The best things to do in Toronto, selected with a local point of view. Find attractions, parks, tours, markets and neighbourhood finds.
Showing 361–384 of 494 experiences.
The world's best market, according to National Geographic — St. Lawrence Market's South Market operates Tuesday through Sunday, with Monday closed, and has 120 vendors including legendary specialty food producers. The Saturday Farmers' Market in the North Market and Sunday antiques programming add distinct experiences to one address.
Time needed: 1.5–3 hours, longer if you arrive at peak times or explore all three markets.
Toronto's most prestigious hotel spa — Stillwater at the Park Hyatt Yorkville offers 10 treatment rooms, an indoor pool, a rooftop terrace with CN Tower views, and a service standard that matches the Park Hyatt's reputation. The stone-sourced treatments and the signature Signature Body Journey are exceptional.
Time needed: 2–3 hours including treatment, pool, and relaxation time.
Toronto's most prestigious spa destination — the Stillwater Spa at Park Hyatt offers a rooftop pool, full hydrotherapy suite, eucalyptus steam rooms, and treatments delivered by therapists trained to the highest international standards. The rooftop lounge overlooking Yorkville after a treatment is one of the city's most luxurious half-days.
Time needed: Half day
Cabbagetown's hidden gem — Stout is a tiny community pub with one of the best trivia nights in Toronto (Monday and Tuesday at 7:30pm, topics announced in advance), a great board game collection, generous Irish pours, and the kind of regular crowd that makes strangers feel like regulars on their first visit.
Time needed: 1.5–3 hours (trivia nights can run a bit long)
North America's premier classical theatre festival — Stratford runs April through October with 12+ productions across four theatres, including major Shakespeare productions and contemporary work. The riverside town is a beautiful destination in itself — swans on the Avon River, garden walks, and excellent restaurants. 2 hours west of Toronto.
Time needed: Full day (with travel) or a weekend if you’re seeing multiple shows.
The summer twin of Winterlicious — Summerlicious runs two weeks in July with 200+ Toronto restaurants offering prix-fixe summer menus at accessible prices. Patio dining at premier restaurants, summer tasting menus designed for the season, and the chance to discover new restaurants define the event.
Time needed: 1.5–2 hours per meal (depending on courses and crowds).
Toronto's bar comedy scene thrives on Queen West — the Painted Lady, The Garrison, and various other venues host weekly comedy showcases on slower nights, featuring Toronto's working comedians testing new material in authentic bar settings. Cheap tickets, casual vibe, and often the best comedy in the city.
Time needed: 1.5–3 hours, depending on set length and multiple venues.
Horse riding inside Toronto — the stables at Sunnybrook Park offer lessons and trail rides through 220 hectares of ravine park. Beginner trail rides through Don Valley on horseback are one of Toronto's most surprising and delightful urban activities. You're 15 minutes from downtown and you're in the forest on a horse.
Time needed: 1.5–2 hours, including check-in and the ride itself.
Toronto's green ravine escape with a surprising city view — from the upper meadows of Sunnybrook Park, looking south across the Don Valley, the midtown Toronto skyline rises above a wide band of forest canopy. The combination of deep natural ravine and visible city height is one of Toronto's most distinctly local landscape experiences.
Time needed: 1–2 hours including the walk to the view and time spent lingering.
Toronto's west-end waterfront gem — a restored 1920s lido pool and sandy beach on Lake Ontario. The Gus Ryder outdoor pool is the largest outdoor pool in Canada. The boardwalk connects to the Martin Goodman Trail stretching east to the islands.
Time needed: 2-4 hours depending on crowds and whether you swim and walk the boardwalk.
Toronto's most spectacular free experience — watching the sun rise over Lake Ontario from the waterfront (the Scarborough Bluffs, the Beaches boardwalk, or the Islands) is one of the genuinely humbling city moments. The lake is so large the sunrise appears to rise from the water like an ocean horizon. Best in spring and fall.
Time needed: 45 minutes to 1.5 hours, just long enough to see the sky and colours change around sunrise.
Toronto's most beloved dive bar — Sweaty Betty's has held down the Queen and Ossington corner since before the neighbourhood was cool, serving no-frills cocktails, good whisky, lots of beer, and a covered back patio that's one of Toronto's great summer secrets. No attitude, no dress code, no bullshit.
Time needed: 1–3 hours, depending on your tolerance for cheap drinks and good people-watching.
A Toronto summer tradition unlike anything else in the city — the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and visiting ensembles perform outdoor concerts on the grounds of Casa Loma, with the 1914 Gothic castle as the backdrop. Bring a blanket, bring a picnic, and listen to a full symphony orchestra under the open sky against one of the most dramatic architectural backdrops in Canada.
Time needed: 2–3 hours, including time to arrive early for a good spot and stay through dusk.
TIFF Lightbox is a year-round Toronto film destination. Its October 2026 programme includes TIFF Cinematheque retrospectives, Halloween screenings, special presentations and restorations.
Time needed: 2–4 hours, depending on film length and time spent exploring exhibitions.
Canada's temple of cinema — the TIFF Bell Lightbox is a year-round cinema and film reference centre showing repertory classics, filmmaker retrospectives, restored films, and new Canadian releases in digital and 35mm. The TIFF film collection and reference library are among the largest in the world.
Time needed: 2–4 hours, depending on the film and if you browse the library or exhibitions.
