Bruce Bell Tours
International & Local PRESS for Bruce Bell
Phone Bruce at 647-393-8687
"As a rule of thumb I don't take tours when I'm traveling (and truly exploring Toronto by streetcar is a fine option). However I made an exception on this trip because of legendary guide Bruce Bell. Don't miss him if you want to take full measure of the place!" Terry Phillips SeaRay Living Magazine April, 2010
“Bruce Bell doesn't just know Toronto, he is IS Toronto, a walking, touring eating, exploring fixture whose knowledge of its history, people and places is unmatched in the province". Ken Alan, Mid-Atlantic Events Magazine, January 22, 2010
“Skip the group tours, and visit Toronto with Bruce – who instantly becomes your newest best friend. Toronto is a walking city, and with a map and guidebook visitors can cover the town and be happy campers. However, what a casual tourist will not be able to do is to get “behind the scenes”…and this is where Bruce steps in. Do you want to personally chat with the vendors at the St. Lawrence Market, see the back-stage of the Royal York Hotel, and have a running commentary on the history, current gossip, and future plans for everything (and everyone) of interest in this town? You get special treatment and a fun guide when you work with Bell who will take you along to “his” Toronto. It is really better/best to do it with Bruce then to go it alone”. Dr. Elinor Garely, eTurboNews News -Jan 11, 2010 New York City
"We left our city-centre hotel on a walking tour with one of the most knowledgeable and engaging guides I have ever met. Bruce Bell is more than a guide, he is a Toronto legend!" Peter Ellegard, Travel and Leisure Magazine UK, Oct 21, 09
“While you're in the mood for exploring, you might as well go with the best; Toronto historian and tour guide extraordinaire Bruce Bell. Official historian to several downtown hotels and the St. Lawrence Market, Bruce doesn't just live and breathe the city's history; he acts out all the parts. A must-do on any visit to Toronto”. Julie Carl and Jane Carl, Winnipeg Free Press Oct 6, 09
“The key to any tour is the tour guide and Bruce Bell presents his with panache. His historic tours are enormous fun, and only in the end do you realize how much you actually learned. Our guide cares so much about the history of his adopted city, that he has placed many plaques, funded by supportive individuals and organizations. They mark places of importance in Toronto's historic past. They also underline his passion for his job. We were in Toronto less than two full days, but we came away with a greatly deepened appreciation for the history of our provincial capital, and our country in general”. By Paul Knowles, www.joyoftravel.ca October 1, 2009
"Marking its 175th birthday this year, the town once known as Toronto the Good — a reference to its role as a bastion of Victorian morality — also prides itself on its low-key, multicultural character. Half the city's 2.5 million residents were born outside Canada, and its ethnic neighborhoods (from Little Pakistan to three Chinatowns) reflect what local historian Bruce Bell calls "the principle of life here: not a melting pot, but a place where you keep your culture and share it with others." By Laura Bly, USA TODAY-September 4, 2009
"Bruce is one of the most compelling storytellers I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. He works well for many reasons. He is passionate about the city’s history just as much as he is about the people that go on the tours. He talks to you instead of at you, almost customizing the tours to a personality". by Victoria Revay & Carolyne Weldon- Sunday July 5, 2009- www.canadaisabigplace.com Canadian Tourism Commission
"Local historian Bruce Bell offers the kind of insights you won't get on any ordinary sightseeing trip. He's a mine of information on anything from the Irish Famine emigrants' experience, to the Fenian invasion, to where Richard Burton got sozzled with Liz Taylor. He's got a hard neck and gets you behind the scenes in the boardrooms of power in the financial district, into a massive bank vault and into the atmospheric ballrooms of the olden times". Mark Evans- Friday May 15, 2009 -Evening Herald Dublin Ireland
"The most fun way to experience the market is to hook up with local historian Bruce Bell who hosts walking tours of the area. Bell looked at a small plaza in front of the south market and said, "This is the old town square where they used to do a lot of the whippings. It was illegal to sing 'Yankee Doodle' in Toronto in the 1830s because it was a protest song. America split in 1776, and we stayed loyal to the king. We did not want a democracy." And now, there is no better democracy than a good farmers market". Dave Hoekstra Chicago Sun-Times March 22, 2009
“Toronto’s Bruce Bell, a noted actor and historian, offers four fact-filled, and entertaining tours of Toronto that are worth far more than what he charges. You’ll not only learn Toronto’s fascinating secrets, you’ll have the pleasure of sharing a few hours with a genuine and knowledgeable Toronto icon. It’s a bargain no one should miss”. Gary Barlow- Chicago Free Press- Dec 12, 2008
