Quarter mile high in Toronto

Masked and costumed kids are running a muck. Superheroes and fantasy anime characters alike, as far as the eye can see. I met a girl Harry Potter, a latino Captain America and a plump Yoko Littner, among countless other peculiar sights. It was quite a thrilling experience really – other worldly. But it became evident once turning the corner onto Bremner Boulevard that I wasn’t part of a freakish parallel world, it was only the Toronto Fan Expo.

After skipping the lines of tourists outside of the CN Tower, I gathered my media pass from the customer service desk and preceded toward the Skypod elevators. Glass window escalated nausea followed as the elevator climbed the equivalent of 147 floors. Sneaking between the cluster of puzzled European tourists and camera-laden Asian families, I toured the main floor and the outdoor terrace, halting at the shocking glass floor feature. Stepping unsteadily onto the 2.5” thick glass floor, I recovered my balance after succumbing to the illusion that I was about to fall 1500 feet to the earth.

Besides the obstructing restaurant on the main floor, the panoramic view is a striking near-360 degrees looking out over all of Toronto. However, I couldn’t help but think that the CN Tower just doesn’t compare to Paris’s Montparnasse or Chicago’s Hancock Observatory.

As a travel writer, a large aspect of my job is to share my experiences, feelings and conjectures. And as all of my friends and family can attest to, I’m often painstakingly blunt. Do not visit the CN Tower if ever in Toronto, it’s overpriced ($23.99-35.99), being more expensive than similar observation experiences. Frankly the Monparnasse and the Hancock Observatory offer better views, hands down; of more interesting cities, for an even cheaper price tag.