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Neighbourhood's in and around Toronto

Toronto's vibrant and varied communities create a multicultural mosaic of restaurants, shops, and entertainment.  From outdoor markets to the theatre district, Chinatown to Little Italy, Toronto is a dynamic blend of languages and customs. Take a stroll and meet the people in the neighbourhood.


Downtown Toronto

Kensington Market
During the 1920s the district between Dundas and College, just west of Spadina Avenue was known as the Jewish Market. Today, it's called Kensington Market and is something closer to Around the World in 80 Steps. A multicultural mix of shops offer unique finds from Europe, the Caribbean, the Middle East, South America and Asia. Uber-trendy Torontonians know it's the place to go for vintage and second hand clothing and furniture shops, and its restaurants and cafés are packed day and night with a clientele as eclectic as the menu.

Entertainment District
As the third largest theatre center in the English-speaking world, just behind London and New York, Toronto is host to a dynamic calendar celebrating everything from Broadway musicals to cutting edge plays, to opera, ballet and the symphony. More than 75 productions are on stage each month in a myriad of venues, from renovated vaudeville palaces to state of the amphitheaters. King Street and the surround area is home to the larger venues like Pantages, Royal Alexandra, Princess of Wales and Elgin & Winter Garden Theatres, where lavish musicals and touring productions make their Toronto home. The district is also host to choral and symphony events at Roy Thomson Hall and the historic Massey Hall.

Chinatown
Although forever known as Chinatown, this growing district at the corner of Spadina and Dundas St. West is actually home to numerous families of Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam descent as well as ethnic Chinese from Hong Kong.  Bustling with oriental shops and outdoor fruit markets, it's famed for a vast selection of authentic Chinese restaurants and the unusual fruits and vegetables available at the numerous produce stores.

Financial District & Underground City
Toronto's towering glass and steel skyscrapers mark this city as the center of business and finance in Canada. Although the cityscape is impressive, the real attraction is happening below your feet, where 11 kms (6 miles) of linked passageways make up the popular Underground City.  This city beneath the streets features more than 1,200 shops, cafes and services, and the walkways make navigating through the Financial District quick and easy, especially during the winter. Bounded by Queen, Front and Yonge Streets, entrances to the subterranean shopping center are marked with "PATH" signage.

Queen St. West
Queen West is a royal treasure trove of cutting-edge fashions, funky shops and hip restaurants. Easily one the city's most popular shopping destinations, Queen West is an energetic arts districts with galleries, antique shops and dance clubs on seemingly every corner. It's also home to the landmark City-TV Building, the television studio where Toronto's City-TV as well as the country's all-music channels MuchMusic and MuchMore Music are filmed. Don't be surprised if you're met with screaming crowds, as some of the biggest stars in music head down to the studio for a concert event with a few thousand of their biggest fans. And on Friday nights, Queen West becomes a dance club as revelers from the popular television show Electric Circus spill out onto the street in barely-there fashions, even in winter.

Harbourfront 
Once a neglected row of wasted warehouses, today the Harbourfront is a year round cultural destination and a young residential neighbourhood. Along with the terrific views from the lakeside walking trail, Harbourfront highlights include the Antique Market, a calendar of dynamic cultural events at Harbourfront Center and myriad of boutiques and specialty shops at Queens Quay Terminal. Queens Quay is also the sailing point for numerous harbour cruises and ferry service.

Toronto Islands
Have you ever dreamed of going back in time? On Hanlan's Point, Center and Ward's islands, located just off of the Toronto harbour front on Lake Ontario, it's as if time stood still. Quaint summer amusement parks, complete with paddleboats, wading pools and rental bikes, 1920's summer cottages and charming English-style gardens are reminiscent of an earlier time. The island's are the ultimate family destination. The grassy parks and beaches are perfect for picnics, there's baseball diamonds and boat moorings, and the no-cars policy keeps the pace laid back and relaxing. Best of all, The Islands are just a 10-minute ferry ride from the mainland.

Bloor/Yorkville
Among the elegant Victorian homes, award-winning park, and small courtyards of this stylish neighbourhood you’ll discover more than 700 sophisticated shops, restaurants, art galleries, and museums. A lovely blend of the old with the new, Yorkville is the place to go for haute couture as well as rare antiques. Along with the fashions you’ll find tracking down the latest from Gucci, Yorkville is also a popular destination for tourists and families on their way to discover the treasures of the Royal Ontario Museum, one of the most acclaimed natural history museums in the world, as well as the dynamic exhibits of the Children’s Own Museum. Best of all, Yorkville is close to numerous hotels and the city’s favourite attractions.

