Toronto began as the town of York, founded in 1793 by governor John Graves Simcoe, and was renamed Toronto in 1834; the modern city took shape in 1998 when six municipalities amalgamated into one. It sits on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario and is cut by a ravine system carved by the Humber and Don rivers, giving it far more parkland than its dense downtown suggests. Toronto is Canada's financial capital, home to the Toronto Stock Exchange, and its 2.9 million residents make it the country's largest city, with roughly half born outside Canada. In 1954 Hurricane Hazel killed 81 people here in a single night, a disaster still shaping the city's flood-control planning today.
Nights sit around 13°C and afternoons around 23°C, though some days reach 28°C.
Toronto has real seasons: summer afternoons sit around 27°C, winter ones around 1°C.
Some summer days reach 32°C, and some winter nights drop below freezing.
Rain is spread through the year — about 824 mm in total, from 82 mm in June down to 53 mm in March — so no single month is a washout.
Wind is rarely an issue; most months sit between calm and a light breeze. Air quality is worth watching: June averages an AQI of 77, while November clears to 29.
Days stretch to about 15.2 hours of light in June and shrink to 8.8 in December — something to weigh if you work to a fixed timezone.
For what you're after, the best months in Toronto are July – August. Expect fast internet (463 Mbps) and a high cost of living (about €2400 a month).
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