It's been 50 years, at least, since I've seen my American cousins.

Now, after half a century, two of them are heading to Toronto for a family reunion this month.

I'm still getting my head around the fact that one cousin, who lives near San Francisco, is coming all the way from California to reunite with relatives she hasn't seen in decades.

She says she's excited. Me, too.

After flying to Buffalo, she plans to hook up with her brother and his wife and drive to Toronto with them.

I've promised to show the three of them around Canada's largest city. Although I was born and raised in Hogtown, I'm not as familiar with the city as I was when I lived there.

Besides, I don't have a clue what types of things these relative strangers would be interested in seeing or doing, although Casa Loma was requested.

So I immediately got in touch with Tourism Toronto and began the first of many Internet searches. But I also relied on my intuition and the places where I prefer to hang out on my frequent visits to Toronto.

The CN Tower is a no-brainer. Every visitor wants to experience the city from 553.33 metres (1,815 feet, five inches) in the air. Arguably the world's tallest building, the CN Tower, built in 1976, not only offers visitors a bird's-eye view of the city, it once solved Toronto's communication problems created by an onslaught of 20th-century skyscrapers.

The tower's panoramic possibilities are introduced on the glass floor and outdoor observation deck at 342 metres (1,122 feet), followed by a caf? and indoor observation deck slightly higher at 346 metres (1,136 feet.).

The Horizons Caf? serves light meals in a casual atmosphere, but 360, the award-winning fine-dining restaurant at 351 metres (1,150 feet), rotates once every 72 minutes and serves up an unmitigated, unobstructed vista of the city below, weather permitting.

Perhaps we'll eat lunch there and watch the city glide by.

I'm not sure if any of my guests suffers from acrophobia but if heights are not an issue, we can continue our climb to Sky Pod, the world's highest public observation deck, located at a dizzying 447 metres (1,465 feet.).

After showing off our world-renowned tower, I plan on guiding my American cousins around their chosen Toronto attraction: Casa Loma.

As a kid, I was convinced I would live in that beautiful castle some day.

Although I danced in its halls on prom night, my dreams turned out to be even loftier than those of Henry Pellatt, the original dreamer behind Casa Loma.

At the tender age of 17, Pellatt had already abandoned college for a career in commerce. Despite his endless list of corporate accomplishments for years to come and his ensuing knighthood, it's his "house on the hill" or "Casa Loma" that preserves Sir Henry's memory.

It took him three years and more than $3.5 million to build it and fill it with artwork from around the world.

But after the First World War, bankruptcy forced him to desert his dream and ultimately, in 1933, the city seized the property for back taxes.

When we leave the magical charm of a Canadian castle, I plan a ferry ride to the Toronto Islands, my favourite haunt to date.

Despite the superfluous cacophony of rowdy kids, restless parents, anxious animals and noisy rides on Centre Island, I think my cousins and I will manage to enjoy its many gardens, fountains and park-like setting.

And even though the baseball stadium at Hanlan's Point, where Babe Ruth hit his first professional home run, has been replaced by an airport, its current "clothing optional" beach will be worth the short jaunt from Centre Island.

Since all manner of bicycles, suitable for one or two or more, are available for rent on Centre Island, I hope my cousins will agree to cycle the trails with me, from the eastern edge of Ward's Island to the docks at Hanlan's Point, enjoying an almost rural setting while admiring the unique skyline of Canada's largest city.

Back in the city proper, I can picture our group enjoying dinner at a sidewalk caf? in one of Toronto's popular ethnic neighbourhoods. From Chinatown to Little Italy, each "hood" is unique.

And summertime always brings some festival or other to the neighbourhood streets, where visitors literally can experience another culture without leaving North America.

I will, of course, let my relatives choose the food they'd like to savour -- authentic Korean, Thai, Greek, Portuguese, Polish, Turkish -- the list is endless.

Greektown is one of my favourites, though, with its recognizable blue-and-white flags lining the boulevards and street signs sporting mysterious Greek symbols.

This community on the Danforth has grown to become the second largest outside of Greece itself and it is constantly abuzz with busy shoppers and chatty diners in outdoor caf?s sipping ouzo or Greek wine or dining on souvlaki, stuffed grape leaves or moussaka.

If my American visitors yearn to shop before they return home, I'll whisk them off to one of my two favourite window-shopping sites: Yorkville and the Distillery District.

Both historic districts feature fashionable boutiques, antique shops, art galleries, upscale bistros and outdoor caf?s.

Yorkville or the "Mink Mile," which began as a middle-class, tree-lined suburb of Toronto, became a trendy destination during the hippie era when flower children from around the world congregated in its coffee houses to listen to poetry and folk music.

Today visitors come mostly for its shops and restaurants but I hope we'll have time to enjoy the Village of Yorkville Park with its birch grove, wildflower meadow, and pine forest and, of course, "The Rock," a huge piece of granite trucked hundreds of kilometres from the Canadian Shield.

The Distillery district, on the other hand, is set on 13 acres of prime downtown real estate.

Its 40-plus buildings constitute the largest and best-preserved collection of Victorian industrial architecture in North America.

Back in the 19th century, this area was the site for the largest distillery in the British Empire.

Today it represents Toronto's first pedestrian-only village with brick-lined streets that lead to European piazzas and wonderful neighbourhood shops.

Although my cousins are staying with relatives during much of their time in Ontario, I've booked two nights with them at a downtown hotel. Located across from the VIA rail station, the Fairmont Royal York Hotel is offering a number of special rates and packages this summer, highlighting an assortment of Toronto attractions included with overnight accommodations.

One such special benefits Ontario residents only. All you need is valid identification to receive the Ontario resident's rate of $169 for two people, any Thursday to Sunday night until Sept. 2.

To mark a special royal visit of three queens and their family of over 10,000 bees to its rooftop hive apiary, the Royal York is offering a "B&B and Bee" package for $224 until Sept. 1.

This special includes one night's accommodation, a full breakfast for two, valet parking for one vehicle, a souvenir bee embossed soap and a $1 donation to the Toronto Beekeepers Co-operative.

For more hotel/getaway packages, visit www.fairmont.com/royalyork

To help plan your Toronto vacation, I'd suggest starting your search at www.torontotourism.com

Other helpful websites include www.thedistillerydistrict.com, www.casaloma.org and www.cntower.ca

Carol Baldwin is a freelance writer who lives in Burlington.