Downtown Toronto and the Boroughs Around Queen's Park
Nathan Phillips Square is the hub of downtown Toronto. This beautiful square is the commercial and municipal heart of Ontario's capital. Beyond the stunning city halls, the mighty shopping street Queen Street West extends from the square. To the west of the central square is the Art Gallery of Ontario, which actually opens up the vibrant Chinatown-Kensington area, the heart of cosmopolitan Toronto. To the north, within the University of Toronto campus and Queen's Park, lies the city's significant academic space along with the political centerpiece – the Ontario Parliament Building. The unusual Casa Loma to the north of the park in Midtown completes the tourist landscape of downtown Toronto.
How much time is needed to explore downtown Toronto and the districts around Queen's Park?
For a tour of downtown Toronto and the districts around Queen's Park, dedicate a full day plus an additional half day.
Downtown Toronto is packed with excellent accommodations.
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What are the must-see places and activities in downtown Toronto and the neighborhoods around Queen's Park?
- Ice skating or Christmas tree lighting at Nathan Phillips Square during winter
- The stunning modern design of the Toronto City Hall
- The gorgeous vintage design of Toronto's Old City Hall
- Fun shopping on Queen Street West
- Shopping at the massive Eaton Centre mall
- Top-notch European art at the Art Gallery of Ontario
- All the province's treasures at the Royal Ontario Museum
- The stunning structure of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
- The grandiose building of Casa Loma and its vintage car collection
- Trendy cafes at the Village of Yorkville Park
- Gardiner Museum's unique ceramics collection
- Stylish celebrity shoes at the Bata Shoe Museum
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What is Downtown Toronto and the neighborhoods around Queen's Park?
The trip through Old Toronto is well-connected with the Harbourfront and the CN Tower. Old Toronto is the overall name for the city center, but the real heart of the city (before the tourist central shifted to climbing the immense tower just a bit to the south) is what's called downtown.
- In the heart of downtown stands Nathan Phillips Square, considered the ground zero of central Toronto. The square is the city's municipal center, with two modern City Hall towers beside the equally beautiful old City Hall.
- The square is also the heart of shopping and commerce in Toronto. Near the square is the Eaton Centre, one of the largest malls in North America. From the square, Queen West Street, Toronto's number one street for shopping, heads west.
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To the west of downtown lies Toronto's cultural and ethnic hub.
- In the Kensington-Chinatown district resides the marvelous collection of the Provincial Art Gallery, housed in a building that is an artistic gem in itself.
- Nearby, Chinatown and Kensington Market are urban areas that blend immigrant residences from all over the world with streets bustling with locals and tourists who come to dine at some of the city's best restaurants.
North of Chinatown is the governmental and academic center of Ontario, surrounding Queen's Park.
- The Ontario Provincial Parliament Building overlooks the beautiful park, and next to it is the prestigious University of Toronto campus.
- Around the park are a series of unique museums, both large ones like the Royal Ontario Museum and those with unique collections like the Bata Shoe Museum and the Gardiner Museum of Ceramics.
- Within a short walking distance is also the trendy Yorkville neighborhood.
In the northern part of the city is also Casa Loma, the giant early 20th-century castle that has become a must-see destination in the city.
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Map of Downtown Toronto and the Districts Around Queen's Park
Everything to See and Do in Downtown Toronto
Nathan Phillips Square
If the CN Tower is Toronto's symbol and the city's top tourist attraction, the true urban heart is Nathan Phillips Square. Everything converges here – the trendy shopping on Queen Street West, the Eaton Centre mall shopping, the modern architecture of the new City Hall, the grand old-style construction of the old City Hall, Osgoode Hall's courthouse, and more.
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The planned square was opened in its current form in 1965 and has since become a tourist attraction. It is the largest urban square in Canada. In winter, it features an ice skating rink and throughout the year, it hosts official public events for the city and the country. The most popular event, naturally, is the lighting of the Christmas tree known as the Cavalcade of Lights festival. At the edge of the square's fountain stands the famous Toronto Sign.
Toronto City Hall
The new Toronto City Hall overlooks the northern part of Nathan Phillips Square (named after Toronto's legendary mayor in the 1960s during the construction of the towers). The City Hall consists of a large ground structure topped by two crescent-shaped buildings, with the eastern one being about a hundred meters tall and the western one being 20 meters shorter.
The city hall was completed in 1965, designed by Finnish architect Viljo Revell. The city hall and the composition of the buildings are some of Toronto's popular landmarks and still catch the eye. The entire complex is considered one of the highlights of international architectural style.
