Toronto isn’t just Canada’s largest metropolis. It’s a living, breathing mosaic of global cultures, and a city filled with stories. Walking underneath its massive skyscrapers, Toronto felt like New York’s little brother. However, spending more time among its residents, the city’s true personality emerged: polite, comfortable, and grounded, like a sibling who had grown up in the British countryside. If you’re looking for the best things to do in Toronto, keep on reading my cultural guide to Toronto.
My Trip to Toronto
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I had wanted to visit Toronto for years. If you have followed Culture Tourist for a while, you might remember that I almost moved there at the beginning of 2020. However, the pandemic changed my plans.
I bought the flight tickets again for the summer 2024, but because I was moving from Croatia back to the Netherlands, I decided to postpone. Finally, it was “third time’s a charm” a few weeks ago when I managed to spend a week in Toronto.
Perhaps because I had built up so much hype in my mind, I was initially a bit disappointed. Arriving in the middle of February, the city was freezing, foggy and grey. At first glance, I felt there wasn’t much to see.
But, as my jet lag eased and the sun emerged, I became completely smitten. By the end of my stay, I had fallen so in love that I’m already planning my next visit to check off even more things to do in Toronto.
Agreeable people are warm and friendly. They’re nice; they’re polite. You find a lot of them in Canada.
(Adam Grant)
Fun facts about Toronto & Canada
- Hollywood North: Many famous movies and series were filmed here (often standing in for other North American cities), including Suits (2011-2019), Fantastic Four (2005), Brokeback Mountain (2005), Mean Girls (2004), My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002), American Psycho (2000), Good Will Hunting (1997).
- Sweet Tooth: The average Canadian consumes about 2.4 litres of maple syrup per year.
- The Tallest Legend: The CN Tower was the world’s tallest freestanding structure for 32 years (1975-2007). Its glass floor can withstand the weight of 35 moose (a reassuring fact for anyone afraid to step on it, like I was)!
- Accidental Islands: The Toronto Islands were originally a peninsula, separated from the mainland by a violent storm in the 1850s.
- Surprising Latitude: I was surprised to find that Toronto is further south than five US states and sits at a similar latitude to Florence, Italy.
- Urban Forest: There are over 10 million trees within the city limits of Toronto.
Best Things To Do in Toronto
Toronto isn’t a city filled with “obvious” world-famous landmarks like Paris or New York. It’s a city you have to feel rather than just see. It is a city with a soul, built by the unique personalities of its vast international community.
It’s a city where you feel good. Safe. Hopeful.
But, there are also endless cultural things to do in Toronto. And you can spend weeks exploring this lovely Canadian city.
Experience Modern Art at Pearson Airport
My journey through Toronto began before I’d even cleared customs. If you land at Toronto Pearson International Airport (Terminal 1), don’t rush through. In a city renowned for public art, it’s only fitting that your first encounter with greatness happens in a transit hub.
Here, you’ll find Richard Serra’s Tilted Spheres. These aren’t merely sculptures; they are an architectural intervention. Four massive steel plates, rusted to a rich, velvety orange-brown, curve toward one another to create a narrow, towering corridor. As you walk through, the noise of the airport, rolling suitcases and intercom announcements, suddenly dampens.
I had seen a similar artwork by Richard Serra at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao a few months prior, and seeing it again in Canada felt like a lovely surprise.
Marvel at Union Station’s Architecture
Stepping off the UP Express (a train connecting the airport to downtown), I arrived at Union Station. Its Beaux-Arts architecture reminded me of New York’s Grand Central.
Although the construction started in 1913, it was delayed for several years because of the First World War, and finally completed in 1927. Its Great Hall is a cathedral of transit. I loved its coffered vaulted ceiling and the arched windows inspired by Roman baths.
Today, Union Station is the second busiest train station in North America serving over 72 million passengers each year.
⤷ TIP: When taking the UP Express from the airport to the city centre, you don’t need a paper ticket. You can simply tap on and off with your debit or credit card.
Take a Guided Walking Tour
As in every city I visit for the first time, I love starting my first morning with a walking tour.
Toronto’s history is subtle, it doesn’t scream at you. It was reshaped by the Great Fire of 1904 and the rapid expansion of the 1960s. My guide pointed out some of the most interesting places, and explained why a random Victorian house might be sitting in the middle of a skyscraper’s courtyard.
