Oh, Toronto — the bustling capital of Ontario and the proud home of Canada’s leading tourist attractions, including the CN Tower and the Royal Ontario Museum. Where Canadians and foreigners alike go to make it big and lead successful lives, Toronto is the largest, most prolific and dynamic city of Canada. However, attracting over 27.5 million visitors every year can have its downfalls, especially when a global pandemic is running its course. With such a high demand for tourism, Toronto has had to make several adjustments to its entertainment district this past year in order to prevent further spread of COVID-19.
Permanent and temporary closures of beloved restaurants and businesses, restricted hours and the mandatory wearing of face masks have become the norm for many Canadians. It seems that staying home is the new “cool” these days, and Canadians everywhere are growing increasingly tired of the same old routine. Luckily, the city of Toronto understands the need for community entertainment, which is why several of its top tourist destinations are reopening after long periods of quarantine, with safety measures and protocols put in place to keep Canadians safe while having fun. Read on to learn how places like the Toronto Eaton Centre and the Art Gallery of Ontario help to contain the virus through methods such as social distancing, increased sanitation and face masks, and how you can have a safe travel experience in these popular areas.
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CN Tower
The CN Tower, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere and Canada’s “most recognizable and celebrated icon,” is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Here, you can take a thrilling elevator ride ascending 553 metres into the air and get a 360° view of Toronto’s glorious skyline at the top of the tower. If you’re feeling bold, dangle off the edge by participating in an EdgeWalk, alone or with your social circle. Either way, the CN Tower is making sure that your safety is a priority as it reopens for visitors.
The CN Tower.
To enter, you must purchase a timed ticket. Are all the next available times taken? Don’t fret — you can purchase a ticket up to 30 days ahead of visiting. With a reduced overall capacity and an enhanced cleaning and sanitation regimen, the CN Tower has also made it mandatory for all visitors to wear a mask or face covering. EdgeWalks are limited to three guests at a time, though members of the same household may participate in larger groups.
Fans of the CN Tower’s 360 Restaurant, VUE Bistros and Le Café should be delighted to hear of their recent reopening. Particularly, the 360 Restaurant will be reopening for dinner from 5:00 to 11:00 p.m. with COVID-19 regulations and guidelines. These include making a reservation beforehand and wearing a mask or face covering until you are seated at your table. The restaurant will not offer coat checks to minimize contact and allow only six guests in one group, as per Toronto Public Health Guidelines. Virtual menus are offered for guests to access through smartphones, and 360 Restaurant no longer accepts cash, therefore payments must be made through debit or credit card.
Royal Ontario Museum
Open Wednesday to Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) welcomes back its visitors with open arms. Showcasing a variety of fascinating exhibitions and installations, including their “New Dino Discovered” and “First Nations of the Great Lakes” exhibitions, the ROM hopes to attract curious history lovers, or people who are looking for a fun way to pass some time. Of course, if history has taught us anything, it’s to be prepared for a second wave, and for that reason the ROM has made sure to put some preventative measures in place first.
The Royal Ontario Museum. (Image Source: Flickr User funtor)
Admission to the museum will be limited and time-ticketed, so buy your tickets online to book a time slot for your visit. At the museum, you will be required to wear a face mask and respect social distancing. To keep their visitors safe, ROM will be cleaning highly touched areas frequently and rigorously, and providing hand sanitizer stations throughout the museum. Daily tours and touchable interactive activities will be temporarily unavailable, and limited seating will be available in gallery spaces. Coat checks, water fountains and lunchrooms will be closed, and as a result, it is advisable to bring your own water bottle or eat before arriving, as no external food or drink is allowed.
Druxy’s, a cafe within ROM, offers a limited menu with protocols in place, including an outside dining area, to help ensure your dining experience is safe and enjoyable. Open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., this eatery features fresh sandwiches, salads, burgers, pizzas and more. Not much information is available on Druxy’s new COVID-19 plan, however, it may be assumed that the rules for the rest of the museum, including sanitation, physical distancing and face masks, will also be practiced here.
Toronto Eaton Centre
Enjoy a premier shopping mall experience at Toronto Eaton Centre, featuring over 230 stores for apparel, homeware and personal luxuries. With four floors of brand name stores, restaurants and entertainment, the mall is open Monday to Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. While online shopping has made it easier for people to purchase clothes and other goods without traveling to a mall, Toronto Eaton Centre has made sure that those who wish to shop in person can do so safely.