“A tip I must pass on is that if you are short on time in Toronto - make sure you take a guided tour by the infamous Bruce Bell, who provides the most comprehensive overview of the city you could wish for.” Wayne Ankers- Manchester Evening News- Dec 11, 2008
"Toronto boasts some hidden treats which you would be unfortunate to let pass by. This is where Bruce Bell comes in handy. Bruce knows the city inside out. His tours of anywhere and everywhere will show you a side to Toronto you never knew existed. From bank foyers to railway stations, and underground tunnels to public squares, we learnt so much and it's a great way to get to know the place you're staying". Neil King-Essex Chronicle UK -Nov 22, 2008
“One way to familiarize yourself with Toronto is to take a tour led by local historian, playwright and former B movie star and stand-up comedian Bruce Bell. There is nothing Bell doesn’t know about the city and he is an informative and entertaining guide. As well as possessing a talent for various British accents, Bell’s wicked sense of humour kept me laughing throughout a three-hour tour which took in Toronto University, Chinatown, the offbeat Kensington Market area and the exclusive Yorkville area of the city”. Stephen Kasiewicz- Press and Journal- Aberdeen, Scotland- September 20, 2008
“A tour around Toronto with engaging and amazingly well-informed historian Bruce Bell helps visitors get their bearings. Passionate about the traditional face of Toronto, Bruce campaigns for conservation of the older architecture which sits alongside the stunning modern tower blocks. A tour with Bruce is a real behind-closed-doors treat, as he darts in and out of hotel lobbies, churches and 54th-floor boardrooms and selects samples of local delicacies for his clients to enjoy”. Amy Hunt- Evening Chronicle- Newcastle UK -June 28, 2008
“A custom-designed walking tour with Bruce Bell an engaging former actor and Toronto historian was a wide-ranging wander - from the striking city hall to the TD Centre, designed by Mies van der Rohe, to the funkier Queen Street area. As Bell points out, Toronto is less the melting pot than America is, and is instead famously multi-cultural, where immigrants' backgrounds are celebrated rather than absorbed.” Irish Times Dublin June 25, 2008
“In the morning, I met Bruce Bell, who is, seriously, Mr. Toronto. Why? What's so great about him? My God, Martha, he knows everything! A walking tour of Toronto with Bruce is a kaleidoscope of history, architecture, pop culture, politics, folklore, survival skills, trivia, gossip, eulogy, design, esthetics and ice cream. And he'll remind you when to look up. Anyone who's learned anything about urban architecture knows that most of the coolest stuff is way above eye level”.Samantha Bennett-Pittsburgh Post-Gazette -Friday, June 13, 2008
“Our introduction to Toronto came courtesy of Bruce Bell, one of Toronto's most noted tour guides and historians, with an infectious passion for the city and its history.
If you can spare the time, a three-hour guided walking tour with Bruce will enable you to understand the city - you also get to see fascinating places not on the tourist trail”.
John Fox-Clinch- Bristol Evening Post UK (February 15, 2008)
“There is no better way to come away feeling that you actually know a piece of the city than to go with an expert and Bruce Bell, knows the history of the city cold and will focus on a particular section or give an overview, on foot or by a combination of walking, public transportation and cabs. If you pass through the Toronto University campus, ask him to show you the 'Harry Potter like' dining room at Hart House. Cindy Loose -Washington Post- (February 2, 2008)
“A visit to St. Lawrence Market with Bruce Bell wouldn't be complete without a Pea Meal Bacon Sandwich. As Bruce said, a Pea Meal Bacon Sandwich in Toronto is like pizza in Chicago. Everyone eats it and everyone likes it. A look around the frenzied Market proved his point.” TODD WESSELL - The Journal ONLINE- Chicago (November 2007)
"Bruce was a revelation. Enthusiastic, knowledgeable and a patriotic Toronto resident, and a walking tour with Bruce is a journey into wonderland!" Jim Mathers -The Road Ahead Magazine, Queensland Australia (March 2008)
"Do you want to discover Toronto’s history while at the same time be surprised, laugh and not seem like any time has passed? Then remember this name: Bruce Bell. I tour the world for a living and I’m constantly meeting annoying guides who do nothing but repeat the same text over and over without thinking initially of the tastes and the needs of the tourists. Bruce Bell does the opposite. This is why he is a genuine (and very rare) high-speed motorboat of the field." Benoit Legault- L’Express Newspaper (Toronto, January 2007)
“Our tour group was transfixed as Bruce, both funny and fascinating, turned back the clock on 2006 Toronto. He is a walking Britannica.” Mary K. Nolan- Travel Editor RUBY Magazine (August 2006 Hamilton Ontario)
" Toronto historian Bruce Bell delivers some of the most colourful walking tours of Old Toronto, conjuring up an era when people complained about the horse-drawn wagon traffic and coal dust thickened the air" Sonia Zyvatkauskas- The Globe and Mail (Toronto July 19, 2006)
