A few of Esri's favourite Toronto places

TORONTO'S RAVINES - Toronto has over 600 km of hiking trails criss-crossing the city through the magnificent, richly wooded ravine system. The ravines are Toronto's hidden treasure. Taylor Creek Park, which Esri frequently visits, is a segment of the Taylor-Massey Creek watershed on Toronto's east side. Runners, dog-walkers, bicyclists, and nature lovers make good use of the  meandering creek-side trail throughout the year.

CASA LOMA - Sir Henry Pellets' dream castle was built from 1911 to 1914 by 300 construction workers. Alas, poor Henry went bankrupt and lived in the castle less than 10 years. Casa Loma is now one of Toronto's favourite tourist destinations complete with secret passages, splendid gardens, and an oven large enough to cook an ox. You can even rent it for fairy-tale weddings and parties. 

ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM - For over 100 years, the Royal Ontario Museum, known locally as The ROM, has lit-up the imagination of countless school children with its dinosaurs skeletons, Egyptian mummies, massive totem poles, knights' armour, spooky bat cave and much, much more. It's a wacky architectural mix of classical early 20th century museum edifice married to a massive 21th century crystaline angled addition.

TORONTO REFERENCE LIBRARY - The Toronto Public Library System is one of the busiest in the world. With 100 branches, the system is a beehive of activity used by over 70% of Toronto's residents. The popular downtown Reference Library houses millions of items, not only books but maps, films, tapes, microform, magazines, and manuscripts. It has books in over 60 languages, hundreds of work stations, 3D printers, and even an in-house publisher for self-published books.