Old Toronto – The Harbourfront and Entertainment District
The CN Tower is now the undisputed symbol of the city of Toronto. This giant television tower is the tallest structure in the Western world today and a leading tourist destination that has turned Toronto's harborfront from a gray area into the heart of visiting the city. At the top of the tower, there are plenty of tourist attractions, besides the breathtaking view of the lake. Below it, you'll find other attractions like Canada's Aquarium and the massive Rogers Stadium. South of the tower is the beautiful lakeside promenade, and to the north, Toronto's Entertainment District, which also boasts numerous attractions, interesting skyscrapers, theaters, and bustling streets.
How long should you spend at Toronto's Harborfront and Entertainment District?
To explore the vicinity of the CN Tower and Toronto's Entertainment District, you should allocate about half a day.
The Harborfront is the preferred accommodation area in Toronto and is full of excellent hotels
Click here to check availability and prices in Toronto hotels…
10 Things You Must See and Do at Toronto's Harbourfront and Entertainment District?
- All the attractions high up at the CN Tower – the observation deck, the SkyPod, the EdgeWalk, and finish off with lunch at the revolving 360 Restaurant
- Have fun with the kids at Ripley's Aquarium of Canada
- Lunch and tastings at St. Lawrence Market
- The vintage cars at the Toronto Railway Museum in Roundhouse Park
- A Blue Jays game at Rogers Centre
- The downtown skyline and CN Tower view from Toronto's Harbourfront
- History at Fort York
- Quality films at TIFF Bell Lightbox
- Rubbing shoulders with national heroes at the Hockey Hall of Fame
- Beautiful skyscrapers of the Toronto Dominion Centre
Click here for the complete travel guide to Toronto…
Click here for a free guided tour in downtown Toronto…
Click here for a day trip from Toronto to Niagara Falls…
Click here for Toronto's Hop-On Hop-Off bus…
What are Toronto's Harbourfront and Entertainment District?
Toronto's Harbourfront used to be a grey transportation hub that benefited from the charming waterfront of Lake Ontario. During the 1960s, the city of Toronto decided to invest in the area and transform it into a tourist space. The train sheds and numerous rail lines were wiped out, replaced by modern buildings and green spaces.
- With the completion of the CN Tower in 1976, originally built as a communications infrastructure, the entire area became Toronto's most popular tourist destination
- The CN Tower has become a symbol of the modern city and the undisputed ruler of the skyline over Lake Ontario.
- The Harbourfront has been transformed into parks and promenades that now allow easy access to marinas or a fun lakeside stroll.
- Alongside the CN Tower, other important attractions were built, such as Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) and Ripley's Aquarium of Canada, the massive aquarium that has become a very popular tourist destination.
Toronto's Entertainment District actually begins from the CN Tower and stretches north into the area known as Toronto's Old Town. This is part of the city's historic center and also features some old buildings (by Canadian standards).
- In the district, there are bustling streets in the shadow of the financial district's towers, theatres, large urban hotels, restaurants, and shops.
- The district is the base for the Toronto Film Festival, held in the city every September.
- The neighborhood is also home to the Hockey Hall of Fame, which has become a popular local attraction, especially due to Canadians' avid love for the winter sport.
- On the eastern side of the neighborhood is the St. Lawrence Market. It's one of the liveliest places in downtown Toronto and a particularly fun spot for lunch.
Click here for a guided bike tour in the heart of Toronto…
Map of Toronto's Harbourfront and Entertainment District
Everything to see and do in Toronto's Harbourfront and Entertainment District
CN Tower
The soaring CN Tower is Toronto's symbol and the tallest tower in North America (about 40 meters taller than the One World Tower in Downtown Manhattan). The tower overlooks Manhattan's harbourfront and the Roundhouse Park, which houses the Toronto Railway Museum and is adjacent to Ripley's Aquarium of Canada. It's also considered the southern border of Toronto's entertainment district. Completed in 1976, the tower was originally built as a television tower, but quickly became a full-fledged tourist attraction.
The mast of the CN Tower stands at 553 meters. The tower features an accessible observation deck at 447 meters known as the SkyPod. Almost a hundred meters below the SkyPod is the tower's famous revolving restaurant, 360 Restaurant, which moves above the skyline at a height of 355 meters and completes a full rotation in just over an hour.
Beneath the restaurant is an observation deck at a height of 342 meters, featuring a glass floor you can walk on and see the street below. Next to the restaurant, another popular attraction completed in 2011 is the EdgeWalk, where you can get harnessed and walk right on the edge.
Address: Bremner Blvd. 290, Toronto
Click here for a nighttime tour of Toronto + CN Tower ascent for a view filled with lights…
For the current operating hours and prices of the CN Tower, click here…
Ripley's Aquarium of Canada
Ripley's Aquarium (you know, the “believe it or not?” folks) is located right at the foot of the giant CN Tower. This state-of-the-art aquarium opened in 2013 and quickly became one of the main attractions of the American entertainment giant, known for its sideshow oddities beloved by the company's founder, Robert Ripley. Over the years, the company has evolved into a popular museum producer (but don't think of traditional museums—think more like the Madame Tussauds market), and Canada's aquarium is certainly one of their best.
