The classic hop-on-hop-off double-decker bus makes 20 stops across Toronto — CN Tower, Distillery District, Kensington, Harbourfront, Casa Loma, and more. A 24-hour or 48-hour pass is the most efficient way to orient first-time visitors across the city.
Neighbourhood: Downtown · Address: First stop: CN Tower / Union Station area · Hours: Daily 9:30am–5pm (seasonal)
Why Visit
Hop on a red double-decker and see Toronto’s greatest hits in a single loop, without the subway confusion or missed streetcars. The 20-stop loop covers almost every major neighbourhood and landmark you'd want to hit on a first trip.
What Makes It Unique
Unlike most Toronto tours, this bus lets you set your own pace and get off anywhere from Chinatown to Casa Loma, then resume exploring when you’re ready. It's one of the few sightseeing options offering a bundled Toronto Harbour boat cruise with some ticket packages — handy if you want a quick skyline photo from the lake.
City Sightseeing Toronto's hop-on-hop-off double-decker bus tour is the classic introduction to Toronto's major landmarks — a service that has been running variations of the same circuit for years and continues to fill a useful niche for first-time visitors who want an overview of the city before deciding which neighbourhoods and attractions deserve deeper exploration. The open-top double-decker format, when weather permits, provides elevated views of downtown streets and an efficient survey of the city's architectural and geographic layout.
The standard route covers 20 stops across central Toronto: starting near Union Station, swinging through the Financial District and CN Tower area, through Old Town and the Distillery District, up through Cabbagetown and Rosedale, along Bloor Street to the Annex and Yorkville, and back through the downtown core. Recorded audio commentary in multiple languages plays at each stop and in transit, providing context for the neighbourhoods and buildings passing outside the window. The narrative is informative without being over-academic — pitched for curious tourists rather than history scholars.
The hop-on-hop-off format means the bus is as useful as a transit option as it is as a tour. Buy a one-day or two-day pass and use it to get between the Distillery District, the ROM, and Kensington Market without navigating the TTC from scratch. For visitors staying a few days, this can be genuinely efficient even setting aside the educational commentary.
The most significant practical limitation is Toronto's traffic. The fixed route runs on public streets, and downtown congestion — particularly around Front Street and the Rogers Centre on game days — can extend the circuit time considerably. The summer open-top experience on the upper deck is the best version: cool breezes, good photo opportunities, and the sense of being legitimately above the city's street-level perspective.