⤷ TIP: Look for The Bruce Bell Tours. Bruce is a local legend who tells stories of the city’s scandals and triumphs, and organises some of the best walking tours in Toronto.
Visit the Iconic CN Tower
The CN Tower is often dismissed as a tourist trap, but I truly enjoyed the view from its top.
From an engineering and cultural perspective, it’s a marvel of 1970s Brutalist architecture. Completed in 1976, it signalled to the world that Toronto was no longer a provincial outpost but a global powerhouse.
Standing on the glass floor 113 stories up, you see the city’s veins: the red streetcars, the vast Lake Ontario, and the suburban sprawl that eventually dissolves into the Canadian wilderness. It remains one of the most popular things to do in Toronto for a reason.
⤷ TIP: Pick a bright sunny day to visit the CN Tower to enjoy the spectacular view. There is a small cafe at the top, so leave some time to sit in it and enjoy the view.
Explore The PATH: The Underground City
When it’s cold, one of the best indoor things to do in Toronto is exploring the PATH. This 30-kilometre underground network of pedestrian tunnels allows you to walk from the waterfront to the bus terminal without ever putting on a coat. It’s how the city functions during brutal Canadian winters.
I was surprised by how well maintained, clean and safe it was. Although, be warned: it is a labyrinth of food courts, shops, and entrances to the office buildings – so download the PATH map before entering it.
⤷ TIP: You can also explore the PATH on a guided tour. You can check it out at this link.
Stroll by the Shores of Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is the very reason Toronto exists. It was a vital highway for Indigenous trade and travel for millennia before it ever saw a British steamship.
Standing at the water’s edge, you feel the vastness of the Great Lakes. This is a true inland sea, so large it creates its own weather patterns. The air is cooler here, the light is softer, and the sound of the ferries chugging toward the Toronto Islands offers a rhythmic soundtrack to the city’s soul.
During my visit to Toronto in February, a big portion of the lake was frozen which made it so magical. However, if you visit in summer, its shores will be packed with people, small festivals and music.
⤷ TIP: During the summer months, enjoy the view of Toronto from one of the city cruises. You can check them out at this link.
Visit the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM)
Toronto’s love affair with eclectic architecture is perhaps best seen at the ROM. The original neo-Romanesque stone wings, built in the early 20th century, are quite literally pierced by Daniel Libeskind’s “Michael Lee-Chin Crystal.” It looks like a giant glass shard has crashed into the museum.
While many come for the dinosaurs—and the dinosaur gallery is world-class, featuring massive sauropods that seem to graze the ceiling—the gallery I liked the most is the First Peoples Galleries.
This space tells a continuous, living story of Indigenous sovereignty, artistry, and resilience. From intricate historical quillwork to biting contemporary paintings, it forces a reckoning with the land’s pre-colonial past and its indigenous future.
⤷ TIP: Get your online ROM entrance ticket through this link.
Eat Your Way Through St. Lawrence Market
Food markets are the hearts of the city, the public kitchen where you can mingle among the locals. Consistently ranked as one of the best food markets in the world, St. Lawrence Market is where Toronto goes to eat. The South Market building, with its high ceilings and basement stalls, has been a culinary hub since 1803.
Trying a Peameal Bacon Sandwich there (which is delicious and I highly recommend it) is one of the essential foodie things to do in Toronto. Among other things, you’ll find imported cheeses and fresh catches from the Great Lakes at the market. The bakeries and the bagel shop were also lovely. It is loud, it is crowded, and it smells like heaven.
My hotel was located just around the corner, so I ate there quite often and loved it each time.
The fact that over 50 percent of the residents of Toronto are not from Canada, that is always a good thing, creatively, and for food especially. That is easily a city’s biggest strength, and it is Toronto’s unique strength.
(Anthony Bourdain)
Indulge in a Diverse Food Scene
Toronto is widely considered the most multicultural city on the planet. Over 50% of its residents were born outside of Canada and over 140 languages are spoken in the city. This isn’t just a statistic; you can taste it.
You can have authentic Tibetan momos for lunch, Ethiopian injera for dinner, and Portuguese custard tarts for dessert—all within a few city blocks. I especially liked exploring more of the Korean cuisine during my visit to Toronto.
