5 Days in Toronto, Canada, Done On Foot

I came to Toronto with a loose plan and a long list of dishes. Five days. No rental car. Streetcars, the subway, a ferry, and a lot of walking. The kind of trip where you eat a peameal bacon sandwich for breakfast and then go look at sharks.

What follows is exactly how I did it. Two days downtown anchored on the waterfront and the Distillery District, one day climbing through Casa Loma and finishing at Niagara, a fourth day on the cruise and the islands, and a fifth that stretches from Kensington Market over to Niagara-on-the-Lake and back to tacos. I will say it plainly. This city eats well.

Day 1, Harbourfront and the Skyline

Day one is the postcard day. Tower, aquarium, beer on the water, a walk along the lake, and dinner inside an old railway roundhouse. Stays compact. Stays on foot.

CN Tower

Morning one. Coffee in hand, neck already craned. I had pre-booked the 10 am slot because every review I read said the same thing. Buy in advance. They were right. The line for walk-ups was already snaking out the door.

The elevator goes up through glass, which is a small thrill of its own. At the top, Lake Ontario flat and frozen-looking, the city laid out like a circuit board. I skipped the SkyPod upcharge. The main deck view is honestly enough, and a reviewer told me as much before I even bought my ticket. The glass floor is the bit you came for. Stand on it. Take the photo. Move on.

Plan an hour up there, ninety minutes if you have a coffee at the cafe level. From the tower it’s a two minute walk over to the aquarium, the entrance is basically next door.

Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada

The Dangerous Lagoon is the bit. A slow moving walkway carries you under a tunnel of water while sharks and sawfish glide overhead. I rode it twice. Nobody stopped me.

I went on the Sea the Sky combo so the ticket was already sorted, which is the move. The jellyfish room is the photo people post, blue and pink and slow. I liked the stingray touch tank more than I expected. Honestly an hour and a half goes fast here, two if you have kids slowing you down.

By lunchtime my stomach was loud. From the aquarium it’s a ten minute walk along Queens Quay west to Amsterdam Brewhouse, right on the water.

Amsterdam Brewhouse

Patio facing the lake. Beer flight in front of me. A pizza I did not expect to be that good. The space is huge but somehow not cavernous, with the kind of mid-afternoon hum you only get at waterfront brewpubs.

I asked for the wing plate after a couple in the next booth waved theirs at me. Cooked properly. Crispy where it should be. Reviewers warned the tables sit close together and yes, I heard a full first-date conversation through my entire meal. Worth it for the view.

Give it an hour and change, longer if the sun is out. Next stop, a five minute walk east along the boardwalk to Harbourfront Centre.

Harbourfront Centre

The lake on one side, the skyline at your back. In winter the reflecting pool turns into a rink and in summer the boardwalk fills with kayakers and food stalls. I caught it somewhere in between, breezy, half quiet, swans on the water.

There is a free gallery inside if the weather turns. Otherwise it is a wander. Watch the seaplanes take off from Billy Bishop. Watch the ferries come and go. Half an hour, tops, unless an event is on, in which case you will lose two hours and not notice.

From the boardwalk it’s a brisk ten minute walk back toward the tower to Steam Whistle Kitchen for dinner.

Steam Whistle Kitchen

Dinner in an old railway roundhouse, the CN Tower lit up right outside the window. The space is genuinely beautiful, train history on the walls, and on a Blue Jays night the place hums.

I had the lasagna. Northern Italian style, bechamel, bolognese, parmesan baked on top. One reviewer claimed it could compete with the best in Toronto and I was ready to roll my eyes. I am not rolling them anymore. The unfiltered pilsner on tap, kegged that morning if you time it right, is the thing to drink with it.

Service is quick and the staff actually seem to like being there. I walked back to my hotel along Bremner with the tower glowing pink over my shoulder, day one already paying for itself.

Day 2, Old Town to Graffiti Alley

Today is a sandwich, a square, a cobblestone district, and a museum. Streetcars do the heavy lifting. Bring layers. Toronto weather does what it wants.

