Toronto, Ontario

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The eight-acre stadium offers sports fans five levels of seating and the world's largest video replay screen. More than 50,000 people at a time can watch a football or a baseball game, and there,s also a 350-room hotel built into the north end of facilty, with 70 rooms offering a view of the playing field.

But the building is much more than a place to wach sporting events under an open roof. There are 23 fast-food stands, 48 beverage outlets, a 430-seat restaurant for quick-service dining, a 300-foot-long bar overlooking the field, the largest McDonald's in North America, the Hard Rock Cafe, and a 120-seat movie theatre where tours of the building begin. The CN Tower is a stroll away from the stadium. Royal Ontario Museum

Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum, knows affectionately as the ROM, is Canada's Lagest Public Museum, made even grander by a recent $55 million renovation and expansion project, covering the permanent galleries. Founded in 1912 and opened two years later, the ROM today attracts more than one million visitos a year. Amoung its impressive holdings, which number more than six million objects and speciments, are a Roman galery, housing the country's most extensive collection of antiquities; the famous Dinosaur galery, with a mastadon, stegosaurus, and other prehistoric creatures "at home" in jungle settings; a world- class textile collection, with colorfol walhangings, peiod costumes, and richly patterned fabrics on display thoughout the museum; and the renowned Chinese colection, with 800 pieces displayed in traditional room settings and special gallery areas. Of particular note are the giant stone camels and guardian figures of the Ming Tomb, the only Chinese tomb in the Western world. There are also galleries devoted to artifacts of Ontario and Canadiana.

Next door is the McLaughlin Planetarium where the Theatre of the Stars uses 85 slideand video projectors to create planets, exploding stars, and other galactic phenomena. The Sigmund Samuel Building, a fiew blocks south of the main ROM building, focuses on Canada's rich cultural heritage with displays of antique toys, coocking utensils, oil paintings, pottery and sculpture. The George R. Gardiner Museum of Ceramc Art, directly across from the main ROM building, is the only museum specia- lizing in ceramic in North America. Niagara Falls

Every year more than 12 million people flock to Ontario to see the breathtacking natural phenomenon knows as Niagara Falls. Many are honeymooners, although no one is quite sure how that tradition got started. They come to see the combined cascading power of the 54-metre Canadian Falls - knows as Horseshoe Falls - and the American Falls, which soars to 56 metres. Together, these thundering cataracts rush over the brink at the rate of 39.1 million Imperial gallons of water per minute.

Statistic don't do justice to the majesty, the danger, or the romance of the Falls. They have to be seen in person, and there are a variety of ways to view the spectacle once your get there: four Maid-of-Mist boats enter the Horseshoe Basin and pass directly in front of cataracts; the Niagara Spanish Aerocar spans mightly whirlpool where the river takes a 90-degree turn; the Great Gorge Adventure provides a close view of the waters from half a continent plunging through the gorge at the river's narrowest point; and three Table Rock Scenic Tunnels allow visitors to walk behind the Falls. To view the sights from above, opt for a 10-minute helicopter ride, rise to the top of the Skylon Tower observation deck via the external glass-fronted elevators, or visit the viewing platform at the Minolta Tower and Marine Aquarium.

If the real thing isn't enough, there's always IMAX Theatre's Niagara: Miracles, Myths and Magic, shown on a six- storey screen in the village of Niagara Falls. While you're in town, you might consider stopping in at any of a number of places designed to entertain, including the Ripley's Belive It Or Not Museum, the Elvis Presley Museum, Louis Tusaud's Museum, or the Daredevils Exhibit.

Реферат опубликован: 2/05/2006