Toronto – “The city of neighbourhoods” English Course in Toronto
Why not spend your summer holidays combined with an English course in Toronto?
With its 2,6 million inhabitants, Toronto is the biggest city and the economical centre of Canada. It is situated on the north-western bank of the Lake Ontario and is the capital of the province Ontario. The official language is English.
Because of the fact that its six quarters are very different from each other and have their own individual charme, the city is often referred to as “the city of neighbourhoods”.
History
There first proofs of indigenous settlements in the region of nowadys´ Toronto are 11.000 years old. The Europeans arrived in the 18th century: In 1750, French merchants founded the Fort Rouillé. During the American War of Independence, British settlers surged into the region and bought the land for some barrels of goods and 1700 British Pounds.
And in 1793, the British governor Simcoe founded the fort called York.
In the following decades, York became more and more important. A bank was founded, the town got its first university and in 1832, York became the capital of Upper Canada.
And in order to distinguish it better from New York, York was renamed as Toronto. In 1841, the British colonies Upper Canada and Lower Canada were combined into one province called Canada.
In the second half of the 19th century, the industrialisation started. The first train connection between Toronto and Montreal was erected, Toronto received a tram line and in 1906, the electrification of the city took place because of the generation of elecricity with the help of the Niagara Falls. From the 1920s and 1930s onwards, the individual traffic grew, many new buildings were erected and the skyline of Toronto changed a lot. The city was hit hard by the World Economic Crisis of 1929. But a cange came with the Second World War, when Canada fought against the German Reich by delivering war material to the befriended countries.
In the 1850s, most of the inhabitants were from the United Kingdom. In 1901, when the city had already about 208.000 inhabitants, 8% of the population came from other European countries such as Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands. Within twenty years, the population was doubled and reached the 522.000 inhabitants in 1921. In the 1950s, Toronto reached one million inhabitants due to the migration of European and Asian people after the Second World War. Today, it has 2,6 million inhabitants and is the economical strongest city in Canada.
Districts
The city of Toronto is divided into six areas: Downtown, North York, East York, York, Scarborough and Etobicoke. Furthermore, it is divided into 140 districts.
Means of transport
In Toronto you will easily get from one place to the other. First of all, it is a great city for walking and cycling friends.
Furthermore, you find a vast net of city busses, three subway-lines and eleven streetcar-lines.
For further details on prices and schedules, visit: www3.ttc.ca
And if you want to visit other Canadian cities, there are great train connections leaving from . Check out the train schedules here:
www.toronto.ca/union_station/index.htm
Toronto houses the country´s biggest airport, the Toronto Pearson International Airport.
www.torontopearson.com
Climate
Because of its location in the South of Canada, Toronto enjoys a quite moderate climate compared to the rest of the country. The seasons are quite distinctive. The winters are short but cold with temperatures below 10 °C, which appear even more cold because of the strong winds. Snow is possible between November and April. During the summer months, the temperatures range between 20°C and 29°C. Long phases of wetness are characteristic. Spring and autumn bridge the time between summer and winter with mild respectively cool temperatures. July is the warmest month and January is the coldest month.
Must-Do´s
The list of things to see and do in Toronto is virtually endless. The most popular attractions among our students are:
Downtown: The City center. This area features dozens of restaurants, clubs, nightclubs, theaters and cinemas. It is also the financial center of Toronto and Canada.
The Ontario Place: A large and well-known fun center for all ages located on the banks of the lake near the center on Lakeshore Boulevard in front of the exhibition center CNE.
Skydome or Rogers Centre: Famous baseball and football field known worldwide, as it was the first stadium with fully retractable roof.
The CN Tower: It is 553.3 meters high and provides unrivaled views and various distractions such as a cinema, a restaurant, an observatory … and the unique ability to walk outside on a platform secured by a harness.
Toronto Metro Zoo: One of the largest zoos in the world.
Niagara Falls: Always spectacular. Located at an hour and a half drive from the city.
Toronto also provides various famous shopping areas:
Kensington Market: Located within the iconic Chinatown. Small traders from all around the world have brought culinary samples of their home countries to Toronto.
Harbourfront: Area with shops of all kinds, as well as restaurants, coffee shops and terraces.
St. Laurence Market: This immense venue is divided into several areas, where food products are sold and where sculptures and photographs are displayed.
Eaton Center, Hazelton Lanes, Sears, The Bay: These are some of the most famous shopping centers of Toronto. Queen’s Quey on Lake Ontario provides an Aboriginal craft market. English Course in Toronto has everything you need. We also recommend English Course in London.
Conclusion
We are looking forward to welcoming you to Toronto!