Carousel Bakery

Morning two. Inside St. Lawrence Market, a counter with a queue, the smell of bacon and griddled bread. The peameal bacon sandwich is the thing here, eight fifty, no sauce, on a soft bun. Apparently a Toronto institution. I ate mine standing up because there is nowhere to sit.

The reviews are split. Some people swoon. Some people side-eye the service and the day-old apple fritter. My take, get the peameal sandwich, skip everything else. The bacon was moist, not too salty, layered properly. Done in ten minutes.

Half an hour is enough including the queue. Next stop, hop on the 504 streetcar west, fifteen minutes to Nathan Phillips Square.

Nathan Phillips Square

The big TORONTO sign. Old City Hall in stone behind you, the curved towers of the new one in front. I came in winter, so the reflecting pool was a rink and the sign was lit up against a grey sky.

Skate rental was fifteen dollars, ten for juniors. One person stays back with the shoes, the rink rules are strict about that. I gave it forty minutes and that felt right, a loop, a coffee, a photo.

Easy 90 minutes if you want to wander into the City Hall lobby too. Hopped on the 504 streetcar east, twenty minutes to the Distillery District.

Distillery District

Cobblestones. Red brick. Strings of festoon bulbs over your head whatever the season. The Distillery District is an old Victorian whisky works turned pedestrian-only village of galleries, chocolate shops, and patios. No cars. Very photogenic.

I drifted for about ninety minutes. Bought too-expensive soap I did not need. Watched a glassblower work behind a window. In winter it hosts a Christmas market that gets very crowded very fast, plan for that.

Plan an hour or two, longer if you have a shopping streak. Dinner is at El Catrin, right inside the district at Tank House Lane, two minutes on foot.

El Catrin Destileria

I walked in for the room and stayed for the margarita flight. Soaring ceilings, a mural that wraps the back wall, a patio out front under heaters. Loud in a good way.

Pamela was our server and she was every bit as good as the reviews said. I ordered the birria tacos and the pollo pibil, both excellent, plus a side of guacamole that was made tableside and was the best of the trip. The chili oil is mandatory. The duck I would skip, that was a small consensus across reviews.

Give it ninety minutes with drinks. From here, grab the subway from King station up to Museum, about fifteen minutes door to door, for the ROM.

Royal Ontario Museum

Late afternoon. The Royal Ontario Museum, or ROM if you want to sound local. The crystal-shaped extension juts out over Bloor Street like a glacier dropped on Beaux-Arts limestone, classic and modern shoved into one building.

I went straight for the dinosaurs and the Chinese galleries. The fossil exhibit even labels which bones are real and which are casts, which I appreciated. Things to know. The general admission is more than enough for a first visit, the special ticketed exhibits are hit or miss, and the layout is genuinely confusing, you will double back.

Two hours, three if you actually read the placards. From the ROM it’s a quick fifteen minute streetcar ride down Spadina to Graffiti Alley.

Graffiti Alley

After dark almost. Golden hour, more accurately. I cut south off Queen Street West and into a long service alley that has been quietly turned into an open-air gallery. Every wall covered, top to bottom, in murals that change all the time.

Honestly an hour goes fast here, even though the alley itself only takes about ten minutes to walk end to end. You stop. You go back. You notice a new piece. A couple of reviews flagged that it is not always pristine, there is litter, occasional rough sleepers, go in daylight or with company. I felt fine at sundown, eerily quiet and lit beautifully.

Walked back to Queen for a cocktail and called it a day. Day two, done.

Day 3, Market Morning to Niagara Mist

Big day. We start at the market, eat Thai for lunch, climb a castle, then bus south to Niagara to catch the falls at golden hour. Yes, it is a lot. Yes, it is worth it.

St. Lawrence Market

Morning three. Back at St. Lawrence, this time properly. Built in 1850, two floors of vendors, the kind of market where locals actually shop. Luba’s coffee in the corner near Paddington is a tip a reviewer dropped and I am paying forward, fresh drip in three or four varieties.

I picked up Stonemill bread, a slab of Quebec cheese, and a raspberry-yogurt-filled croissant I had never seen before and have not stopped thinking about. The underground level has souvenirs that are not embarrassing, which is rare.

