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The obligatory start to a Toronto visit is to take your place in the queue at the foot of the minaret-thin CN Tower (daily: Jan-April 9am-10pm; May-Dec daily 8am-11pm; $16; www.towerer.ca ), which tapers to a point 553.33m above the waterfront just off Front Street West. Tourists are whisked up its outside in leg-liquefying glass-fronted elevators and the first port of call is the indoor and outdoor viewing platforms of the 346m Lookout Level . From here, it's another 100m to the cramped Sky Pod (an extra $5.50) and views as far as Niagara Falls and Buffalo. Dispiritingly, the tower has been equipped with a string of tacky attractions, the worst being the "Daredevil Thrills" simulated rides, the most enjoyable the glass floor on the Lookout Level. Next door to the CN Tower is the SkyDome , home to two major Toronto sports teams - the Blue Jays baseball team and the Argonauts of Canadian Football fame. The stadium seats 53,000 and is also used for special events and concerts. Opened in 1989, it was the first stadium in the world to have a fully retractable roof - it only takes twenty minutes to cover the stadium's eight acres of turf and terrace. It was an extraordinary feat of engineering (four gigantic roof panels mounted on rail tracks), and one that was much touted by the city, but unfortunately, the end result is pretty ugly - when the roof is closed it looks like a giant armadillo. Guided tours (telephone for schedule tel 416/341-2770; $10.50), worth it only if you're sticking around for a sporting event, last an hour and begin with a fifteen-minute film about the stadium's construction. The ensuing walking tour takes in the media centre, a dressing room and a stroll on the field. In contrast, St Andrew's Presbyterian Church (daily 9am-4pm; free), nearby at Simcoe and King, is a reminder of an older Toronto, its Romanesque Revival towers, gables and galleries given a vaguely Norman appearance by the rose window and triple-arched entrance. Built in 1876 for a predominantly Scottish congregation, the church has a delightful interior, its cherrywood pews and balcony sloping down towards the chancel. More importantly, St Andrew's has an admirable history of social action: the city's churches have played a leading role campaigning against poverty and homelessness since the very earliest days of settlement, and they continue to do so today.
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