This year Canada celebrates its 150th birthday as a nation. To add to the excitement, the city of Toronto just turned 183 on March 6th. In celebration, it’s high time I told you about the time my American friend Jennifer came to visit on her way back from Dubai. Last July we got together for one day of tourism and one night of Caesars and poutine. With limited time to show her the best of Toronto, the CN Tower was a natural choice.

From Korea to Toronto – Reunited!

The CN Tower has been Toronto’s (and Ontario’s) pride for decades. It was the tallest free-standing structure in the world from 1975 until 2010 (at 553 m/1,815 ft) when Dubai took the title with the beautiful Burj Khalifa (at 828 m/2,717 ft) in the UAE.

The CN Tower in Toronto.

The Burj Khalifa in Dubai, UAE.

Despite the loss of title in the Guinness Book of World Records, the CN Tower is and always will be an amazing sight to see. It’s a landmark, a cultural icon and an inspiration for innovation. 

Step 1: Get Your Tickets

First things first: You will need to decide how high you want to go in altitude and price. There are three levels of observation inside the tower: The Look Out, the Glass Floor and the Sky Pod.

General admission for adults (13-64) is $35 CAD, which will give you access to both the Look Out and the Glass Floor views. General admission for adults with the Sky Pod view added (the highest observation point) is $47 CAD, but for a better value I highly suggest looking into the Toronto CityPASS (click here for more info). The CityPASS gets you into 5 places for $86 (adult) and is good for nine days after your first day of use. Places include Casa Loma, The Royal Ontario Museum, the CN Tower, Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada and your choice of the Science Centre or the Metro Toronto Zoo. It’s a sweet deal!

If you’re feeling like Action Jackson, there is also a new feature at the CN Tower called the Edge Walk where you can walk across the ledge – hands-free – of the towers main pod. It’s a hefty $225 CAD for adults 13 and over but it’s the first of its kind in North America and quite historic for the city.

The Edge Walk, photo courtesy of cntower.ca.

Step 2: Up You Go

Once inside, you’ll need to wind your way through the line until you reach the elevators. The elevator is really half the fun of going to the tower in my opinion. The legendary elevator will shoot you up 33 floors in 58 seconds with glass plated fronts to showcase the city below. Your ears may pop and you may feel wobbly when you get to the Look Out, but it will be worth it. You’ll be let out at the first observation level, the Look Out, which is a large enclosed circular terrace wrapped in glass windows for your viewing pleasure. The following pictures were taken from the Look Out (as a storm moved in).

Step 3: The Glass Floor, If You Dare

You can stand on a glass floor way up in the sky. Enough said. If you have the nerve to do it, you deserve a drink, or at least a high-five.

Jennifer bravely stands among the clouds.

This guy was killing it!

The glass floor looks down onto Toronto’s baseball stadium the SkyDome, home of the Toronto Blue Jays and recently renamed the Rogers Centre (nobody calls it that).

Step 4: Sky Pod

Jennifer and I didn’t do the Sky Pod, which is the highest point of observation in the tower. Below is a reference photo from cntower.ca just to show you how much higher up the view would be if you bought the extra admission.

The Sky Pod observation deck, above the Look Out.

Once you’re finished your photo shoot of the city from the sky, line up for your turn back down to ground level. As an aside, take comfort knowing there is a staircase, in the event that you found the elevator too much for your heart rate. If you feel the need to walk back down instead of taking the elevator, just let the staff know and I’m sure they’ll help you out.

Bronzed hecklers outside the SkyDome walls.

We came down just in time to skirt the brewing storm.

I”l be covering more of the Toronto’s best over the next few months so stay tuned. For more information on the CN Tower, visit the website here. The CN Tower is open every day except Christmas, with hours of 9am until 10:30pm daily.

Is there anything about Toronto you’d like to see me write about? Please let me know in the comment section below! Until next time, be well Dear Readers.