Toronto Old City Hall
Toronto's old city hall dominates the eastern side of Nathan Phillips Square, adjacent to the two beautiful curved buildings of the new city hall. It is one of the most beautiful and famous historic buildings in Canada.
The ancient building was completed in 1899, in a neo-romanesque palace style, topped with a clock tower rising to 103 meters. The structure served as Toronto's city hall from its completion until 1966 when the official title passed to the new city hall building nearby. Today, the building serves as the district and provincial court of Ontario.
Address: Queen St. W, 60, Toronto
Queen Street West
Toronto's trendiest and most enjoyable shopping street, Queen Street West, starts at Nathan Phillips Square and stretches westward from there. Queen Street East, near the square, is also part of the shopping stretch (up to about Metropolitan United Church and the beautiful St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica behind it), but the more interesting parts of the street stretch west from the square to Spadina Avenue.
On the street, you'll find international clothing chains, restaurants, boutique and second-hand stores, and all the fun of urban wandering. The street hosts several historical points of interest, the most important of which is the elegant Campbell House Museum from the late 19th century.
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Eaton Centre
The Eaton Centre is Toronto's solution for winter shopping. This huge mall is located right in the heart of the city, behind the old city hall. It's officially considered the busiest mall in North America in terms of visitor numbers, but that's mostly because there are two subway stations connected to it, and all commuters to downtown pass through them. The mall opened in 1977, and above it are several skyscrapers used for offices and financial purposes. It houses around 230 stores, food stalls, and more. The mall is the shopping highlight of Yonge Street, a rival to Queen Street West.
Art Gallery of Ontario
The official gallery of the province is located in the northern part of Grange Park, nestled between the downtown and the Kensington-Chinatown district. The gallery opened its doors in 1900 as a private incorporation that initiated the Art Museum of Toronto. Three years later, the Art Museum of Toronto officially became an initiative of the Ontario provincial government. In 2008, the museum's facade on Dundas Street was redesigned by local star architect Frank Gehry.
This is one of the most important art museums in Canada, featuring an immense collection of significant local artists. The museum's collection also boasts numerous important paintings and sculptures by European masters, including many Impressionist painters, modern painters, and Baroque artists. The famous masterpiece in the collection is the giant painting “The Massacre of the Innocents” by Peter Paul Rubens from 1611.
Other important paintings in the collection include Nicolas Poussin's painting of Venus, Thomas Gainsborough's “The Harvest Wagon”, and the Dutch giant Frans Hals' “Portrait of Isaac Abrahams”. The collection also features works by Picasso, Modigliani, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Cezanne, and more. The museum frequently hosts very impressive rotating exhibitions of the best European and American artists.
Address: Dundas St. W, 317, Toronto
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Chinatown
The beautiful facade of the Art Gallery of Ontario on Dundas Street is the almost official start of Toronto's Chinatown. From the spectacular western facade, you begin to see the yellow and red signs that are so identifiable with ethnic districts in North America. The district also includes Spadina Avenue, extending to Queen Street West. Toronto is home to more than half a million residents of Chinese descent.
Chinatown is home to some descendants of the immigrants from the mid to late 19th century, but most of the neighborhood's residents are new immigrants from Hong Kong and China, mostly first to third generation. The massive immigration from China to Toronto began with the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway (in British Columbia, there was an immigration wave decades earlier as part of the gold rush). Today, the district combines Canadian tranquility with the smells and sounds of Chinatown. The main streets are filled with Chinese restaurants, large grocery stores with strange goods, and an atmosphere that's almost like abroad.
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Kensington Market
If Chinatown is the Far East abroad in Toronto (not quite, the atmosphere is much more North American than, say, New York's Chinatown), then Kensington is the abroad of the rest of the world in the city. The district stretches north from Dundas Street and west from Spadina Avenue.
The commercial center of the district, known as the market, is Spadina Avenue, lined with dozens of restaurants and shops belonging to immigrants from all over the world. To the west, on College Street, there is a row of Italian restaurants in the commercial center of the Little Italy neighborhood.
Everything to See and Do at Queen's Park and Midtown
The large urban park in downtown Toronto was opened in 1860 and is named after Queen Victoria. Surrounding the park are some of the city's most important institutions such as the campus of the University of Toronto to the west and the Royal Ontario Museum to the north. However, the park is primarily associated with the Ontario Legislative Building on its southern side.