“To really experience Toronto through the eyes of a fascinating native, try a Bruce Bell walking tour. This guy is the Real McCoy, bringing Toronto history alive, even for locals who think they know it all. Bruce gets you into places no one else would think of.” Gary Smith -The Hamilton Spectator (Ontario July21, 2007)
"To really get under the city’s skin, you should book a walking tour with Toronto historian Bruce Bell. Versed in the architectural and social development of the city, Bruce brings it to life with humour and anecdotes which would be beyond the abilities of your average guide. Walking around St Lawrence Market, next to where he lives, all the traders say hello to Bruce and you feel like one of the family when you’re with him. He loves the city and his enthusiasm for it rubs off on you, particularly when he plies you with free bacon rolls and pancakes from the market stalls. Time flies when you’re with Bruce but you do end up with weary legs". Toby Chasseaud- The Argus, (Brighton UK- August 29, 2007)
"Über historian Bruce Bell could talk about Toronto’s past for hours and his downtown walking tours are the ultimate interactive history lessons. His energy is infectious, his knowledge boundless, and his presentation seamless. Bell packs in enough facts to make your head spin. But Bell is no stuffy old shirt just pointing to statues and spitting out facts. His unique brand of enthusiasm, impersonations and evocative way with words stoke the imagination and breathe life into Toronto's humble beginnings. With his leather jacket, elegant sunglasses and white scarf make him look more like a movie star than a tour guide. Here’s a historian with chutzpah!" Nadia Awad Ryerson School of Journalism (Toronto Jan 07)
"Bruce Bell offers the most entertaining and informative guided tours in the city. The tours are custom tailored to individuals or groups, are thoroughly researched and are filled with those tidbits that bring history to life. He has authored several books and his website is almost as interesting as he is. Toronto has a rich black history that is linked with that of African Americans and one of the tours conducted by Mr. Bell highlights that history." By Renée S. Gordon- The Philadelphia Sunday (Philadelphia USA Sept 07)
"To measure Bruce Bell the tour operator by the usual standards does not do Bruce Bell the man justice inasmuch as he is at once widely recognized in this cosmopolitan burg as a historian, thespian (in all that grandiose word implies), showman, lecturer, spokesman, curator, raconteur, enthusiast and booster of all things Toronto. One-man band is more like it. Bell is the go-to guy for Ontario Tourism and Tourism Toronto when it comes to shepherding visiting dignitaries, media representatives and VIPs on walking tours around town. He resurrects and, literally, preserves the rich history of this once-colonial outpost of the British Empire during his peripatetic walking- talking wanderings." Joe Rosen- Travel Weekly (USA Tuesday September 10, 2007)
“On my second day I met Bruce Bell, Toronto’s famous tour guide. What makes him so special is that he knows what he is talking about. His background backs that up as a history columnist for the Bulletin, Canada’s largest community newspaper since 1999. In 2002 he was named by the city of Toronto the Official Historian of St. Lawrence Hall and St. Lawrence Market. And much more. After a morning with the infamous Mr. Bell you’ll see the area and learn about the secrets that are part of the city. Heading for the St. Lawrence Market Mr. Bell discussed Toronto’s 200 year history. He made Toronto come alive with antidotal information. Along the way we stopped for a sampling of food from the St. Lawrence Market where various vendors shared their fare. I can assure you this actor/historian is filled with stories and information that makes touring educational and fun”. Joyce Hauser- Travel & Theater Editor - Arts & Leisure News -(UK August 2007)
“If you only have a short time to visit Toronto, spend it wisely: Get the inside story as well as the history behind the places you visit by arranging a private tour with Bruce Bell. A former actor and self-taught historian, the good-humored Bell knows every corner of the city he loves, and shares his knowledge and passion for it with clients.” Susan Breslow Sardone- About.com Honeymoons and Romantic Getaways, (New York USA August 2007)
“In Toronto, I toured with Bruce Bell, writer, wiseguy and passionate historian. Without Bruce, I probably would have missed BCE Place, which has the preserved facades of 11 historic buildings wrapped around modern skyscrapers. Fabulous!” Sophia Dembling - Dallas Morning News (Dallas Texas USA May 2007)
“Some wonderful ‘behind the scenes’ stories about Toronto as told by Bruce Bell who led us to the historic St. Lawrence Market on Front Street, a crowded Victorian-style beehive of vendors and wonderful aromas, where you can buy everything from fresh vegetables to cheeses and salamis. We had lunch at a small Italian stand, where a hearty, Italian-accented woman in a white smock with a smile to match the food served us giant foccacia sandwiches bulging with eggplant and peppers.” By George Medovoy, Ventura County Star (California USA, Sunday, September 30, 2007)
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