Honest Ed's Mural Alley

Neighbourhood: Bloor West Village · Address: 581 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON · Hours: Open 24 hours · Price Range: Free · Editorial status: Not yet verified

Why Visit

You can see bold, large-scale murals on the site where Honest Ed's once stood, offering a colourful tribute to Toronto's quirky past and creative present. It's a public, accessible spot to snap photos or just take in unexpected street art.

What Makes It Unique

Unlike most mural alleys, these works specifically celebrate the site’s discount-store history, with nods to the legendary Ed Mirvish and local working-class culture. Some pieces incorporate actual salvaged artifacts from Honest Ed’s, making it a very site-specific art project. The blend of historical memory and fresh paint feels different from street art spots like Graffiti Alley.

If you want a Toronto walk that feels calm, beautiful, and a little surprising, do the Cabbagetown Victorian Walk. Start around Parliament and Carlton and give yourself permission to slow down, because this isn’t a place you rush through. Cabbagetown is North America’s largest continuously preserved Victorian neighbourhood, but that fact matters less once you’re actually on the streets. What you notice first is the scale of it: block after block, for 32 blocks, of restored rowhouses, bay-and-gable homes, deep porches, old brick, mature trees, and tiny details that keep pulling your eyes upward. This is one of those neighbourhoods where every house seems to have its own personality. You’ll see painted trim in unusual colours, carved stone lintels, stained glass catching the light, iron fences, climbing ivy, and front gardens that people here clearly fuss over in the best way. Some homes are stately and symmetrical; others are a little eccentric. On one block you’re admiring a row of brick facades that look almost formal, and on the next you’ll spot a turret, a sharply peaked roofline, or a front door so elaborate it feels like it belongs in a period film. If you like architecture or photography, it’s almost impossible not to stop every few minutes. What makes the walk especially good is that it doesn’t feel staged. People live here. You’ll pass dog walkers, kids on scooters, neighbours chatting over garden gates, and the occasional person hauling groceries up beautifully worn steps. It’s quiet, but not empty. Weekend morning is the sweet spot: the streets are peaceful, the light is softer for photos, and the whole area feels fresh before the city gets louder elsewhere. Download the Cabbagetown Heritage walking tour PDF before you go. Seriously, do it ahead of time rather than standing on the sidewalk trying to load it. The self-guided tour gives the walk shape and points out houses and corners you’d otherwise pass without realizing what you’re looking at. Even if you’re not a hardcore history person, it adds just enough context to make the details more interesting. Suddenly a decorative window, an odd setback, or a certain roofline has a story behind it. This is also a very easy outing for families. There’s no admission, no lineup, no schedule to keep. Kids can stretch their legs, adults can admire the houses, and everyone can move at their own pace. Wear comfortable shoes because you’ll cover more ground than you think, especially once you start wandering off your intended route just to see what’s on the next block. And that’s really the reason to come back. Cabbagetown changes with the weather, the season, and the time of day. In spring and summer it’s leafy and full of gardens; in fall the trees frame the old houses beautifully; even in winter, the bones of the architecture stand out. Every return visit reveals a different doorway, a different stained-glass panel, a different bit of stonework you somehow missed the first time. It’s free, open all day, and one of the most satisfying quiet walks in the city.