EV US

Free to access but you have to book your slot for the day well online and this is a building we could not visit in the past due to missing this aspect:
- print your page with confirmation of your booking and then pass the airport security style at the entrance
- we arrived on a very hot day after visiting the temporary Parliament location and we were told to wait in the hot sunny 20 more minutes for our slot. I was feeling very sick because of the weather so the kind staff allowed us to sit inside, where your group is formed after security and asked if we wanted to join the earlier tour since the were not many people; so thank you for your kindness once again
- the place is rather tight inside and does not have a proper tour area as the temporary Parliament building has for example and the air con is minimal; also there are no toilets to access
- our guide was probably a French speaker with a speech defect hence a bit difficult to understand every single word, however much he tried. He answered kindly all our questions though, proof he is very knowledgeable
- the few rooms we accessed during our 45min tour were packed with history with a huge percentage of items being original as they were 100 years plus ago
- the guide detailed the habits of former politicians and you have all the proof there, besides lots of books, furniture etc; if you are into history you will surely like this free tour

Gorgeous building and great place to visit, if you have finished anything else there is to see downtown Toronto. This building is way cleaner and you feel safer than most of USA's Union stations for example - it reminds you of the many train stations in the UK and some other European cities.

Large, safe, very clean touchless toilets (except the door, for women), places to eat or drink, very well organised - I love it.

Great big gym located in a massive complex and I like that there are hardly any people mid week, mid day. Lots of machines to try to improve your health or 'beef up' and everybody seems to be so quiet and polite, nothing like the awfully loud, entitled people screaming in their languages as I used to hear in central London, in UK. Nowadays, if you want civilised people you have to move away from the massive cities. Also, they have got a great offer for 10 passes, never expiring, especially when you get regularly sick for many months, what is not to love? Saving money.

This is one of the worst shopping centres I ever came across around the world: worse than many places in London UK, Paris etc or USA and Canada. Why? Because people make a place and more specifically the shop attendants I came across here in so many shops - a repetitive negative experience, you are left wondering: do these people have something against European women arriving here to spend money in many shops? No wonder millions of us prefer spending heavily online nowadays. Less trouble.

I have not experienced anything like this in Yorkdale shopping centre and in the end I left this place as it really destroyed my day.

I researched in advance, checking the map on their website and arrived mid-day after NYE discovering some shops were busy while others completely empty (so no negative experience there) and the management really put lots of effort into attracting shoppers with a variety of unique and brand shops I keep buying for decades despite having dozens of the same white coats or black shoes varieties for example.

I started with Zara, as I used to always shop in the UK, Spain and other parts of Europe: the young staff here was so rude, always pushing me around as if saying 'hey customer, you are in my way, just go away'. I ended up saying to them 'excuse me' and 'thank you' as some were simply expecting you to move out of their way and sink in the clothes on the rail!!!! I came across some older staff and they were smiling and being polite, too few though. If young staff has something against women with long blonde hair, instead of dragging my hair they should write at the entrance of the shop: 'do not enter here, we are rude!!!!'

I then went to Sephora to buy some creams and asking a young lady a question, she only made eye contact me with me and chose to ignore me completely by looking down on the shelf. I have never seen anything like that anywhere in the world!!! I spoke with another lady who apologised for the attitude of her colleague yet could not find her as the first girl was hiding behind a shelf, probably thinking: 'that will teach that blonde lady to ever come here again'.

I then went to Marc Robinson jewellers to replace the batteries for a gold watch and a vintage precious stones watch. An older guy with a belly made eye contact with me and I explained what I needed and if it can be done while I was there. What followed were so many questions that I decided to show him both watches: he did not even have the decency to wait for me but started speaking with some people from his country, while exchanging so many sentences despite being monosyllabic with me. He then looked at the watches over the shoulder for a split of a second and said 'we cannot replace the batteries here'. No politeness, no respect, no interest, similarly to what I have experienced in the previous shops, probably because I am European, polite and respectful and would have thought I would receive the same in return.

Probably these shop attendants live nearby and prefer to deal with people who formed the majority of the customers in this shopping centre or maybe they cannot be bothered to learn how to treat people with respect in this time and age: it is called integration and their attitude really shocked me.

In a 'word': ask me if I will ever bother to come back or recommend this place? Not unless somebody wants to experience what I have experienced. When I shop, I really shop, I do not go to a mall 'just to tag along with the family'. Pity the big spenders are treated with so much disrespect.

To reach the lower town you either take the funicular from the Dufferin terrace for 5 CAD one way/per person (the entrance is located inside the glass square houses right near the statue - don't forget to press on the door to access this area) with the capacity of the funicular of max 6-8 people and going every minute, reaching the old town in 1 minute.

The other option is to walk all the way here, if you have the energy, and immerse yourself in more touristic attractions with lots of over prices cake shops/ice cream shops/nougaterie or restaurants and fashion shops far detached from the French or European fashion though.

Cobbled streets located near the water, the ferry not far from here, a gorgeous piazza with people watching as in the style you find in most of Med countries, if you are fortunate to be here on a sunny day.