Toronto was founded as a British Army garrison town (Fort York) on the shores of Lake Ontario in 1790’s, Toronto is North America’s fourth largest city, with 2.4 million inhabitants in the city proper and 4.6 million in the metropolitan area. Often dubbed as New York City run by the Swiss and often on the short list of the best places in the world to live, Toronto is Canada’s most cosmopolitan, action-packed city and also the country’s financial, commercial, cultural and media capital. Unique among major cities in the world, over half of its population is foreign born. Toronto is also a shopper’s paradise whether in the chic boutiques of Yorkville or mail shopping in the heart of the city at Eaton Center or browsing the fruit and vegetable stalls at St. Lawrence and Kensington Markets. It’s also very much a mix of neighborhoods such as Little Italy, Little Portugal, Chinatown, etc. And, with thousands of restaurants, whatever cuisine you fancy- and its authentic. Toronto has a rich tradition of theater, music, and dance. There are more than 125 professional companies performing on more than 40 stages with dozens of additional venues. Toronto is also a home of four professional sports teams: hockey (Toronto Maple Leafs) football (Toronto Argonauts), basketball (Toronto Raptors), and baseball (Blue Jays). Visitors to Toronto will find dozens of celebrations and festivals going throughout the summer. Caribana—The August festival of Caribbean culture held along the Toronto lakeshore draws visitors from all over the world. Metro International Caravan-In scattered pavilions across the city, Caravan is a celebration of the ethnic diversity of the city and features the culture, crafts, music, dance and food of the dozens of Toronto’s nationalities. Canadian National Exhibition-Torontonians call it “Ex” and it’s been the harbinger of summer’s end for over 110 years. The world’s oldest and largest annual agriculture fair-with old fashioned carnival feel, spectacular air show, grandstand performances, livestock, -runs from late August through Labour Day. Toronto International Film Festival-Considered one of the important film festivals of the world, this festival takes place in early September and its famous for being a “people” event. Hundreds of films are screened in several theaters, with directors, and stars in attendance. For more on Toronto visit History of Toronto