Since the initiation of Toronto's hugely successful "Live With Culture" campaign in 2005, which has brought awareness to Toronto's diverse cultural offerings, the city is increasingly being recognized around the world for its cutting-edge art, design and architecture. From the depths of relative obscurity, Toronto has risen to the challenge with award-winning design initiatives, internationally acclaimed architectural projects and a blossoming artist colony in the west end of the city.

Redesigning culture

Of all the museums and galleries undergoing cosmetic surgery this past decade, perhaps the most stunning addition to Toronto's cultural landscape is the Chin Crystal at the Royal Ontario Museum (www.rom.on.ca).

A tidal wave of glass and aluminum, the imperious Chin Crystal seemingly vaults out of the museum's original neo-Romanesque facade, and it appears as a series of five prismatic structures strewn across the sidewalk of Toronto's busy thoroughfare, Bloor Street West. Glass dominates stone in this magnificent design created by world-renowned architect Daniel Libeskind, the mastermind behind the Jewish Museum in Berlin and the Denver Art Museum.

Inside the Crystal, beams of light slice the vast white space through thin window slits placed strategically throughout the structure. The effect is phenomenal, making this well-known, much-adored Toronto landmark even more irresistible. Places to check out include the Spirit House, the Herman Herzog Levy Gallery and the James and Louise Temerty Galleries of the Age of Dinosaurs.

Across the street, the Gardiner Museum of Ceramics (www.gardinermuseum.on.ca) also has been busy cleaning house. Not only have recent expansions added to its already colossal collection of pottery and porcelain, but the museum unveiled a brand-new restaurant, snatching up star chef extraordinaire Jamie Kennedy to oversee its bustling kitchen. Even if the delftware and majolica exhibits inside don't get your heart racing, the renovated museum building, which is a perfect example of modernist architecture, is worth a quick glance.

Come November, Torontonians won't even recognize their much-loved Art Gallery of Ontario (www.ago.net), or "AGO," as it's known to locals. In a redevelopment plan designed by Toronto native and world-renowned architect Frank Gehry, the exhibit space will nearly double, housing a strong delegation of new Canadian and European pieces, some of which will be unveiled to the public for the first time. Passers-by will be able to appreciate the AGO's new face, which will don a blond-wood boxy shape, glass wings and a crown of blue titanium.

The Art & Design District

No visit to Toronto is complete without spending an afternoon or two soaking up the unique vibe in West Queen West (www.westqueenwest.ca), home to many of the country's most industrious artists, indie rockers and designers. Lining the main thoroughfare, Queen Street West, from Bathurst Street to Gladstone Avenue are independent boutiques selling local furnishings and fashions, galleries displaying local art installations, and record shops blasting Canadian tunes. It's no surprise that this area is home to Toronto's most experimental and creative hotels, the Drake Hotel and the Gladstone Hotel, which act as cultural ambassadors of this ultratrendy neighborhood. Artists of every persuasion flock to this neighborhood every year for the Nuit Blanche festival (early October), self-dubbed "Toronto's free, all-night contemporary art thing" and the Queen West Art Crawl (mid-September), which is a celebration of local art and music.

When you go: A Toronto checklist

Getting there » If you fly into Pearson International Airport (www.gtaa.com), a taxi downtown will cost about $50. There are airport shuttle buses to the city center ($17 one way), or you can take a city bus to Kipling subway station, then travel east on the subway ($2.75). The more central City Airport (www.flyporter.ca), located a short ferry ride from downtown, receives flights from Newark, N.J., and numerous Canadian destinations.

Places to stay » Don't stay at Toronto's hottest abode, the Drake Hotel (1150 Queen St. West; 416-531-5042; www.thedrakehotel.ca; doubles from $189), if you want an early night. Rooms, decked out in retro-chic decor, are situated right above the music venue and below the hotel's happening rooftop bar, Sky Yard.

» Nearby, the more subtle Gladstone Hotel (1214 Queen St. West; 416-531-4635; www.gladstonehotel.com; doubles from $185) offers unique bedrooms, each designed by a different local artist, that fill the spaces of a century-old mansion.

Places to eat » In the restored chambers of the York County Courthouse, munch on wood-fired pizzas and typical southern Italian fare at the wildly popular Terroni (416-203-3093; 57a Adelaide St. East).