What is the Toronto self-guided walking tour?
The Toronto self-guided walking tour puts an audio walk on your phone through the World City Trail app: Google Maps leads you from stop to stop, and there you listen to the history, legends and curious facts of each place. The route covers 10 stops and 4.5 km, roughly 64 minutes on foot within about 3 hours. It runs south from the art gallery to the foot of the CN Tower.
Outside Old City Hall the narration points to carved faces said to show councillors of the day, with the architect Lennox himself among them. The Hockey Hall of Fame occupies a bank building begun in 1885, complete with a ghost legend that has never been confirmed. Union Station's Great Hall is lined with 22 limestone columns, and at Roundhouse Park a 37-metre turntable once turned steam locomotives.
- Durationabout 3 hours
- Walkingabout 64 min · 4.5 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Stop, listen, walk on
Hear the story
Arrive at a stop and the narration begins: who built the place, what happened there, which legends cling to it and which small detail is easy to miss. Rather read than listen? Every word is also on screen.
Map in hand
Google Maps plots each leg to the next stop. The 4.5 km come to about 64 minutes of walking, at a speed you set yourself.
Break off, carry on
Stop for lunch or an exhibition whenever you like. The app remembers where you left off, whether you continue later today or on another day.
Lunch, coffee, souvenirs
The app points out places to eat and local shops close to the route, and lets you begin at another stop or reorder the stops.
See the route and attractions →
How it works
- Book online Choose the number of people. Your booking reference arrives by email straight away.
- Get the app Download the World City Trail app from the App Store or Google Play and enter your booking reference.
- Walk when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.
Visitors it suits best
History lovers
Dates, names and the events behind them, told on the spot where they took place.
Families and couples
Legends for the children, background for the adults, and a pace the whole party agrees on.
Returning to Toronto
Familiar streets look different once you know what happened in them.
Good to know
- Bring a charged smartphone with mobile data; a power bank helps.
- No entry tickets needed: everything happens outside the buildings. Going inside is optional and paid separately.
- Family friendly; children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Not suitable for wheelchair users and difficult with strollers.
- Groups of up to 5 work best; larger groups split up, one ticket per person.
- Every purchase helps support stray cats and dogs in Greece.
From the gallery district to the CN Tower
10 stops · about 64 min walking · start: Art Gallery of Ontario · finish: Rogers Centre
You set off at the Art Gallery of Ontario and walk to Nathan Phillips Square, with Old City Hall facing it across Bay Street. The Hockey Hall of Fame at Yonge and Front Streets comes next, then Union Station and the Scotiabank Arena. Roundhouse Park leads on to Ripley's Aquarium of Canada and the CN Tower, and the Rogers Centre, with its retractable roof, closes the walk. Starting elsewhere is possible in the app, and none of the stops asks for an entry ticket.
Open the route map ↗
1Art Gallery of OntarioStart
The gallery was founded in 1900 as the Art Museum of Toronto and became the Art Gallery of Ontario in 1966. Frank Gehry's renovation opened to the public in November 2008, and the Henry Moore Sculpture Centre holds the largest public collection of Moore's works in the world.
2Nathan Phillips Square
This modernist square in front of New City Hall was completed in 1965 and is named after the mayor Nathan Phillips. In winter its reflecting pool becomes a skating rink, and across Bay Street stands the older Old City Hall.
3Old City Hall
The architect Edward James Lennox designed this Richardsonian Romanesque building, which opened in 1899 and housed the city council until the 1960s. The carved faces near the entrance are traditionally said to depict councillors of that era, and Lennox's own face is said to be among them.
4Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame occupies the former head office of the Bank of Montreal, at Yonge and Front Streets, a building begun in 1885. A ghost legend says a bank teller named Dorothy haunts the upper floors, but the story is only a rumour and has never been confirmed.
5Union Station
Union Station was opened in August 1927 by the Prince of Wales, after construction that began in 1913 and was delayed by the First World War. Its Beaux-Arts Great Hall has 22 Bedford limestone columns, each about 12 metres high, and it is the largest of the great urban train stations built in the early 20th century.
6Scotiabank Arena
The arena a short walk from the CN Tower opened in 1999 as the Air Canada Centre and was renamed Scotiabank Arena in 2018. It is home to the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Raptors.
7Roundhouse Park
The Canadian Pacific roundhouse was built in 1929 to service steam locomotives, and its 37-metre turntable turned some of the largest engines built in Canada. The site was declared a National Historic Site in 1990, and the Toronto Railway Museum now occupies the roundhouse.
8Ripley's Aquarium of Canada
Ripley's Aquarium of Canada is near the CN Tower. Glass tunnels run underwater, so you walk beneath sharks and rays rather than just looking at them.
9CN Tower
The CN Tower was completed in 1976 and was the world's tallest freestanding structure for more than 30 years. Its observation levels sit high above the harbour, and the tower can be seen from much of the city.
10Rogers CentreFinish
The stadium opened in 1989 as the SkyDome, with a retractable roof. It was renamed Rogers Centre in 2005, and it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays.
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