Going Up

I've been up the tower more times than I can count. Here's what the experience is really like — no marketing, just notes.

Before you arrive

The tower sells timed-entry tickets. You pick a 30-minute arrival window when you buy online, and that window matters — show up late and they may make you wait for the next available slot. Buy early if you want a sunset window; those fill up days in advance, especially on weekends. I covered this in The Blue Hour if sunset is your plan.

E-tickets on your phone work fine at the gate. You scan them at a turnstile, same as the subway. No need to print anything. The line from the turnstile to the elevator varies from five minutes on a Tuesday morning to forty minutes on a Saturday afternoon. I avoid weekends entirely — they feel like an airport departure lounge.

The lift

Six glass-fronted elevators climb the outside of the tower at roughly 6 metres per second. The ride takes under a minute. One wall is glass, so you watch the city fall away beneath you in real time. It's genuinely impressive even after repeated visits. The operators give a short talk during the ride — construction dates, height, that sort of thing. Keep your camera ready; the light through the elevator glass can be interesting if the sun is low.

The main observation deck

You step out at 346 metres. Floor-to-ceiling windows wrap the entire circumference. On a clear day you can see Niagara's mist plume to the south and the Muskoka hills to the north. Interpretive panels identify what you're looking at. There's a café level one floor below with surprisingly decent coffee and predictably expensive sandwiches.

The glass floor

One level below the main deck, a section of floor is thick transparent glass. You stand on it and look straight down 342 metres to the ground. I have been up this tower dozens of times and the glass floor terrifies me every single time. My rational brain knows the engineering; my lizard brain wants nothing to do with it. Watching first-time visitors inch onto the glass is genuine entertainment.

Photography tip: shoot straight down through the glass floor for vertigo-inducing compositions, but be aware of reflections. Turn off your flash, wear dark clothing, and press the lens hood against the glass.

SkyPod

A separate elevator goes higher, to the SkyPod at 447 metres. It's a smaller, quieter level. Fewer people bother with the upgrade. On the days I do go up there, I mostly appreciate the thinner glass and the fact that I can set up a tripod without someone bumping it every thirty seconds.

Heading back down

The exit route takes you through a gift shop. Inevitable. The elevators down are the same glass-walled ones. Budget about 90 minutes total for a comfortable visit, longer if you're shooting or if the queue at the top is dense.