An hour is enough for a wander, longer if you want a sit-down breakfast. Next stop, a fifteen minute subway hop up to Bay station for Yorkville.

Yorkville Village

Yorkville is Toronto’s posh pocket. Tree-lined streets, designer windows, art galleries that look like they would rather you did not come in. Yorkville Village itself is a small upscale mall on Avenue Road, tucked into the block.

I went for the boutiques and the light. Quiet, calm, well lit, with a few independent stands set up in the centre when I was there. Not a place I would plan a day around, but a good half-hour to dip in out of the cold, browse, then keep walking the actual neighbourhood streets, which are prettier than the mall.

Thirty to forty five minutes, no more. From Yorkville, jump back on the subway south to St. Andrew, ten minutes, for Pai.

PAI

PAI — 18 Duncan St, Toronto, ON M5H 3G8, Canada Open in Google Maps Photo Credit to 畢瀞佳

Lunch underground. Pai sits a half flight below street level on Duncan, candlelit even at noon, packed even on a Tuesday. There was a wait. I had a beer at the bar. Worth it.

The Khao Soi is the dish everyone tells you to get and everyone is right. Northern Thai curry noodle, rich, balanced, with that crispy noodle nest on top. I added the chili oil and almost regretted it but did not. The mango sticky rice gets mixed reviews. The Pad See Ew does not. Order accordingly.

Give it an hour. Next, grab a quick taxi or the 127 bus up to Casa Loma, ten minutes if traffic behaves.

Casa Loma

Mid afternoon. A Gothic Revival castle on a hill in the middle of a city is a strange thing to encounter and Casa Loma is exactly that. Turrets, secret passages, a long underground tunnel out to the stables, vintage cars in the basement.

The self-guided audio tour is included in the ticket, bring headphones to use with your phone. The view from the top of the tower is fantastic but the staircase is narrow and slow, a bit of a queue both ways. I gave it just over two hours.

From here it is the long leg of the day. I had pre-booked a bus down to Niagara, about ninety minutes south to Table Rock.

Table Rock Welcome Centre

Late afternoon at Niagara, mist on my face before I even reached the railing. Table Rock sits directly above Horseshoe Falls, so close you feel the rumble through your shoes.

The Welcome Centre itself is shops, restrooms, a ticket desk for Journey Behind the Falls, and Table Rock House Restaurant with a view that does most of the work. The fireworks on Friday and Saturday nights at ten are worth waiting for if the weather holds. Parking near the falls is a racket, this one twenty four dollars an hour stuff, but if you took the bus this is not your problem.

I watched the falls go from grey to gold to floodlit. Then I caught the bus back into Toronto, ninety minutes, head against the window the whole way.

Day 4, Onto the Water

The wettest day on the itinerary, and that is by design. Boat under the falls in the morning, ferry to the islands in the afternoon, a quiet beach to close it out.

Niagara City Cruises

Day four. Up early, back on the bus to Niagara, this time with a poncho in my future. Niagara City Cruises runs the boats that head straight into the mist at the base of Horseshoe Falls.

You will get wet. The poncho is not optional but also not enough. Bring a change of socks, I am not joking, the second reviewer who said this knew. The boat noses up to the American Falls, then swings into Horseshoe, and for about a minute the world is just water and noise.

The ride itself is twenty minutes. Plan two hours with the queue and the elevators down. Bus back to Toronto, ninety minutes, dry off, then walk over to the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal at Queens Quay.

Jack Layton Ferry Terminal

Late afternoon. Jack Layton sits right at the foot of Bay Street, a short walk from Union. Buy your ferry tickets online before you turn up, the offline queue is the slower one. About nine dollars round trip. Three ferries run, to Centre, Hanlan’s, and Ward’s, with washrooms at the terminal and on board.

I picked the Ward’s ferry. Fifteen minutes across the harbour, skyline behind, lake in front, gulls overhead. Go to the upper deck if you do not mind a breeze, it is the better photo.

The ticket is a round trip so you do not need to think about it again. From the Ward’s dock it is a ten minute walk straight ahead to the beach.