One of Canada's most important new play development theatres — Tarragon has premiered hundreds of Canadian plays since 1971, nurturing the voices of David French, Michael Ondaatje, and virtually every major English-Canadian playwright. The programming is adventurous, literary, and essential.
Time needed: 2–2.5 hours (typical length of a play with intermission).
The largest street festival in Canada — 1.5 million people over one August weekend filling the Danforth for 3km of souvlaki, spanakopita, gyros, loukoumades, and every Greek specialty imaginable from open-air grills. The neighbourhood becomes a full outdoor Greek village with live music, Hellenic dancers, and enough opa! energy to shake the street. Toronto's most beloved summer food festival.
Time needed: 2–4 hours depending on crowds and how much you want to eat.
The world's textiles in Toronto — the Textile Museum holds 15,000 objects from 200+ cultures: Andean pre-Columbian weaving, West African kente, Japanese kimono, Indigenous beadwork, and contemporary fibre art. A small but extraordinary museum that covers human culture through its oldest and most universal creative medium.
Time needed: 1–2 hours
Bowling alleys and cocktails under one Entertainment District roof — The Ballroom combines 10-pin lanes, shuffleboard, billiards, and a full bar with good cocktails and a beer list that's surprisingly well-curated. Group-friendly, birthday-ready, and always more fun than expected once the second drink arrives.
Time needed: 2–3 hours, especially in a group or on weekends.
4km of lakefront boardwalk along some of Toronto's best sandy beaches. Volleyball courts, playgrounds, fire pits in summer, and a neighbourhood full of cafés and shops just steps away.
Time needed: 1–2 hours to walk the boardwalk roundtrip, longer if you linger at playgrounds or patios.
One of Toronto's most original public spaces — The Bentway runs 1.75km under the Gardiner Expressway, transforming dead infrastructure space into a park, art gallery, events venue, and in winter, a skating trail that winds between the expressway columns. Concerts, markets, film screenings, and outdoor exhibitions make it the city's most unexpectedly vibrant public space.
Time needed: 1–2 hours for casual exploring, longer if an event catches your eye.
Dundas West's premier live music and bar venue — The Garrison books 300+ shows a year across its main stage and intimate back bar, with a craft beer list that rivals the music. Electronic, indie, jazz, metal, hip-hop: the programming is deliberately catholic. The crowd is the most musically curious in the city.
Time needed: 2–4 hours, depending on the lineup and how deep you’re getting into the gig (or the beer list).
A restored Victorian ballroom on Queen West — The Great Hall is a multipurpose venue that holds 1,000 and books an eclectic mix of indie music, club nights, private events, and cultural programming. The ornate 1889 architecture makes it one of the most beautiful rooms in the city.
Time needed: 2–4 hours, depending on the event.
Toronto's oldest and most legendary rock club — the Horseshoe has been on Queen West since 1947 and broke acts like The Police, Talking Heads, The Tragically Hip, Blue Rodeo, and countless more. Live music every single night across three rooms, with a back stage that's seen everyone who matters in Canadian rock.
Time needed: 2–4 hours depending on the line-up
First-timers should start with the CN Tower observation deck for city views, then walk the Distillery District and Kensington Market for culture and food. Add Ripley's Aquarium, a Harbourfront walk, and St. Lawrence Market on a Saturday morning. For a full plan, see our 48-hour first-timer itinerary.
Check our Events page for live concerts, sports, and festivals happening this weekend. Regulars include the Distillery District on weekends, Kensington Market, Saturday morning at St. Lawrence Market, and the Toronto Islands by ferry. In summer, look for outdoor festivals along the waterfront.
Toronto is excellent for families. Top picks: Ripley's Aquarium of Canada (the shark tunnel alone is worth it), the Toronto Zoo, Ontario Science Centre, High Park, the ferry to Centre Island, and the CN Tower glass floor. The waterfront and Harbourfront Centre also have excellent free kids programming in summer.
Some of the best free activities include exploring the Toronto Islands (ferry costs $9.38 return), walking the Harbourfront, visiting High Park and the Scarborough Bluffs, browsing the Distillery District and Kensington Market, and checking out the Art Gallery of Ontario on the first Wednesday of the month from 6–9pm. Graffiti Alley is always free.
Toronto is famous for the CN Tower, the Distillery District, world-class food markets like St. Lawrence Market, its multicultural neighbourhoods (Kensington Market, Little Italy, Greektown, Chinatown), and being a major sports city home to the Raptors, Maple Leafs, and Blue Jays.
3–4 days is ideal to see the main highlights including the waterfront, CN Tower, Distillery District, Kensington Market, and a few neighbourhood restaurants. A full week lets you explore more neighbourhoods, do a day trip to Niagara Falls, and enjoy live events or sports.
June to September is peak season with warm weather, patios, festivals like TIFF and Caribbean Carnival, and outdoor events. May and October offer fewer crowds with still-pleasant weather. Winter is great if you love skating, the Christmas Market, and indoor culture.
Downtown Toronto is very walkable — most major attractions, restaurants, and hotels are accessible on foot or via the TTC subway and streetcar. The PATH underground network connects many downtown buildings. The Harbourfront trail is a beautiful flat walk along the lake.
WTF Toronto creates guides using independent editorial research, official sources, local knowledge and firsthand experience where available. Commercial relationships are disclosed where applicable.