Yonge-Dundas Square, Toronto (must see)

No place can possibly get you any closer to the spirit of Toronto than Yonge-Dundas Square.

The site was conceived in 1997 as part of revitalizing the Downtown intersection of Yonge and Dundas streets. Technically speaking, though, the area – bordered by bending Dundas Street East on the north, Victoria Street on the east, Yonge Street on the west, and Dundas Square on the south – is not a square at all, but an irregular pentagon.

Still, this square, as they call it, stands at a slight incline that was made on purpose, so as to facilitate a theatrical feel to it. Since its completion in 2002, Yonge-Dundas has been at the heart of the city’s cultural scene, central to the Yonge entertainment and shopping district, perpetually brimming with life.

The square is continuously illuminated by large billboard screens and corporate logos, which often leads to its comparison with New York City's Times Square, Tokyo's Shibuya district, and London's Piccadilly Circus. To manage the volume of pedestrians passing through here every day – over 100,000!!! – a pedestrian scramble was installed in 2008, being the first of its kind in the city.

Surrounding the square are major landmarks, such as Toronto Eaton Centre, Ed Mirvish Theatre, and the Citytv building. The centrepiece of Yonge-Dundas is an array of fountains: two rows of ten fountains spread out across the main walkway allowing visitors to walk through or around them.

Bringing together people from all walks of life, this public square is a prominent landmark of Toronto in its own right, regularly hosting public events, celebrations, performances, and art displays.