点评:One of the top things to do in Toronto and Canada as well is to visit Casa Loma, the creation of Henry Pellatt, and the largest home in Canada at 6 stories and 64,700 SF. Casa Loma (Hill House) was built on the edge of a hill at the northern edge of the city in 1914 by one of the wealthiest investors in Canada at a cost of $3.5 million in 1914 or $100 million today. This is a premier attraction that is a beautiful home and grounds but also a monument to wealth and excess which Pellatt loses after only 9 years of residence.
We visited on our last morning in Toronto before leaving for Ottawa after an early morning walk through the University of Toronto, Queen's Park and governmental section of Toronto. We bought our tickets online and arrived at the house at 9:30 when it opens. We got the best parking (which you have to pay for), but we were not the first people as we joined the entrance line. However, go early as the line when we left at 10:30 was much larger. As you enter, the exterior is amazing, huge and like a castle. However, the inside is even more amazing as you enter the 40' Great Hall that flies the flags of Canada with an open balcony to the upstairs hall and Pellatt's bedroom. Off the Great Hall on either side are two of the most richly designed rooms of warm wood paneling, the Oak Room, which is a restaurant at night, and the library. The library then extends into the dining room that has both a small room for the house party or extended to a great dining room for entertainment. Another ground floor signature rooms is the Conservancy with a beautiful glass ceiling and connects back to the Great Hall through the wood paneled Peacock Alley. Finally, you get to visit Pellat's personal office and study with two hidden staircase passages with one up and one down.
You can then visit the first floor which is the living area where you can see Mr. and Mrs. Pellatt's respective bedrooms, closets and bathrooms which were a new luxury at the time the house was constructed. You can also go outside to their private balconies for great pictures of the house and see the other guest rooms on that floor. The second floor is more guest space that has been turned into a museum for the Queen's Own Rifles, which is a Canadian Army Unit where Pellatt served as its Commanding Officer as a Major General.
From this floor, I highly recommend a visit to the top of the west tower where you can go outside for great views of the Toronto skyline. While you can go another 2 floors in the eastern tower, you cannot go outside or get a good view. If you are short on time, I would urge you not to waste time on the east tower. When then went all the way down to the basement for restrooms and gift shop. You can walk the tunnel to the old stables and garage. We skipped as we were pressed for time to see Ottawa. I do recommend you go outside in the back yard for views of Toronto and the back of the home. However, the front is the better picture.
Our entire group enjoyed this tour immensely. As a part of your entrance fee, the house has a great tour which you can listen to as you walk the home. I will say it is long if you are pressed for time. We saw the home in an hour as we left at 10:30. While we did not get to see everything, we did see much of it and it was amazing. My favorite park was a tie between the Great Hall and west tower; those were highlights to the tour.
All in all, this was an incredible visit to a great, historic attractions. Definitely, make this a part of your Toronto visit.
翻译:在多伦多乃至整个加拿大,最值得体验的活动之一就是参观卡萨洛马庄园。这座庄园由亨利·佩拉特亲自设计,是加拿大最大的私人住宅,拥有6层楼,面积达64,700平方英尺。卡萨洛马庄园建于1914年,坐落于多伦多北部的一座小山丘上。建造者正是当时加拿大最富有的投资者之一,整个工程耗资350万美元,按今天的币值计算相当于1亿美元。这是一处极受欢迎的旅游景点:它不仅拥有美丽的建筑与庭院,更是财富与奢靡生活的象征。不过,佩拉特在这里居住仅9年后便失去了这一切。
我们在离开多伦多前往渥太华的前一早参观了这里。那天清晨,我们先漫步于多伦多大学、皇后公园以及多伦多的政府区。我们事先在网上购买了门票,并在大楼开放时间9:30准时抵达。我们还抢到了最好的停车位(不过需要付费)。不过,当我们去排队入场时,我们并不是第一批人。不过还是建议早点去,因为我们在10点半离开时,排队的人群已经变得庞大得多。一进门,其外观就令人惊叹——规模宏大,宛如一座城堡。而进入内部后更是令人叹为观止:40英尺长的大礼堂中挂着加拿大国旗,还有一个通向楼上大厅及佩拉特卧室的开放式阳台。从大礼堂两侧延伸出去的是两间装饰极为华丽的房间,均采用温馨的木制镶板装饰,其中一间便是橡木厅。那里有一家夜间营业的餐厅,还有图书馆。图书馆随后与餐厅相连:有一个小房间可用于家庭聚会,也可扩展为供招待宾客使用的大型餐厅。底层的另一处特色空间是温室,它拥有漂亮的玻璃天花板,并通过装有木制护墙板的孔雀走廊与大礼堂相连。最后,您还可以参观佩拉特的私人办公室兼书房,那里设有两条隐蔽的楼梯通道,一条向上,一条向下。随后您可以前往一楼,那里是起居区,您可以看到佩拉特夫妇各自的卧室、衣橱以及浴室——这些在房屋建造时可是极为奢华的设施。您还可以到户外的私人阳台上拍摄房屋的精美照片,并参观那一层的其他客房。二楼则主要是供客人使用的空间,现已被改造成女王直属步兵团的博物馆。这是一支加拿大陆军部队,佩拉特以少将军衔担任该部队的指挥官。
在这里,我强烈建议大家去西塔的顶层,那里可以走到户外,欣赏多伦多天际线的壮美景色。虽然东塔还有两层可以上去,但无法到户外,也看不到什么好景色。如果时间有限,我劝大家别把时间浪费在东塔上。之后我们则下到地下室去使用洗手间并光顾纪念品商店。你可以沿着通道走到旧马厩和车库处。由于时间紧迫,我们没能去看看渥太华。我强烈建议你们到后院去,那里可以欣赏到多伦多的景色以及房子的背面;不过从正面看效果更好。
我们整个团队都非常喜欢这次参观。作为门票费用的一部分,房子还提供精彩的讲解服务,参观时可以边听边走。不过我得说,如果时间有限的话,这个讲解过程可能会显得有些冗长。我们10点半出发,一个小时后就参观完了整个建筑。虽然没能看到所有地方,但还是参观了不少,实在令人惊叹。我最喜欢的景点则是大礼堂和西塔楼;它们堪称此次参观的亮点。
总而言之,这是一次非常棒的体验,这座历史悠久的建筑真值得一游。绝对建议把这里列入您多伦多之行的行程中。