Church & Wellesley
Definitely one of the liveliest neighborhoods, Church & Wellesley is the heart of the gay community in Toronto, and it never stops beating. Lined with clothing stores, gift boutiques, and businesses, it’s the seemingly countless restaurants, bistros, cafes and nightclubs, many open 24-hours, that make this a hotspot for both the gay and ultra-hip, late night crowd. Church & Wellesley is home to the annual gay and lesbian Gay Pride Celebrations. With over 90 floats and an enthusiastic crowd of nearly 800,000 people, it’s the largest event of its kind in Canada. To find out what’s happening in the neighbourhood, be sure to stop into the 519 Church Street Community Center, where bulletin boards and local papers have the scoop on arts and gay-positive events.

Rosedale & Forest Hill
Ask any Torontonian what comes to mind when you say “Rosedale” and the answer is always the same: the houses. Home to many of the city's most established, and affluent, citizens, the winding Streets of Rosedale are line with superlative estates and Queen Anne mansions. Along with the spectacular homes and secluded parks, Rosedale offers a terrific row of shops along a little stretch of Young Street just north of Bloor. Here, inside lovely turn of the century buildings on quaint side streets, you’ll discover lots of places to explore, shop, and spend your afternoon sipping espresso with the idle rich.  You’ll also find extraordinary B&Bs and some of the finest dining in the city.

Little Italy
Sure, most of the Italian families that built this neighbourhood have moved our, and you’re more likely to meet a Portuguese resident than one from Tuscany, but this lively neighbourhood is the undisputed spiritual center of Toronto’s Italian community. Located on a stretch of College St. between Euclid Ave and Shaw St. Little Italy is chockablock with trattorias, traditional pool halls, and cappuccino bars. Like Greek town to the east, on weekends Little Italy is jam packed on weekends, especially in the summer, when the sidewalks become cafes and the entire city seems to sipping dark espressos.

The Danforth/Greek town
Locals call it The Danforth, but this neighbourhood along Danforth Road between Chester and Jones Avenue is home to largest Greek population in North America. During the day comb the boutiques, shops and markets for Mediterranean delights like fresh-baked bread, kalamata olives and ooey-gooey good baklava. At night, the Danforth rivals Church & Wellesley for the city's favourite late-nigh hot spot.  Fantastic restaurants, most of them with a menu of authentic Greek dishes, serve dinner late in the evening, while clubs and cafés stay open until the wee small hours of the morning. 

The Beaches
It's not hard to guess what the draw of this neighbourhood is. Home to antique shops, clapboard cottages, quirky stores and seaside condominiums with a five-year waiting list, The Beaches has a laid-back attitude with all the Big City amenities. Plus, there's the fabulous beachside boardwalk, a 3 km stretch along the shore of Lake Ontario that's a favourite with joggers, dog walkers and picnickers from all corners of the city. There are sweeping views from the Scarborough Bluffs all the way to the point just west of Woodbine Avenue, and along the way there's a plethora of colourful shops and funky cafes. And in the summer the annual Beaches Jazz festival draws thousands from all over the city and surrounding area.

Niagara Falls
Legendary for its heart-shaped beds and honeymoon suites, as well as the Vegas-style strip of casinos, amusement parks and off-beat museums like Ripley's Believe It Or Not!, Louis Tussaud's Waxworks and Guinness World Of Records, there's really no where quite like Niagara Falls. But for all the tacky shops and tourist traps, nothing can compete with the cascading waters of the Seventh Wonder of World known simply as The Falls. With formations called the Horseshoe on the Canadian side and the American and Bridal Veil on the U.S. side, visitors flock to the Canadian side where the vantage point is superior and the deal for the dollar is better. Along with the beauty of this natural wonder, visitors enjoy a long and lovely stretch of car-free green park space, and numerous parks and gardens throughout the city. Driving in from Toronto, be sure to stop at some of the many vineyards and estate wineries that line the Niagara peninsula.

Niagara on the Lake
Known as the "Prettiest Town in Canada" tree-lined streets, clapboard and brick period houses make Niagara-on-the-Lake one of the best-preserved and prettiest 19th-century villages in North America. Home to one of Canada's most celebrated events, the Shaw Festival, Niagara on the Lake welcomes thousands of visitors to its cobbled streets, charming bed and breakfasts, and quaint shops. Spend a day enjoying the charms of this picturesque village with a carriage ride through the Old Town, or on a boat ride up the Niagara River. Be transported back to 1812 with a visit to historic Fort George, make some winged friends at the Butterfly Conservatory, or enjoy a round of golf at North America's oldest golf course. Just a short 1 and ½  hour drive from Toronto through the rolling vineyard's on Ontario's wine country, a short drive along the scenic Niagara Parkway leads to Queenston Heights and Niagara Falls. Rent a bike or join a guided bus tour of the many  wineries.

Mississauga's Neighbourhoods and villages in the city

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