The park itself is a pleasant green lung in the heart of the city. Its paths feature meticulous landscaping and many trees and statues. The park's central statue is of King Edward VII Equestrian Statue, showcasing King Edward riding a horse. He was the son of Queen Victoria and initiated the park's construction in Toronto in the 1850s, long before he was crowned King of England in 1901.
Ontario Legislative Assembly
The Ontario Legislative Building is one of the most impressive and important buildings in Toronto. The somewhat grandiose structure was completed in 1892 in an elaborate neo-Gothic style. Made of reddish-brown sandstone, it is considered one of Ontario's most recognized symbols. The building is closely associated with the park to its north and is also known as Queen's Park. The interior of the Legislative Building is also very impressive.
Address: 111 Wellesley St. W, Toronto
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Royal Ontario Museum
The Royal Ontario Museum focuses on ethnology, archaeology, and design, complementing the art institution of the gallery in Chinatown. The museum opened in 1912 to house the province's collection and features displays of design items, archaeology from all over the world, and indigenous art. It's a huge museum complex with many sections and much to see.
Like the gallery, its facade underwent renovation by a groundbreaking modern architect. Here, Daniel Libeskind let his imagination run wild and connected 20th-century Romanesque frontage with glass triangles that burst out towards the street, symbolizing the blend of modern and vintage. Libeskind's extension greatly resembles the space of the Jewish Museum in Berlin by the architect, built without any straight walls and sharp angles.
Address: Queens Park, 100, Toronto
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Gardiner Museum
Across Queen Street, opposite the Royal Museum, you'll find the unique porcelain collection of the Gardiner Museum. It's one of the most special museums in North America, showcasing the collection of George Gardiner, an enthusiastic ceramic and porcelain collector. The museum opened in 1984 and features exhibits on everything related to pottery.
Address: Queens Park, 111, Toronto
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University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is one of the leading academic institutions globally. Established in 1827 as King's College by King George IV of England, it was inspired by the colleges of Cambridge and Oxford. The university's campus is located west of the grand Queen's Park, and its centerpiece is the round square – the King's College Circle.
As befits a grand campus, there are several fascinating buildings here such as Hart House, the Trinity College building, Knox College, and the Convocation Hall at King's College Circle. At Hart House, you'll find the Art Museum at the University of Toronto – Justina M. Barnicke Gallery, which houses a large collection of Byzantine period icons and quite a bit of art. The museum also features an interesting section of rotating exhibitions.
Bata Shoe Museum Bata Shoe Museum
Another unique museum in the Queens Park area is the Bata Shoe Museum. The museum is housed in an elegant building on Bloor Street, at the northern part of the University of Toronto. It was opened in 1979 at the initiative of Sonja Bata, the Swiss widow of Thomas J. Bata, the founder of the company. The museum showcases shoe models, particularly the more unique designs of the company. Among the exhibits are shoes worn by celebs, such as Michael Johnson's gold shoes and the heels Marilyn Monroe wore.
Address: Bloor St. W, 327, Toronto
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Yorkville
Yorkville is now one of the trendiest residential areas in Toronto. It's located north of Queen's Park, with the center being the Village of Yorkville Park. Back in the fifties and sixties, it was home to beatniks and hippies, known as Toronto's village.
In this neighborhood, Joni Mitchell launched her successful career, moving here in her youth after leaving her parents' home in Alberta. Today, Yorkville has gone through gentrification, retaining the cool vibe of its past while being quite upscale now. The hub is Village Park, surrounded by many boutique stores, fun restaurants, gourmet coffee shops, and more.
Casa Loma
Casa Loma, the giant castle or mansion, is located in the north of Toronto. Today the area is called Midtown but in the past, it was the city's countryside and had large estate houses. Casa Loma is undoubtedly the most grandiose building in Toronto. It was completed in 1914 after construction began about a decade earlier. The castle was initiated by Henry Pellatt, who made his fortune from hydroelectric power generation at Niagara Falls.
The castle was designed by E.J. Lennox, who also designed Toronto's City Hall (now the old City Hall). Beyond the stunning architectural structure and massive turrets, the interior of the castle itself is fascinating. The site features a display of antique vehicles from the 1910s, including a selection of Ford Model T cars. The house opened as a museum in 1937 and has since become one of the major attractions when visiting Toronto. Nearby, the Spadina Museum house and gardens also serve as a city museum in what was once a luxurious estate, and it's worth combining visits to both.
Address: Austin Terrace, Toronto
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