Inside the Eaton Centre. (Image Source: Toronto Eaton Centre)
After a positive coronavirus case was confirmed at the Toronto Eaton Centre back in July, the mall decided to undertake extra cleaning of all common-area places. Additionally, all visitors entering the Eaton Centre are required to wear a non-medical mask or face covering while shopping. Some stores have chosen to close their doors temporarily, therefore it may prove useful to check if the store you plan on visiting is one on the list of over 50 stores that are open. The mall is now equipped with stanchions and floor signs signalling one-way direction of foot traffic for successful physical distancing, and payment terminals have been adjusted to accept up to $250 for tap payments — anything more than that and you’ll have to enter your pin.
Several restaurants remain open in the food court, including classic favourites like A&W, New York Fries and many more. JOEY Eaton Centre, in particular, an upscale casual restaurant, has their patio open to customers with reduced seating. Cutlery will be wrapped in a napkin, and both single-use and digital menus are available in place of the usual reusable menu. As for payment, contactless exchanges are encouraged via the JOEY Pay app or through their website.
Art Gallery of Ontario
Home to 95,000 classical and contemporary works, as well as some of the most famous and intriguing pieces of art by Canadian artists, the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) is a must-see for the hungry artisan or wandering eye. Let your eyes be mystified by fanciful cultural collections of Indigenous, African and European craftsmen and women, but do not let any fear of COVID-19 overpower your desire to go there. Open Thursday to Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., AGO has made it possible for friends and family to enjoy complex and meaningful art safely in social circles of four or less, while wearing face masks at all times as per the guidance of government health officials.
The Art Gallery of Ontario. (Image Source: New York by Rail)
To encourage social distancing and keeping close contact to a minimum, AGO has enforced a new rule that involves “timed-entry ticketing” which ensures a limited number of visitors enter the gallery every half an hour. In the same idea, coat check is temporarily closed to prevent germs being spread through clothing and personal belongings. A limited number of visitors are allowed in each gallery and elevator to encourage the protocol that calls for all social circles to remain within two meters of each other. Lastly, all group courses, tours and programs will be replaced with free online talks, performances and tours.
At the AGO Bistro, visitors can still enjoy fresh delicacies as grab-and-go takeout while indoor dining is temporarily unavailable. As of July 23, the bistro has begun to offer a selection of takeout items including “coffee, pastries, salads and more, all freshly made with seasonal ingredients.” Reduced hours have also been put in place, leaving the bistro open only from Thursday to Sunday from 10:30 am to 5:30 pm. Overall, all visitors of the AGO Bistro should be mindful of any safety measures that the rest of the gallery has enforced, including wearing a mask and not visiting if you don’t feel well.
St. Lawrence Market
Known as the “beating heart and culinary focal point of the city of Toronto,” the St. Lawrence Market is a favourite among both locals and tourists, especially for its delectable eats. Nowadays, this beloved market has seen several changes during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the mandatorization of wearing non-medical face masks or coverings and managed capacity to ensure safe physical distancing while food shopping. Anyone can visit the market and shop for their usual goods five days a week — Tuesday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturday from 5:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. — while remaining mindful of implemented safety measures to keep crowds from spreading the virus.
Inside the St. Lawrence Market. (Image Source: Toronto.com, “Kelsey Wilson/Toronto Star file photo”)
Toronto’s popular market has created a set of steps that they strongly recommend customers take while visiting vendors. These include using automatic entrances and electronic payment options whenever possible, sanitizing one’s hands as one enters the market and avoiding touching one’s own face. Coming to the St. Lawrence Market with a plan in mind is also recommended to prevent loitering and to encourage customers to grab what they need and make room for new visitors. As always, anyone who is feeling sick or is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 are reminded to stay home and not enter the market.
As for the vendors themselves, many of St. Lawrence Market’s merchants have come up with new ways to keep business flowing, such as delivery, curbside or in-store pick-up, online ordering and advanced email or phone orders. A few stores have closed down temporarily, including A Bisket A Basket and Inti Taita Impressions. However, some shops are open with modified hours, including ChocoSol, which is open Saturdays for pick-up only, and Paddington’s Pump, open Tuesday to Saturday. Other vendors remain open with usual hours like Rube’s Rice, Pasta Mia and Carousel Bakery. Each vendor has their own safety protocols and regulations that may be found on their personal website prior to visiting, but most are offering curbside pick-up and delivery options, as well as cleaning and sanitizing regularly.
Generally, Toronto is keeping its streets safe with an abundance of measures and plans to prevent the vast spread of COVID-19. If you are looking forward to attending one of these lively attractions, you may rest assured that you will be kept in good hands by employees and citizens striving to make your experience as enjoyable and problem-free as possible through increased sanitation and social distancing. Of course, this can only be achieved if you do your own part as well, keeping six feet of distance from others at all times and wearing a non-medical face mask to allow everyone else a pleasant day out in these troubling times.
