After locating a desired walking tour, you can download and print the map and walk details.

Jane Jacob’s Annex: A Guided Audio Walking Tour

Interest: Architecture, history

Estimated time: One hour to less than two hours.

The Annex is one of Toronto’s most storied neighbourhoods. Its tree-lined streets have inspired writers and artists, its old houses have watched as wave after wave of immigrants from all over the world passed through and over the decades, generations of people have loved to both live in the Annex and visit it.

One of the Annex’s most famous residents was urban thinker and writer Jane Jacobs. Jacobs moved to the neighbourhood in 1968 from New York City and stayed until her death in 2006. Jacobs was the author of five books, including The Death and Life of Great American Cities that would forever change the way people think about cities. This walking tour will introduce you to some of Jane Jacobs’ ideas through the story of the Annex.

View Jane Jacob’s Annex: A Guided Audio Walking Tour route map and additional walk details and listen to the audio below as you explore.

Nearest TTC Station: Spadina

Image of Kensington Market

Interest: Architecture, culture, food, history

Estimated time: One hour to less than two hours.

Kensington Market offers a fascinating living-history tour of the immigrant populations who built Toronto. The closest we have to an Old World marketplace, you’ll find an Arabian spice store nestled next to a Jewish grocery next to a Caribbean fruit stand beside a Chilean produce store.

But Kensington is much more than a food market; you’ll also find discount and surplus stores, clothing stores selling cheap or used clothing, some of the best vintage clothing stores in Toronto, and quirky record and gadget shops. And let’s not forget the restaurants and cafes offering delicacies from every corner of the world.

Please be advised that this tour is over five years old and some information may be out of date.

See the Kensington Market route map and additional walk details.

Nearest TTC Station: St. Patrick or Queen’s Park bus/streetcar, 505 or 506

Old Town Toronto East (Old York / Corktown)
Photo Credit: ohioweatherguy

Interest: Architecture, culture, industrial, history

Estimated time: One hour to less than two hours.

Old Town Toronto (east) is the historic heart of Toronto, and like the city that grew up from the Town of York’s original 10 blocks, the area is defined by diverse neighbourhoods containing everything the urban visitor could want: Queen Street East, a revitalized strip of unique shops, leads into the heart of the 19th century urban village atmosphere of Corktown; the Distillery District with theatres, galleries and restaurants in a restored, industrial, heritage site dating from 1832; the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood offers a pleasant promenade through a model of urban redevelopment; and King Street East is the home to the city’s largest collection of fine home furnishing shops.

Please be advised that this tour is nearly five years old and some information may be out of date.

VIew the Old Town Toronto East (Old York / Corktown) route map and additional walk details.

Nearest TTC Station: Queen or King bus/streetcar: 501, 502 or 504

Image of Old Town Toronto West (St. Lawrence Market)

Interest: Architecture, culture, history

Estimated time: One hour to less than two hours.

There is a story on every corner: Toronto’s first public well, oldest market, original City jail; and Toronto’s most photographed view–the Flatiron building with the gleaming bank towers in the background. The neighbourhood has the best of Toronto’s history while capturing all of its contemporary energy.

Please be advised that this tour is over five years old and some information may be out of date.

View the Old Town Toronto West (St. Lawrence Market) route map and additional walk details.

Nearest TTC Station: Queen or King bus/streetcar, 501, 502, or 504

Image of The Danforth
Photo by Janet Kimber

Interest: Architecture, Culture, Food, History

Estimated time: 30 minutes to less than one hour.

The Danforth, which is home to one of the largest Greektowns in North America, offers hundreds of mouth-watering international restaurants, vibrant pubs, romantic cafes, organic and healthy food stores, one-of-a-kind boutiques, and family owned fruit and vegetable stands.

This is a clean safe community with international flair. It attracts those in search of cosmopolitan tastes, sounds, and products, and it’s perfect for night owls, who will appreciate the many clubs, pubs, patios, and cafes that stay open late – especially in the summer.

Please be advised that this tour is over five years old and some information may be out of date.

View the Danforth route map and additional walk details.

Nearest TTC Station: Broadview, Chester, Pape and Donlands

Image of The St. Lawrence Market

Interest: Architecture, culture, history

Estimated time: Two hours or longer.

Imagine a St. Lawrence Neighbourhood where the tallest building is only three storeys high, where Lake Ontario laps against Front Street and surrounding it is nothing but fields and forest. This is what the neighbourhood looked like in the 1830s. This decade saw the Town of York (1793), which started as a colonial outpost with a few hundred residents, turn into the City of Toronto (1834) with just over 9000.

It experienced several cholera outbreaks, leaving thousands dead, a devastating fire and an armed rebellion led by Toronto’s first mayor, William Lyon Mackenzie. Over the next 100 years the neighbourhood would see the construction of grand brick buildings devoted to commerce and trade, a home for the City’s first streetcar network, and a new assembly hall, St. Lawrence Hall, to host world famous performers and political assemblies.

The St. Lawrence Neighbourhood route map and additional walk details.

Nearest TTC Station: King or Union bus/streetcar, 65 or 75

Image of Toronto City Hall's Podium Green Roof

Interest: Architecture, nature

Estimated time: Less than 30 minutes.