Ward’s Island Beach

A small soft-sand beach with the Toronto skyline rising clean across the harbour. Quieter than Centre Island, which is the entire point. Birds, trees, those tiny mailbox-sized art installations on every corner that the islanders maintain themselves.

I did not swim. The water gets mixed reviews and the air had a bite. I did walk the boardwalk, watch a sailboat slip into the lagoon, and sit on a fallen tree trunk that islanders had clearly been using as a bench for years. Easy ninety minutes, longer with a picnic.

Best sunset spot of the whole trip. I caught the last quiet ferry back, the city all lit up across the water.

Day 5, Kensington and Wine Country

Last day, best eating day. Brunch on the islands, a wander through Kensington, a half-day pop down to Niagara-on-the-Lake for wine, and back into the city for tapas and tacos.

Centre Island

Day five, opening on the water. I took the early Ward’s ferry again, then walked west along the island spine to Centre Island, the most developed of the three. Manicured gardens, a small amusement area, a long pier out to the lighthouse, and the postcard view of the skyline.

I gave it about ninety minutes. A coffee at the small kiosk, a loop through the formal gardens, photos at the pier where every visitor takes the same shot and every shot is still good. Rent a bike if you want to cover ground, otherwise walk.

Plan two hours including the ferry ride. Back to Jack Layton, then the 510 streetcar north up Spadina, fifteen minutes to Kensington Market.

Kensington Market

Late morning in Kensington. A few square blocks of low Victorian houses turned into vintage shops, taco counters, coffee roasters, fishmongers, and one of the highest concentrations of murals in the city. No chains. Almost no chains, anyway.

This is wander territory. I drifted Augusta Avenue, ducked into a vintage store with crates of Levi’s on the floor, bought a coffee from a window I could barely see into. The streets are pedestrian-only on summer Sundays, the kind of car-free that should happen more places.

An hour and change for a first lap, more if you stop to eat, which you should. Now, the half-day side trip. Drove on, about ninety minutes south to Niagara-on-the-Lake. (A guided tour from downtown also works if you are car-free.)

Niagara-on-the-Lake

A small heritage town on the lip of Lake Ontario, all gabled storefronts, a clock tower at the main intersection, and rows of vineyards on the outskirts. This is wine country, properly. Riesling and ice wine country.

I did two wineries on the outside of town and a slow lunch on Queen Street. The flowers along the main strip are absurd, hanging baskets every few metres, all in bloom. It is twee. It also wins.

Give it three hours minimum, a whole afternoon ideally. Drove back into Toronto for the evening, ninety minutes north, and headed straight to College Street for dinner.

Bar Raval

After dark. Bar Raval on College, all carved wood and warm light, like someone airlifted a Gaudí interior into Little Italy. There are no real chairs, only stools at the bar and a few high tables. You stand. You drink. That is the deal.

I ordered the tomato toast (everyone says order it, they are right), the croquetas de jamón, and a martini that I am still thinking about. The shrimp came in the shell, which got messy and was still worth it. Skip the cod if you do not like salt.

Sixty to ninety minutes for tapas and a couple of drinks. From here it is a brisk fifteen minute walk west along College then south on Augusta back into Kensington for the final stop.

Seven Lives Tacos y Mariscos

Last stop. Seven Lives on Kensington Avenue, a small storefront with high tables and no chairs, a queue out the door even at night. Fish tacos. Shrimp tacos. The Gobernador, melted cheese and shrimp wrapped in a charred tortilla, is the one.

I ate three tacos standing up at a bar table by the window. The Camarones a la Diabla is messy, fully drippy, fully worth it. There is a sauce station, use the salsa verde. Bag hooks under the tables, a small mercy.

Forty five minutes, including the queue. Walked back through Kensington toward my streetcar, hands smelling faintly of lime, five days of Toronto behind me. The kind of last meal you do not want to follow with anything except a quiet walk home.

Five days in Toronto and I still left with a list. The cheese counter at St. Lawrence I did not buy from, the Pad See Ew at Pai I did not try, half of Kensington I did not photograph. That is a sign of a good trip.

If you have done these five days differently, tell me. I want to know which taco I missed and which patio I should have parked at for sunset.