Enjoy Three Popular Pastimes: Unwinding, Shopping, and Eating

Looking for a quick getaway between annual meeting sessions or at the end of a long day absorbing the latest clinical and research news? Grab a cab to Harbourfront Centre for a leisurely stroll, shopping, or dining along the picturesque shores of Lake Ontario.

Harbourfront Centre is more than a year-round venue for arts programming, special events, and world-class performances; it’s an excellent way to spend the day enjoying a vast array of activities, according to its website.

Located in close proximity to the CN Tower (Toronto’s signature structure) and the convention center, what is now the Harbourfront Centre was merely a wasteland amid condemned industrial buildings more than 40 years ago. After Pierre Trudeau, a former prime minister of Canada, pushed for legislation that would revitalize 100 central acres of lakefront property, the centre has been transformed into an international platform for cultural celebrations, education, and recreation—with more than 4,000 annual events that attract about 17 million visitors each year.

A good place to begin a tour of Harbourfront Centre is with the mix of entertainment and shopping at Ann Tindale Park, a tree-lined park covered with plush, “environment-friendly” artificial grass. The park serves as the epicenter of spring and summer festivals.

Visitors can stroll along the boardwalk to the recently built Exhibition Common to see whatever visual-arts events are going on or participate in a yoga class, for example.

For more visual arts, head next door to the Bill Boyle Artport for the “Deep Woods” art exhibit, inspired by the beauty of some of Canada’s forests, or to the Powerplant Contemporary Art Gallery to see “The Unfinished Conversation: Encoding/Decoding,” an exhibit of photography capturing many aspects of the post-World War II era.

If accompanied by children, an interesting option is the Natrel Pond, where paddle boating and canoeing are available, or the Brigantine Room in the Bill Boyle Artport to take part in the interactive musical “The Story of Babar,” written by French composer Francis Poulenc.

End the evening with lakeside dining at the Amsterdam BrewHouse. The BrewHouse boasts that it is known for some of the most creative brewing-process techniques in the world and its freshly made artisan food. Other restaurants at Harbourfront Centre include Lakeside Local Bar & Grill, Lavazza Espression, and World Cafȳ.

Harbourfront Centre is open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. ■

More information on Harbourfront Centre is posted at http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com.