This walking tour leads you on a short loop around Toronto City Hall’s brand new podium green roof. With approximately 3,250 square metres of vegetation, this walk takes you through Toronto’s largest publicly accessible green roof. The roof can be accessed from a ramp on the east side of Nathan Phillips Square (north of Queen Street and Bay Street) and from behind City Hall by taking the stairs near the intersection of Elizabeth Street and Hagerman Street. City Hall is located at 100 Queen Street West in downtown Toronto.

View Toronto City Hall’s Podium Green Roof route map and additional walk details.

Nearest TTC Station: Queen

Image of a flyer promoting the Toronto Ghost Tour
Photo Credit: Toronto Ghosts & Hauntings Research Society

Interest: Architecture, culture, ghosts, history

Estimated time: Two hours or longer.

Since early October of 1997, The Toronto Ghosts and Hauntings Research Society has been collecting Toronto’s ghostly legends and lore and sharing the information with anyone with an interest in things that go bump in the night. If it’s ghostly in nature, we try to stay on top of it.

If you were to do both tours, you’d probably be looking at about four solid hours of walking, we recommend picking a course South to North (starting at Union Station and working your way to the Royal Ontario Museum,) or from North to South (from the Royal Ontario Museum to Union Station.)

View Toronto Ghost Tour route map and additional walk details.

Nearest TTC Station: Union or St.George

Image of an ART WALK Village Mural

Interest: Architecture, culture, history

Estimated time: One hour to less than two hours.

Take a 5-block Art Walk exploring over 15,000 sq. ft. of exquisite murals nestled among sidewalk cafes, coffee houses, shops, restaurants and services.

Steps from TTC and 10 minutes from Pearson International Airport, Islington’s murals celebrate the community’s shared history, its defining moments and rhythm of life, how they looked and what they did for fun through the years.

Guided Tours are available from June to October or you can download the walking tour guide. Don’t miss this walk; the Village has a reputation for having the most beautiful fine art murals in Toronto.

View the Village of Islington route map and additional walk details.

Nearest TTC Station: Islington bus/streetcar; Burnhamthorpe 50 bus north to Dundas and Burnhamthorpe

Marshall McLuhan Audio Walking Tour

Interest: Architecture, culture, audio, component, history

Estimated time: One hour to less than two hours.

Welcome to the Marshall McLuhan Walking Tour, with Nora Young as your guide. Together you and Nora will be exploring McLuhan’s Toronto and hearing interviews with those closest to one of Canada’s greatest thinkers.

View the Marshall McLuhan Audio Walking Tour route map and additional walk details.

Nearest TTC station: St. George or Bay

The Beaches
Photo Credit: ohioweatherguy

Interest: Culture, ravines, history, nature, waterfront

Estimated time: Two hours or longer.

The Beaches offers all the best features of a small resort town just 15 minutes from downtown Toronto. With more than 400 unique boutiques, spas, restaurants, cafes, and pubs between Lockwood and Neville Park, you’ll find everything from homemade ice cream to fine dining, from antiques to one of-a-kind gifts, from spa services to homemade pet-treats.

But what truly sets the Beaches apart from every other neighbourhood in Toronto is the proximity to the parks along Lake Ontario: with kilometres of sandy beaches, a boardwalk, biking/rollerblading paths, and landscaped gardens, this is a lovely place to visit at any time of year.

This tour is over five years old and some information may be out of date.

View the Beaches route map and additional walk details.

Nearest TTC station: Queen or Main bus/streetcar, 501 east from Queen Station

Image of a river
Photo credit: RiverSides, 2007

Interest: Charity, history, ravines, culture, health, nature, waterfront

Estimated time: Two hours or longer.

Join us on the Water in the City Walk and follow a raindrop’s journey to reach the Lake. Learn about Riverdale’s urban history, lost streams, storm sewer infrastructure, and its impacts on the Don River by using Riversides’ self-guided tour booklet.

This two-hour walk serves as a short course on individual source water protection and what homeowners can do right at home to help protect and restore the Don River! All walks start at Chester Subway Station and conclude at Chester Spring Marsh approx. 2 hours later. The walk covers occasionally difficult/wet terrain so please wear suitable footwear and dress appropriately (e.g. sunscreen, hat, bring water, etc.).

Please visit RiverSides to download a comprehensive tour booklet with additional walking tour details. There is no charge for the walk, but donations to RiverSides are kindly appreciated.

View RiverSides: The Water in the City Walk route map and additional walk details.

Nearest TTC Station: Chester

Image of pedestrians on a sidewalk
Photo Credit: Elana Horowitz

Interest: Culture, health, history

Estimated time: Two hours or longer.

Complete Streets are safe, comfortable and convenient for travel by foot, bicycle, transit and automobile. Finding the right balance isn’t easy though and some streets work better than others. The Complete Streets walk highlights bicycle and pedestrian innovation in Toronto’s downtown core. Providing for cyclists and pedestrians are critical elements of complete streets. Some of the streets are more highly evolved than others from a complete streets perspective, but all streets make efforts to balance safety and convenience for everyone using the road.

See the Complete Streets Walk route map and additional walk details.

Nearest TTC Station: St. George.