- Toronto's CN Tower sees nearly 2 million visitors a year, and its construction has landed it a spot as an "engineering Wonder of the Modern World."
- For 34 years after the tower was finished, it held the record as the tallest free-standing structure in the world — it's still the tallest free-standing structure in the western hemisphere, according to World Atlas.
- On a recent trip to Toronto, I decided to see if this iconic tourist attraction was actually worth a visit.
- I typically stay away from perceived tourist traps when I travel for fear of wasting half my day standing in lines, but I arrived at the tower just as it was opening and was back on the ground just an hour and a half later. I even went up to the Sky Pod, the highest observation deck in the western hemisphere.
- A ticket agent told me that the offseason — which started the week I was visiting — typically sees wait times of around 10-15 minutes to reach the elevator, while peak-season visitors — those who travel in the summer months — can end up standing in line for up to two hours.
- With no lines, the entire experience was really enjoyable and I was able to see what the Toronto cityscape looked like from above. I'm so glad I didn't skip out on this attraction.
- Here's what my experience at the CN Tower was like.
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When I hear "Toronto," an image of the CN Tower immediately pops into my mind.
The towering landmark sees nearly 2 million visitors every year.
It's located near Toronto's Entertainment District ...
... on the same grounds as other attractions like Ripley's Aquarium of Canada.
In my experience with tourist attractions anywhere, it's expected that visitors will endure some pretty wild wait times. The tower opens for visitation at 9 a.m. so that's when I planned to get there — I wanted to hopefully beat the rush.
Surprisingly, there was no line. There were only a few other people waiting, and lots of empty stanchion chutes. After walking through the security vestibule, I passed through an empty, outdoor ticket booth …
… and continued on to the indoor ticket booths.
Again, it was fairly empty and I got my ticket quickly without an issue or a hold-up.
Ticket agents explained the different options available — I chose the $53 ticket for the main observation deck and access to the SkyPod.
I thought it was worth it to spring for the pod experience — after all, it's touted as one of the highest observation decks in the world at 1,465 feet.
Source: CN Tower Experience
After getting my ticket, the agent told me to continue down a photo-lined hallway. Visitors can stop and read historical anecdotes about the landmark along the way.
Then, I was greeted by two men working a photo station — a classic feature for any large tourist attraction is that they take your picture in front of a green screen and then print it out at the end if you want to buy it.
After walking around another corner, I was led toward an elevator that was going to take me up to the observation deck. Everywhere I turned there were stanchions set up for long lines, but nobody was there to fill them — a ticket agent said this is typical for the morning hours especially during the offseason.
Since there was hardly anyone else at the tower, it was just me and the CN Tower employee in the small elevator together.
In 2008, the CN Tower elevators became the first in North America to feature glass floor panels, but they were small and difficult to see through.
The elevator attendant told me a little bit about the observation deck and what I would see when I got there. When the doors opened, I immediately saw the view.
The whole observation area is white and sterile-looking from the floors …
… to the café counters.
The main level of the observation deck has a combination of floor-to-ceiling windows …
… and half-walls.
The tower opens to tourists at 9 a.m., but the café doesn’t open until 10 a.m., which was kind of a bummer since I got there early.
So instead I thought I'd explore the outdoor terrace. But again I was thwarted and found that the terrace wasn't open yet either. — employees were waiting for security to come open the automatic doors.
While tourists took photos on the glass portion of the floor, I remembered I had another option: the SkyPod. An employee on the main observation level scanned my ticket and showed me to another elevator.
A couple on their honeymoon rode up to the pod with me. The pod kind of felt like the top of a lighthouse. It was cramped, had a small circumference of walk-around space, and was filled with natural light.
The SkyPod is 33 floors above the main observation deck.
It's said that on a clear day visitors can see Niagara Falls from the SkyPod.
Unfortunately, it was pretty cloudy when I was up there, so I didn’t see much. But it was still cool to be up that high.
The attendant came back up to get us after around five minutes — visitors can't call the elevator from the SkyPod so the attendant on-duty makes a trip to the upper level every five minutes for those who have had their fill of the view. We went back down to the main level and I went straight for some coffee.
Iced coffee wasn’t on the menu, but the barista happily made one for me — the level of accommodation was really nice especially at a tourist attraction.
I took the advice of foodies everywhere and decided to sit and really enjoy my coffee with a side of Toronto skyline as opposed to taking it to-go and finishing it in less than three minutes.
As the morning went on, more and more people gathered to take photos on the see-through floor.
The thrill-seeker in me was disappointed because it wasn't as jaw-dropping a view as I had hoped, but I imagine it's a difficult feat to cover a huge floor with supportive glass.
I finally made it out onto the outdoor terrace, and wow it was windy.
The outside area is covered with this metal fencing that obstructs the view but, of course, is meant to keep people safe.
The fencing made me feel like I was in an area I wasn’t supposed to be in — like I walked through the “employees only” door to this cool secret view.
Of course, that’s not the case, and anyone with a basic ticket up the tower can access the terrace, but it was a cool feeling.
I did a quick lap around, but the wind was a bit much for me to handle — my hair was flying all over the place and the air felt a lot colder than it did on the ground — so I went back inside.
There’s a restaurant on the upper level of the main observation deck that’s quite fancy.
It wasn’t open during the morning hours I was visiting, but I snuck a peek through the glass doors before heading back to the ground level.
On my way back down, the elevator seemed to be moving a lot faster. But the employee in the elevator and I decided that was just because we were now "falling" toward the ground instead of soaring away from it.
All visitors exit through the gift shop — of course — where they sell Canada-themed clothes ...
... souvenirs ...
... and have another cafe.
On the way out, I passed one last counter offering the chance to purchase the photo they took of me before going up to the deck. I took a pass on that, though.
On my way out of the attraction area — nearly two hours after I first arrived — I saw that ticketing and security lines were starting to form. But it still wasn't anything overwhelming.
When I exited the doors of the tower, I was able to explore the grounds — it's a nice place to walk around.
I saw the Blue Jays’ baseball stadium …
… the old roundhouse — a maintenance area for trains typically built in a semi-circle with a rotating piece of rail track in the center — across the road ...
... which now houses a brewery …
… and a beautiful city skyline.
The CN Tower is within walking distance of other Toronto neighborhoods as well as the waterfront, and visitors can reach the tower via their transportation method of choice.
I'm usually someone who stays far away from tourist attractions when I'm traveling, but I'm glad I visited the CN Tower. Had I got caught up in lines or crowds of people, I probably would have thought differently ...
... but it's worth getting up early and beating the rush to be able to see the whole of Toronto from the sky.
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