⤷ TIP: One of my favourite places to eat in Toronto was The George Street Diner. While sitting in one of the typical diner booths (so fun for someone like me visiting from Europe), you can enjoy in hearty Irish-Canadian food. This charming diner was also a set for several movies and TV series (like Suits or What If).
Attend a Toronto Symphonic Orchestra (TSO) Concert
A few weeks before my trip to Toronto, I was doing one of my Rembrandt in Amsterdam tours. It turned out that two of my guests were members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, who had performed in Amsterdam the night before. So, after the tour, they invited me to their performance in Toronto. Which I happily accepted!
A night at Roy Thomson Hall to hear the TSO is an immersion into the city’s high-art scene and one of the best things to do in Toronto. The hall’s circular, glass-wrapped design is a piece of 1980s futurism. Inside, the acoustics are masterfully engineered to carry the most delicate violin solo to the very back of the house.
I listened to their performance of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 9, which was magical. Check out the concert agenda at this link.
Go Ice Skating if You’ll Visit in Winter
I LOVE ice skating! So, it was high on my list of things to do in Toronto. It just felt like such an iconic thing to do in Canada.
Nathan Phillips Square, right in front of the iconic “TORONTO” sign and the curving towers of New City Hall, is the most famous ice skating spot. Gliding across the ice under the holiday lights, surrounded by skyscrapers, is the quintessential Toronto winter experience.
⤷ TIP: In case you’re used to European ones, be warned that Canadian ice skating rinks are the real deal. The ice is much smoother and quite slippery, so be careful and allow yourself some time to adjust to it first.
I love that Toronto is demonstrating that a big, highly diverse, multicultural city can actually work well, if its residents have the attitude of Torontonians.
(Roger Martin)
Visit Hockey Hall of Fame
If you’d like to learn more about the most popular sport in Canada, pay a visit to the Hockey Hall of Fame. It’s housed in a former bank building that is a masterpiece of the decorative arts.
It’s a place to learn about the history of hockey, its most iconic players, and to try playing hockey yourself (which I really enjoyed). The Great Hall, where the Stanley Cup is kept, features a breathtaking stained-glass dome.
⤷ TIP: Get your online Hockey Hall of Fame entrance ticket here.
Enjoy Toronto Sports at the Scotiabank Arena
Being a great sports city, one of the best things to do in Toronto is to see a sporting event. Whether it’s the Raptors (basketball) or the Leafs (ice hockey), the Scotiabank Arena is a place to enjoy some world-class sport. During my time in Toronto, I saw an NBA game (between Toronto Raptors and San Antonio Spurs), and had lots of fun.
You can check the Toronto Raptors game tickets at this link, and the Maple Leafs tickets here.
⤷ TIP: Take a tour of the Scotiabank Arena! Seeing how they transition the floor from an NBA hardwood to an NHL ice rink is a lesson in the precision of modern urban entertainment culture. This is the Scotiabank Arena tour I’ve joined and am definitely recommending it.
Explore the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO)
If you’re going to visit only one museum during your trip to Toronto, make it the Art Gallery of Ontario.
Its building was redesigned by world-renowned architect (and Toronto native) Frank Gehry. His Galleria Italiana, a massive wood-and-glass structure, looks like the ribs of a giant ship or a wave frozen in time.
The gallery is home to many wonderful artworks (the museum is home to 120,000 pieces). During my visit, I wanted to see more of Canadian art (which is quite rare in European museums). So, a friendly museum employee sent me to the first floor to see some of the local stars of their art collection.
And I was most fascinated by the art of the Group of Seven. In the early 20th century, these artists rejected European painting styles to capture what they called the “terrible beauty” of the Canadian North. Their canvases, thick with paint and vibrating with raw colour, captured a wilderness that felt alive, untameable, and uniquely Canadian. Pure magic of the landscape captured on modern canvases.
⤷ TIP: Get your online Art Gallery of Ontario entrance ticket through this link.
Catch a Musical
Toronto is the third-largest centre for English-language theatre in the world, following only London and New York.
From the historic Royal Alexandra Theatre to the modern Princess of Wales, there is always a blockbuster musical or a cutting-edge play running. Catching a show at one of them is one of the best cultural things to do in Toronto. The production value is world-class, but the tickets are often much more accessible than their Broadway counterparts.
