20 Nov The top of the world…well, almost
My ears began to pop as the elevator rose 113 stories in only 58 seconds and the views out the elevator’s glass front and glass floor became expansive. Weighing in at 130,000 tons and standing at a height of 1,815.4 ft tall, the CN tower is one of the tallest towers in the world.
There are two observation decks; the main deck is three floors that range between 1,122 ft and 1,151 ft high, or 112-115 stories high. The lower level hosts an area with a glass floor and gives you a chance to walk around on an outdoor viewing area, while the second floor is the look out level with views from large windows, and one more floor up sits a restaurant with 360 degree views. The tower also hosts attractions such as a 3D journey and a motion theater ride. You can also partake in the Edge Walk experience, where harnessed in participants have the chance to go outside the tower and actually walk along and lean off the edge of the building. It looks like quite the adrenaline rush–if we had the time, I would have loved to join in on one of the walks. Micah, not so much…
Micah trying to avoid the glass floors
Hanging on the glass floor
For a chance to shoot even higher, you can visit the second observation deck, called the skypod, which is a small viewing area at a height of 1,465 ft, 33 floors higher than the main viewing platform. Unlike the elevators to the first level that are glass and located on the outside of the structure, the elevator to the skypod rises through the center of the structure. Once you reach the skypod, you climb a small staircase and will find yourself in a glass pod with 360 degree views of the city. We went up the tower in the evening after sunset, and the views of the lit up city were remarkable.
We didn’t spend much time up in the skypod because Micah isn’t a fan of heights–if you decide to go all the way to the skypod at the very top, beware: it is very high and very close quarters, but in my opinion, totally worth the views.
Every evening at the top of each hour the CN tower is illuminated with various colors and a light show. The light show begins with red and white lights to honor Canada and then goes into a short light show with varying colors. The tower also regularly features different colors for holidays, events or causes that are taking place. When we visited, the tower was shining pink for breast cancer awareness, which is why we are bright pink in all the photos! The lights are comprised of an intelligent LED system which allows for 16.7 million different colors to be produced.
After our feet were planted firmly on the ground once again, we walked over to Cafe Crepe for a late dinner. It is a small restaurant in the entertainment district that serves crepes just as good as those in France, which I suppose makes sense since Toronto is a French Canadian providence.
The dining room is small and was almost full when we arrived, but we managed to squeeze in at a table. I had a ham and cheese crêpe and Micah ordered a ham and cheese baguette. Dessert was a banana and Nutella crêpe. Everything was very tasty. If there is not a table open in the dining room or if you are short on time, you can stop at the counter in front and get your order to go. It was a great way to end the evening!