Toronto, a multifaceted cultural city!
The Four Seasons Hotel: a case dynamic for contemporary creativity.
In this cosmopolitan capital, hotel panels are of course very large. The Four Seasons Hotel opened on October 5, 2012, and got right on top of the list. Its glass twin towers on Yorkville Street, THE chic street of Toronto, have been designed by architect Yabu Pushelberg, who decided on a structured space displaying artistic sensibility, harmony, fluidity, richness of the materials and inventiveness in the equipments. Contemporary art allows a gracious transition in and out of the hotel, matching the urban architecture of the city. Another innovation: its interior design. Let’s forget traditions, and let’s adopt the newest design codes: huge walnut panels playing with large screens or steel lace cages, hung with works by James Robertson or wood carved spheres reminding of dandelions, partition the lobby into different intimate and cosy spaces
Art and technical innovations as the hotel leitmotiv.
In the rooms and suites, the wonderfully huge glass windows let the light in, enhancing the successful mix of steel and glass and giving the rooms their contemporary and harmonious touches. All the more as their grey and beige major tones are subdued for better visual and bodily comfort. Even the high tech sounds and images are meant to soothe the stressed guests. A real pleasure when the weather goes unleashed!
Daniel Boulud, the 3 starred New York chef
The hotel hired 3 starred chef Daniel Boulud, who had worked in New York City for 30 years. It’s the chain policy now to hire starred chefs, to present its international clientele with new culinary but delicious concepts, in a cosy and welcoming environment.
Café Boulud: tradition revisited
Café Boulud is located on the mezzanine overlooking the D bar through large windows, allowing the guests to appreciate the room volumes and some controversial Brainshaw works, the Street art and Post Pop French artist loved in LA and hated in NYC: Picasso, Mickaël Jackson, Marilyn Monroe revisited. In this very contemporary but rather stripped décor, (by Rosalie Wise Designs), Daniel Boulud makes a point to propose traditional and seasonal, yet creative, Mediterranean cuisine, cooked with fresh and local products. The D Bar, on the first floor, is the place to begin or end the night. You can see and be seen through its large glass panes, that’s the aim of the game, of course!
For a quick lunch, try the firemen’s hamburger: braised beef nearly charred on its surface and spicy! Astonishing!
A multifaceted city
This metropolis is a shy one: you can’t discover it in one day, nor in two, nor even on the third one. It looks like a smaller Chicago, with Lake Ontario as a shore, the forests still playing with the urban landscape, and contagious “joie de vivre”, creativity and dynamism. You live in the city, not outside: everything is close, within a mile or two. Each district has got its ethnic and artistic particularities. For instance, in the West Queen, a very bourgeois and fancy spot, also called the Art and Design District, there are art galleries and creativity all over the place.
Ossington Street, a flock of lounge restaurants!
Ossington Street, near West Queen, has got more than 23 lounge restaurants, each with their specialties. For instance, the small French Delux café proposes Cuban sandwiches and Panini; Union Farm, also a French place with an old style wooden counter and tiled floor, specializes in bio products. You just have to pick up one, a very difficult task!
Museums, cruises and the CN Tower
You “must” take a cruise on Lake Ontario. The islands are extremely colorful, especially during the Indian summer. Toronto skyline view is breathtaking, especially its CN Tower, culminating at 553.33 meters. The cruise allows you to sample the numerous architectural feats of the city. You may stop for lunch at Canoe, near Kingstreet, on the 54th floor, with a splendid view of the city and a tasteful Canadian menu. Afterwards, you’ll have some energy to spend on a few museums you have to visit: the Royal Ontario Natural History Museum (ROM), which looks like a spaceship; the indispensable Art gallery of Ontario, opened in 1900 and restored by Frank Gehry in 2008, presenting 1000 years of European art on 45,000m2. Later, if you are still in good shape, you can climb on top the CN Tower, the city icon with a splendid panoramic view.
