Toronto, Ontario — “Uh, Toronto . . . that’s in Canada isn’t it?” A man recently responded when I told him where I’d been. Sadly like many Americans, he’s never been to Canada and probably can’t find it on a map. What a shame. I’ve been to Canada nine times and to four different provinces. It’s a country I never get tired of exploring. If you have never been here, 2017 would be a good time to start, because Canada is celebrating the 150th anniversary of it’s founding and I can think of at least 150 reasons why I would want to visit again.

I hadn’t been to Toronto is almost 18 years. So it seemed like the right time to return. Toronto has now surpassed Chicago in population, making it the fourth largest city in North America, behind Mexico City, New York and Los Angeles. Getting here is easy, it’s a five hour flight from Los Angeles. I always fly Air Canada, because the service is better and unlike domestic carriers such as United, I probably won’t be pulled off the plane. Once you land in Toronto, you can take the excellent Union Pearson Express train to downtown. Completed in 2015 for the Pan American games, the train will get you from the airport to downtown in 25 minutes. Trains leave the terminal every 15 minutes.

Returning for the first time in 18 years, I wanted to reacquaint myself with the city. I chose to ignore all the typical tourist traps: Niagara Falls, The CN Tower and the Hockey Hall of Fame. Instead I chose to explore the neighborhoods on foot and by public transportation. Getting around is easy. Toronto has an excellent subway and bus system and best of all you can go on a bike tour.

Kensington Market is not exactly a market, located just North of Chinatown, it is one of the most vibrant and diverse neighborhoods in the the city. It’s also a great place to have an inexpensive meal. If you happen to be here in the summer months, the last Sunday of the month is Pedestrian Sundays. The streets become closed to automobile traffic. Live music, street food and arts and crafts draw people from throughout the city.

http://www.kensington-market.ca

Queen Street West is another popular neighborhood featuring trendy shops, great restaurants and live music venues.

http://queenstwestbia.ca/

Finally if you’re only going to do one thing in Toronto, I suggest doing a tour with Toronto Bicycle Tours. This is the best way to explore the place they call a city within a park. I was hoping to take a bicycle tour to Toronto Island, but heavy rains had flooded part of the islands. Instead I chose to take The Heart of Downtown and the Valley Tour. Both were excellent and allowed me to see parts of Toronto that most tourists would never experience.

http://torontobicycletours.com/

So if you’re an American who hasn’t been to Canada yet, 2017 the 150th anniversary is a great time to go, but there is never a bad time to visit and if you can’t find it on the map, just remember–it’s north of us!