I have booked round-trip tickets from Paris to Chicago, departing in a few weeks.
The return leg, operated by Air Canada, includes a connection at Toronto (YYZ). The arrival from Chicago is scheduled early in the morning, and the outbound flight is to take off around 8pm.
I would spend better time seeing the city than sitting for hours in the international terminal. As EU resident, can I get a visa to leave the airport for the day? Also, are there any left luggage facilities available?
Been there, done that, and yes, it's definitely worth getting out for the airport for the day. You'll be granted a visa on arrival and entering "TRANSIT" for reason of stay/place of stay is perfectly acceptable (show your onward ticket in the unlikely event that they ask).
If I'm reading this right, you should be able to check your bags through directly from Chicago to Paris, so you don't need to worry about storing your bags somewhere. When you land, just head to Arrivals instead of Transit, pass through Canadian entry immigration, and you're free.
To get to the city center on the cheap, take the Airport Rocket bus to Kipling and connect to the subway from there. Buy your ticket in advance at the airport or line up exact change in Canadian dollars, because the bus driver can't give you any!
On the way back, check in (if you didn't already get your boarding card), pass through Immigration again, and go to your gate.
Back from the aforementioned trip, I could enter Canada without hassles.
In Toronto Pearson airport, there is a left luggage facility located on departures level, at the far right end when looking toward the gates, close to the A section of check-in counters. It is operated by a small luggage and souvenirs shop and it costs $5 (Canadian) to store a small bag for the day.
Instead of heading to the city, we rented a car and drove to the Niagara Falls, which are 130km away, 1 hour and half. That's another nice option to spend the day. The directions are very easy : 427 south, QEW nearly all the way to the US border then 420.
