Toronto, which is one of the world’s top cities for thespians. Making that point, it was in Toronto that “The Lord of the Rings,” a musical, debuted.

Rent a cottage on or near a lake, giving yourself constant access for a few days to boating, swimming, and waterskiing.

To orient yourself in Toronto, scan the city from the CN Tower that dominates the skyline. It’s one of the tallest structures in the world and provides an incomparable view of the city.

You might as well go shopping, too. Toronto claims the world’s largest underground shopping complex. The 6.8-mile PATH underground walkway in downtown links 48 office towers, six hotels and 1,100 shops and restaurants.

Stay at the Olde Angel Inn in Niagara-on-the-Lake, which dates from 1789 and claims to be the oldest continually operating inn in North America.

Fish for bass where President Franklin Roosevelt fished, at the North Channel of Lake Huron. Or, hire an Ojibwa guide to take you to the watersheds north of Geraldton for a more rugged experience.

Harbourfront on Lake Ontario near downtown Toronto is a complex of cultural and crafts centers, restaurants and shops that is a mecca for sightseers and shoppers. You’ll get a good feel for Toronto’s role as a major port.

Go to London, a lovely city situated on a fork of the Thames River (yes, we’re still in Canada). Residents are particularly proud of their parks and gardens, and if you’re traveling with children, Storybook Gardens is a small theme park just for them. Visit some of London’s museums, take a cruise on the river and see a theatrical production at the Grand Theatre.

Visit a few wineries (yes, in Ontario, which is at the same latitude as European wine regions). For a different take on this, go to the Muskoka Lakes Winery, located in a cranberry marsh; it makes cranberry wine.

For more information, consult the Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Corporation at www.ontariotravel.net

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