Toronto is a large city with a skyscraper-filled city centre, huge shopping malls, an attractive harbour and exhibition centre. Its key landmarks include the CN Tower, with its rotating restaurant, and the national museum. My view of the city is somewhat tempered by my dislike of skyscrapers, shopping malls and tourist-trap landmarks which charge ten pounds for a ride in a lift and the somewhat cool welcome offered at the airport.

Toronto welcomed us to Canada with some highly officious customs officials who looked, briefly, like they intended to refuse us admission. I have since been told that this is not uncommon, which is odd given the courtesy displayed throughout the rest of Ontario.

As always there are a number of ways to leave the airport. In order of cost these are taxi, coach and bus/underground. Needless to say, Simon and I chose the cheap option. $2.50 (£1.10) purchases a transfer ticket on the Rocket service 192, which allows the passenger to transfer to the underground at the nearest station, Kipling. We were thus whisked to 'downtown' Toronto in the air-conditioned comfort of the tube trains.

Toronto is home to the Ontario Tourist Office, with information on the whole of the province. Situated in the Eaton Centre on the lowest level, reached from the Dundas underground station, the office has an excellent accommodation desk with staff who will book accommodation in Toronto and allow you to telephone elsewhere. They found us a decent room in the Bond Place Hotel a short distance away for $110 (£55) per night. I was not likely to argue! (On our return visit to Toronto we stayed at the Days Inn on Carlton Street.)

Simon and I returned to the information office many times. Useful information sources gleaned from there included the free Where guide to Toronto and acompanying Dining Guide with handy list of restaurants and map. The pocket-sized Toronto Guide, also free, proved handy as well.

Toronto's transport is largely controlled by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) running tube, tram and bus services under the Rocket brand. Sin gle tickets cost $2.25 (£1) and these can be commuted to Transfer tickets, allowing a change of train or to change onto tram or bus at an underground station, by collecting a ticket from the driver on a bus or tram or from a machine at the underground station at which you enter the system.

Tickets can be bought for cash, or tokens purchased from machines, with a discount on multiple tokens. Alternatively, individual day passes can be purchased for $7.50 (£3.30) which allow unlimited travel on the network on one day. These take the form of scratchcard tickets; passengers remove the relevant day and month panels, but must also write the date in the box on the card- else the card may be rejected. On Sundays and holidays day passes may be purchased for families for the same price.

Simon and I didn't travel up the CN Tower, close to Union Station (tube, VIA and GO Transit), largely because neither of us like paying through the nose for such treats. We happened to visit Toronto at busy times- so a city full of international visitors for World Youth day didn't help reduce the queues. Should you wish to travel up the tower, which isn't 'the world's tallest building' as some guides claim (for the record, the CN Tower is the world's tallest free-standing tower), you will need to fork out $15.99 (£8) for the lift. Alternatively, you can pay upwards of $38 (£20) fo r l unch or dinner in the 360 Restaurant 1,136 feet above ground level, which includes the lift fare. Around the tower are a variety of rides and 'attractions' including simulator rides.

We did visit the Royal Ontario Museum at 100 Queens Park. The ROM charges for admission, except on Friday evenings. Simon and I took the opportunity to view most of the forty galleries, including interesting exhibits on Canada's history and extensive collections of european arts and artifacts. In fact, a foreign museum such as this seems an excellent way of getting an overview of european development.

Toronto is home to a vast exhibition centre, which hosted World Youth Day whilst we were in town, and the Harbourfront area also plays host to festivals and events. There are many things to see and do in and arouind the city which Simon and I had no stamina to see on our exhausted arrival or speedy return to the city. Perhaps if we had explored more we would have been less eager to leave!