Toronto's climate, though less fierce than the rest of the country, can still suffer from extremes of temperature and wintry inches of snow. Last year two weeks of violent snowstorms left the city freezing under 48 inches of snow. When the weather outside is too much to bear the locals head beneath the surface to the 100 year-old city beneath the streets.

Echoing the metropolitan area above, the underground city stretches for more than 12 city blocks. It's made up of 11 kilometres of tunnelled walkways and three bridges that link Union Station with over 1,000 shops and stores, hotels, offices, subway stations, bistros, cafes, food stalls and apartment blocks.

The first tunnel opened in 1900 but it wasn't until 1961 that the first underground mall appeared. In the 70s the tunnels multiplied into a confusing, twisting maze. 1992 brought reason and order in the form of a name, 'PATH', and a system of coloured signs: blue (north), red (south), yellow (east) and orange (west). Maps are available for the uninitiated at hotels and tourist information offices but finding your way around can still prove tricky (especially since landmarks are hard to come by - and navigating by the stars or the sun is definitely out). Discovering the links from one building basement to the next can seem a little like trying to find a portal to the next realm in some weird fantasy adventure.