I have hosted people in my fine city many times, but usually they were from smaller Canadian cities who wanted to see the "big city" or overseas visitors who were content to drink in the Western urban experience, since everything about Toronto was new and exciting. Life was good.

However, next week I'll be hosting friends from NYC, in Toronto for the first time, and I'm afraid that the experience for them will be underwhelming. I won't be able to count on the "wow" factor of the skyline and the hustle and bustle of downtown, two of my old standbys, as they already have that at home. They have great theater at home, and most of our productions are Broadway imports anyway. I have a couple of restaurants in mind that I want to take them to, but as far as "attractions", where do you take your more "worldly" guests to show them the "real Toronto"?

I would love to give them a feel of the ethnic patchwork that makes up our city, but I'm not sure if I can effectively get that across in the 2-3 days they will be here.

Any person, place or thing you count on to wow visitors? All ideas welcome.

if you are looking for ethnic areas, try taking them to the danforth for the greek area. forget about chinatown, as the one in NYC has more to see and more to do. if all else fails, try taking them to niagara falls. i know this has always worked for me. there is an amazing korean restaurant on queen near beverly. i think it's called korean grill. you cook your own food, and it's fun if you have more than 2 people. 12bucks per person allyou can eat...

If the weather is mild -- and slightly warmer than this weekend -- I agree about the Danforth for a dinner at one of the outdoor areas of the Greek restaurants. Alternatively, Little Italy again if the night is mild. My type of American visitors like to spend time watching [real Cuban] cigar rolling and quaff a few pints at Amsterdam, so a Friday afternoon on Portland at King is always in order. They also enjoy the free beer a Steam Whistle, and this year I will be taking them to the Distillery District for a taste of Mill Street ales. Otherwise, I am not sure what one would take people to here in Toronto that's unique...