During my visit, I saw the fantastic & Juliet musical. Playing with the famous classical story by making Juliet survive the love tragedy, the musical is filled with pop music hits and a powerful narrative.
Toronto may be the only city where novels are integral to high art, the alternative scene and mainstream culture all at the same time.
(Stephen Marche)
Stroll Through the Distillery District
Once home to the Gooderham and Worts Distillery, this pedestrian-only neighbourhood is the largest collection of Victorian-era industrial architecture in North America. Walking these brick-paved streets feels like stepping back to the 1830s.
Today, the massive industrial buildings house independent galleries, local artisans, and small shops which are fun to explore. In the winter, it hosts a massive Christmas Market. While in the summer, the patios are the best place in the city for a craft beer.
Find a Hidden Banksy
I stumbled upon this artwork by chance and it was so fun to realise I was in front of a real Banksy!
In an alleyway near the intersection of Church and The Esplanade, look for a piece of plexiglass. Behind it lies a rare, authentic Banksy – a piece of subversive street art that stands in stark contrast to the nearby skyscrapers. It is a tiny reminder that Toronto still has an edge. And that you can find art in the most unusual places.
Outside Toronto
No trip to Toronto is complete without venturing two hours south to Niagara Falls. It’s also a good opportunity to see a bit of the Ontario region outside of Toronto. Once again, I visited in winter, so seeing huge frozen rivers and vast countryside covered in snow was mesmerising.
I believe the world needs more Canada.
(Bono, U2)
Visit the Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls is a reminder of the raw power of the Canadian landscape. The sheer volume of water – the “Thunder of the Waters” is a sublime experience and I could look at it for hours.
A few weeks before my visit, that region of Canada had a massive winter storm with temperatures dropping way below zero. That left the falls almost entirely frozen while I was there. And it made them even more spectacular.
You can visit the Niagara Falls from Toronto on one of the organised day trips. However, I wanted to spend the night in the area, so I travelled by train on my way there, and by bus on the way back.
⤷ TIP: Check all the day trip options from Toronto to Niagara Falls at this link.
Stay at Niagara-on-the-Lake
After visiting the falls, I went to a beautiful small town, Niagara-on-the-Lake. It was the first capital of Upper Canada (before Toronto) and remains one of the best-preserved 19th-century small towns in North America.
It is the antithesis of Toronto’s glass towers. I stayed in a well-known Victorian hotel, the Prince of Wales, which really fit the vibe of this historic town. Strolling around it, visiting some of the small shops and dining at a local restaurant, made a nice contrast to busy Toronto.
⤷ TIP: If you’d like to visit Niagara-on-the-Lake on a day trip from Toronto, check out this link.
Tips for visiting Toronto
Get a Ubigi eSIM: This is the first time I used an eSIM while travelling outside of Europe and it will become my go-to solution for travelling abroad. The internet connection worked flawlessly during my time in Canada, and I’d give it 5/5 stars. You can read my full Ubigi eSIM review here.
Get a Toronto CityPASS: If you plan on hitting a few Toronto attractions, getting a city pass will save you a significant amount of money and it often lets you skip the main ticket lines. I had a VIP Pass during my trip to Toronto, which included several locations and I loved how easy it was to use. You can read more about the Toronto CityPASS here. And you can check the CityPASS which includes the 5 biggest Toronto attractions here.
Stay at the Novotel Centre Hotel: I stayed at this hotel and can’t recommend it more. It’s located in the Down Town, walking distance to the St. Lawrence Market and the Distillery District, offering a perfect blend of comfort and location. I loved its location and breakfast the most.
Have coffee at Tim Hortons: You cannot leave Canada without visiting a “Timmies.” Order a “Double-Double” (two creams, two sugars) and a box of Timbits (donut holes), and feel like a local for a day.
Shop Canadian: Look for brands like Roots (leather and cozy sweats) or Hudson’s Bay Company (the iconic striped blankets) to take a piece of Canadian history home with you. I found clothes (American and Canadian brands) much cheaper than in Europe. The Toronto Eaton Centre is a massive shopping mall where you will find a great selection of stores. And don’t forget to get some maple syrup to bring home with you.
Toronto is a city that reveals itself slowly. But once it captures your heart it stays there forever. This definitely won’t be my last visit to that beautiful town.
Have you been to Toronto? Would you add any place to this list of things to do in Toronto? Let me know in the comments!