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| - There is a strange irony about this place. As you pass through the majestic collonade facing Front St, you enter a truly awe-inspiring atrium with a vaulted ceiling and herringbone marble floors. In this 'Great Hall' is the ticket counter for VIA Rail, a Harveys fast-food restaurant, and a looming arrivals/departure board that makes you feel like you're truly in the Centre of It All.
But all the action takes place underground -- where the ceilings are low, the air is stale and the design borders on the 'municipal'. Nearly 100,000 bodies are shuffled around every day in this underground space, and it's a shame that they have to walk underneath the grandeur and not through it.
A few tips for the uninitiated. When arriving at Union Station you can access VIA Rail (inter-provincial transit), GO Transit (inter-city) and the TTC (light rail and subway). GO buses are located on the other side of Bay Street and can be accessed via an overpass. There are taxi cabs parked out front (on Front St), but more than likely one of the forms of transit can take you where you need to go. You can also access Toronto's underground PATH (http://www.yelp.ca/biz/path-underground-toronto), a network of tunnels which can take you as far North as Queen St and the Eaton Centre. Be warned, taking the PATH won't supply the most efficient route, but it is certainly a warmer route in the winter.
Your food options in Union Station are very limited. The Harvey's in the Great Hall is the least fast foodish of your options. If you can wait, get yourself to one block north to King Street where there are a tonne of restos close together.
While this isn't the easiest train station to navigate, nothing is impossible to find or too far away. The ticket staff are never too busy (except for the first day of the month when people are buying commuter passes) and will usually help you plan your route or find a platform. And for the busiest station in Canada -- there is a decided lack of squalor and sketchiness here. Though parts of it are homely, I find it a comfort to be here. But maybe that's because it reminds me so strongly which city I live in, and how lucky I am for it.
(And it smells like Cinnabon.)
Obligatory Title Pun: UNION/Union STATION blue (apologies to Debbie Harry)
Menu Readability: There are LCD screens everywhere, indicating departure times, platform numbers and routes.
Need to mention: Don't use the bathrooms downstairs. Head to the VIA Station, down the ramp towards the platforms and the cleaner washrooms are on your left and right. They are equipped with Dyson hand dryers.
What this place teaches me about myself: I really do love public transit.
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