Leslieville Mural Route

Neighbourhood: Leslieville · Address: Queen St E from Logan to Jones, Toronto, ON · Hours: Mon–Sun 24 hours · Price Range: Free · Editorial status: Not yet verified

Why Visit

Queen Street East in Leslieville is basically an outdoor gallery, with over a dozen murals packed into just a few blocks. You'll spot everything from huge portrait work to playful pop art, all steps from indie coffee shops and vintage stores.

What Makes It Unique

Unlike the downtown core where murals are scattered, Leslieville's are densely concentrated and feel integrated into daily life — some commissioned by local residents, others by the businesses themselves. Plus, the Carlaw Avenue warehouses feature massive, studio-commissioned work you won't see elsewhere in the city.

If you want to see a side of downtown Toronto that feels less polished and more lived-in, walk King Street East from Jarvis toward Parliament. This stretch in Old Town still carries the bones of the city’s industrial past: old brick warehouses, loading bays, broad side walls, faded painted signs. What makes it worth the detour now is that many of those blank or weathered walls have been taken over by huge murals, the kind that stop you mid-block because they’re so much larger than you expect in the middle of the city. The scale is the first thing that gets you. These aren’t little alley pieces or quick tags tucked beside a doorway. They climb entire warehouse facades, wrap around corners, and turn plain industrial walls into landmarks. Because a lot of the artists were brought in through the city’s Mural Program, the work feels considered and ambitious. Some pieces are graphic and bold from a distance, while others reward you for getting closer and noticing layered textures, line work, and the way the paint plays against old brick and patched concrete. It’s street art, sure, but it’s also architecture doing part of the work. The murals land differently because they’re painted on buildings that still feel tough and utilitarian. What I like about this area is that it doesn’t feel staged for visitors. People are actually moving through here to get somewhere else. You’ll see office workers cutting east, cyclists slipping past streetcar tracks, delivery trucks backing into side streets, dog walkers, film crews sometimes, and photographers pretending not to block the sidewalk while they line up a shot. It gives the whole walk some energy. You’re not entering a mural park. You’re catching art in the middle of a functioning piece of the city. Go in the morning if you can. The light is cleaner, shadows are easier to work with, and you won’t be fighting as much glare or traffic when you’re trying to photograph a full wall. If you’re into photography, bring a wider lens or just be ready to cross the street a lot. Some of the best murals are so tall and broad that they’re hard to fit into a phone frame unless you back way up. And look down the side streets too — a few of the strongest pieces reveal themselves only when you step off King for half a block. One local tip: make time for the side wall of the Broadview Hotel, which you can best see from Eastern Avenue. It’s one of those murals that really uses the whole height of the building, and from the right angle it feels almost cinematic. Since it’s free and open all day, this is the kind of place you can fold into a longer wander. Start at Jarvis, take your time heading east, and don’t rush it. The appeal here isn’t checking off one specific mural. It’s the way this corridor keeps changing as walls get repainted, weather shifts the mood, and the old industrial streetscape keeps giving the artwork something solid to push against. It’s one of the best street-art walks in Toronto, easily.