Want to get a taste of what Toronto has to offer in just an hour? Here are some ideas for time-strapped travellers, ambitious Torontophiles who want to cover a lot of ground in one day and those with an hour to kill who are simply looking for a brief activity that is fun, interesting and quintessentially Torontonian.
1. Get a birds eye view of Toronto at the CN Tour
A cliché is a cliché for a reason, right? If this is your first time in Toronto, or you haven’t yet ridden up the CN Tower’s famous elevator, you should give it a whirl and challenge your fear of heights. It takes just shy of one minute for the elevator to reach the LookOut – 346 metres or 114 stories above ground – and there is a level below that with a glass floor that you can look down through for high-up thrills. Tips: go before 11 a.m. or after 5 p.m. and buy your tickets online to get to the top of the tower faster.
2. Ride the Centre Island ferry
There are actually three ferries that leave the recently renamed Jack Layton Ferry Terminal (Bay and Queens Quay), but the Centre Island ferry is the largest and most iconic. Though often thought of as simply the way to get to the Toronto Islands, the ferry should really be considered an attraction in its own right – think of it as a convenient and affordable 15-minute harbour cruise (in each direction) that offers fantastic views of Toronto’s skyline and people out enjoying the lake on yachts and sailboats. Only problem is: you will likely be tempted to stay for a few hours on the Islands! Tip: to avoid crowds, take the ferry on weekdays during the day instead of weekends and holidays.
3. Visit the “Mother Ship”
Did you know that you can walk into the Canadian Broadcasting Centre (CBC building) at Front and John for a free self-guided tour of the Barbara Frum Atrium and the CBC Museum? While you’re there, you may also want to check out the Glenn Gould Studio. There’s also a cafeteria where you can grab a bite to eat.
4. Go Underground
If the weather is crummy or if you’re just interested in experiencing a different view of how everything in Toronto is connected, duck down to the PATH, Toronto’s huge underground walkway/shopping centre. The PATH goes from the Toronto Coach Terminal (near Dundas and Bay) south to the Convention Centre (Front Street). Last year, Star reporter Katie Daubs spent two weeks in a row down there, but you’ll probably find that an hour is long enough to give you a taste of what the PATH has to offer.
5. Visit the 401 Richmond Building
If you’re in the vicinity of Spadina and Richmond, the studios and galleries at 401 Richmond are definitely worth an hour’s browse. CineCycle’s in a coach house around the corner, and A Space Gallery, Musideum, YYZ, ImagineNATIVE, Images Festival and many more have offices and galleries there, but the building itself is also worth a good look: it’s a beautifully refurbished industrial building that was originally constructed in the late 1800s and expanded in 1903-1923. When you look at it from above it looks like a huge “A”. There’s also the Roastery Coffee House onsite, if you feel like getting a snack.
6. Find your sole mates on Queen West
The stretch of Queen Street West that runs between John and Spadina is probably the best place to go shoe shopping in Canada. Get Outside (at Queen and Spadina) is a great place to start, but also check out the deals at Groovy and the wild local style at John Fluevog. The number of shoe shops nearby is kind of mindboggling: there are two locations of C Squared, an Aldo and a Footlocker. Further west you’ll find more shoe stores including Heel Boy (Queen and Euclid) and The Australian Boot Company (Queen and Manning).
7. Go for a walk in Chinatown and Kensington Market
You can cover a lot of ground meandering through Chinatown and Kensington Market in an hour and this is the place to go for those who prefer an unstructured, choose-your-own-adventure style of exploration in downtown Toronto. Buy discounted kitchen wares, peruse seafood and produce of all varieties, grab a bite at Dumpling House, get coffee at Moonbean, Casa Acoreana, Jimmy’s or I Deal, visit market vintage staple Courage My Love or admire the guitars at Paul’s Boutique. If it’s later in the day you may want to grab a beer at Ronnie’s or take in some New Orleans-style jazz at Grossman’s Tavern. Be warned: you might be tempted to linger here a little longer.
8. Take in a special exhibit at the AGO
An hour is definitely not long enough to take in all that the Art Gallery Of Ontario (AGO) has to offer, but why not try visiting the art gallery to check out just one exhibit? There’s always something fascinating to see and the exhibitions change so frequently that an hour every so often will always be a new experience.
9. Cruise through Little Italy on a borrowed Bixi
Though Bixi has stations set up all over downtown Toronto, College Street is a good place to try the service because it has a bike path on it and runs across the bottom of the University of Toronto’s St. George campus, past Kensington Market and through Little Italy. Rent a Bixi near Queen’s Park Station then bike west along College to Grace or Clinton. You’ll find lots of cool shops in Little Italy, including Red Pegasus,Soundscapes, June Records and Balisi, but you will have to back track a bit to College and Borden to drop the bike off. You can catch the College or Bathurst streetcar from there.
10. Get Lost In Honest Ed’s
Going to Honest Ed’s is an essential Toronto experience, even if you have no intention of actually buying something out of the large fluorescent-lit bins in those huge, mirrored rooms. The place sells everything from house wares and electronics to socks and frocks (there’s a grocery store and pharmacy there too) and always showcases uber deals in old-fashioned window displays. If you manage to get out of there in good time, take a stroll down Markham Street to see what it has to offer (including the Beguiling, Suspect Video, The Central and the Victory Café) or walk to the Bathurst Side to flip through second hand CDs at Sonic Boom. Tip: go after dusk to see the building lit up.
These are just a few suggestions for what you can do in Toronto in an hour. The Gardiner Museum, the Textile Museum of Canada and the ROM are all centrally located, and Casa Loma is just up the hill off of Davenport. Fancy and historic Yorkville is easily walkable in under an hour, and so is the booming, artsy Distillery District. Or, if a book or hacky sack is more your pace, you should pack a picnic and ride the Queen streetcar out to Trinity Bellwoods Park – there are cool shops and good snacks across the street on Queen, including White Squirrel Coffee Shop and Clafouti (some of the best croissants in town). Happy exploring!