I'm standing at the top of the largest free-standing building in the world -- the CN Tower in Toronto.

At 553.33m, it casts a shadow over the rest of Toronto's skyline. It costs $18.18 to ride the glass-fronted lift to the observation floor of the tower and an extra $5.50 for the skypod, which travels another 100m upwards.

On the observation floor, the most impressive sight is the reinforced glass floor, more impressive than the view out of the tower, but hardly worth the $18.18 charge.

With the CN Tower being the most impressive sight on the skyline, considering you're standing in the middle of the tower, the rest of the skyline is rather unimpressive compared to the view out of the Empire State building in New York.

We are staying with friends in downtown Toronto where the hub of the tourist attractions are situated.

Toronto is split up into three main areas -- Downtown, Uptown and the Habourfront, which includes Toronto Islands. There are, though, over 15 different neighbourhoods, which separate the many different ethnic and cultural mixes.

As there are a number of museums and galleries to visit, I've picked out two which are well worth looking at.

The Bata Shoe Museum ($6 entry) in uptown Toronto, and the Royal Ontario Museum, also in the uptown district.

At first sight I thought the Bata Shoe Museum could be aimed more at women but, in actual fact, it was very interesting. A well laid out museum and, as the hand-out stated, "We obtain a glimpse of history by looking at what people wear on their feet".

The Royal Ontario Museum, or ROM, has over 40 different galleries and six million objects and artifacts. It's almost hard to see everything in just one visit. On Friday night, the ROM is free and lays on live entertainment but, be warned, it gets very busy.

Toronto is a clean and friendly place and, thanks to a good exchange rate, relatively inexpensive.

Leaving Toronto on Tuesday, we headed for Chicago, a 12-hour train journey at a cost of $88, arriving late on in the evening.

In Chicago we are staying in a youth hostel in downtown Chicago at the bottom of the loop -- the district which is encircled by the elevated, and rather ugly, "El" trains.

It's a dark and dingy part of town where it's apparently unsafe to roam at night. Not wanting to judge Chicago on my first impression, we waited until morning to view the city.

Chicago may have more to offer in the summer months, with Wrigley Field and the renovated Navy Pier being more open to tourists but, during winter, spending a day in Chicago is long enough -- it blends into just another city.

We now head out of the North on Thursday and take a 12-hour train to Memphis in search of Elvis and some warmer weather.

Apparently, Chicago is America's last great city, it does have a stunning skyline, excellent shopping, and many of the museums are free on Tuesdays, but Chicago doesn't have anything which separates it from any other city.

A history of prohibition and stories of Al Capone are now played down by the tourist authorities, and there are few traces of the hoodlum years.

Chicago may have more to offer in the summer months, with Wrigley Field and the renovated Navy Pier being more open to tourists but, during winter, spending a day in Chicago is long enough -- it blends into just another city.

We now head out of the North on Thursday and take a 12-hour train to Memphis in search of Elvis and some warmer weather.