Toronto, Ontario (or TO as the locals call it) is a fantastic, cosmopolitan city. It’s known as a city with unique shopping, diverse ethnic neighborhoods and a theater scene to rival Broadway. What you might not know is that there is almost an entire other city below the surface…enter the PATH.
PATH comprises 27 km under the streets of Toronto. Accessible by PATH are retail establishments and food markets, services such as salons and dry cleaners, restaurants both sit-down and fast-food, the subway and train system, hotels and office buildings. It truly is a maze. The underground hallways don’t mimic the sidewalks above ground, and it’s very easy to get turned around. The color of the corridor indicates the direction you’re heading…blue for north, red for south, orange for west and yellow for east. There are maps posted at intersections, but often the map just lists which major building access is ahead, not which street you are under. Several times while I was exploring I popped back out onto the street to get my bearings.
If you visit, give yourself a few hours and just wander around without any destination in mind. I spent a couple of hours in this subterranean retail space and found it all too easy to lose track of time. I browsed the racks at the plethora of clothing stores. I sipped my favorite frozen hot chocolate drink at the Second Cup. I shopped the amazing cosmetic selection at the Shopper’s Drug Mart. I stopped short of a mani-pedi at one of the spas, but I was tempted.
It’s possible to just hunker down like a mole in this cozy hidden civilization. If you plan it right you can live, work and play on the route and never have to face the outside at all!
Thumbnail credit: oceanie86