The aquarium has more than 16,000 marine animals of all kinds. Many originate from the freshwater of the Great Lakes, but there are also tropical fish and other themed collections. Thanks to the intriguing mix of the aquarium concept combined with Ripley's genuine capitalist drive, the aquarium is considered particularly experiential (definitely compared to other aquariums in North America). The exhibition space features a wide range of attractions highlighting the most appealing marine creatures such as stingrays, various species of sharks, and a spectacular jellyfish display.
Address: Bremner Blvd, 288, Toronto
Click here for the latest hours of operation…
Roundhouse Park and Toronto Railway Museum
The Roundhouse Park is named after the large historic railway hangar next to it. The park is an urban renewal of what used to be the Railway Lands, the gigantic train depot of downtown Toronto that evolved from a very gray place to a slightly less gray one with some green. Today, the large half-circle shaped hangar structure is home to the Toronto Railway Museum and the popular Steam Whistle Brewing.
The railway museum itself is a very pleasant place to visit. It includes the original facilities left from the depots and a display of carriages and locomotives, some vintage and others more modern.
Address: 255 Bremner Blvd., Toronto
Click here for the museum's updated operating hours…
Click here for a beer tasting tour at all the special spots in downtown Toronto…
Rogers Centre
The Rogers Centre, formerly known as the SkyDome, is the massive structure complementing the rare concentration at the foot of the CN Tower. It was the first stadium in the world to have a retractable roof. The stadium is home to the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team from the MLB and was previously the stadium for the Toronto Argonauts football team and the Toronto Raptors NBA team.
The stadium opened in 1989 and can accommodate 40,000 spectators in the stands. Today, after the departure of the Raptors and the Argonauts, the stadium also hosts major events such as shows, concerts, and other sports events.
Address: One Blue Jays Way, Toronto
Click here to purchase online tickets for a Blue Jays game at the Rogers Centre…
The Toronto Harbourfront
Across from the Gardiner Expressway, the highway connecting Toronto with Niagara Falls, lies the Harbourfront promenade. It's a pleasant area for a walk right on the shores of Lake Ontario. From the Toronto Music Garden to HTO Park Beach, a delightful walkway known as Queens Quay stretches. The promenade is perfect for walking or jogging with a stunning view of the CN Tower and Toronto's downtown skyscrapers. The area features hotels, restaurants, and art galleries.
Click here for a cruise to the Harbourfront and a guided tour of Toronto's skyline…
Opposite the Harbourfront are the Toronto Islands. This is a green and pleasant area to stroll around, offering a breathtaking view of downtown Toronto and, of course, the CN Tower.
Click here for a day trip from Toronto to Niagara Falls (+ cruise and lunch)…
Fort York National Historic Site
The city's historic fort is located just west of the CN Tower. It's a British fort built in 1793 that became a focal point of battles between the British and Americans during the War of 1812 (actually, the battles in Toronto took place in 1813). After the war, the British restored the fort and turned the entire area into a large military base. The buildings that remain in Garrison Common Park are the residences of soldiers at the British military base.
The entire park and the buildings are part of the Fort York National Historic Site. You can enter the site and see the British soldiers' quarters and the fortifications surrounding the camp. It is also the most patriotic Canadian site within Toronto and the place where the city's official state ceremonies are held.
Click here for the site's current operating hours…
Fairmont Royal York Hotel
The central train station of downtown is located slightly east of the CN Tower. This is the historic Union Station, which still channels all access to the Old Town of Toronto. Directly across from the station is the flagship hotel of the luxury hotel giant Fairmont, based in Toronto.
The historic and grand hotel was built in 1929 and was officially the gateway to the city. Nowadays, the downtown towers overshadow it, but nothing can take away the grandeur of the building's facade. The hotel is five-star rated and is one of the most famous in the city, not only due to its quality and location but mainly because of the building's appearance.
TIFF Bell Lightbox
The TIFF Bell Lightbox is the heart of Toronto's Entertainment District, just two blocks west of the grand Royal Alexandra Theatre. It's a massive cinema complex built on cinematheque principles, hosting screenings for the local film festival – the Toronto International Film Festival. ‘TIFF' is naturally an acronym for the festival held in the city every September, considered the largest of its kind in the world.
During the festival, the TIFF Lightbox hosts the red carpet event and is brimming with Hollywood stars. Throughout the rest of the year, it functions as a venue showing quality films. It's also worth visiting the complex for the open galleries where you can learn a lot about the festival.
Address: 350 King St. W, Toronto
Hockey Hall of Fame
No sport is more symbolic of Canada than hockey. This icy white sport evolved from Britain’s field hockey and quickly translated in Canada to ice skating and using a puck, a flat disk hit with sticks. Hockey is the most popular sport in Canada, associated with the cold and ice but also with the super-polite Canadian character for whom this sport acts as a form of sublimation and emotional release. Canadian hockey is very violent in nature, both in professional teams and in shinny games, the lawless hockey games that Canadians love to play in winter.
The Hockey Hall of Fame and NHL headquarters are naturally located in Toronto. The city is home to the Toronto Maple Leafs, the second most decorated team in the North American league, after their arch-rivals, the Montreal Canadiens. Both teams were founding members of the NHL in 1917 and together have won nearly 40 Stanley Cups (the Canadiens have won almost twice as many as the Maple Leafs).
The Hall of Fame moved to its current location within the Brookfield Place complex in Toronto’s Entertainment District in 1993. The site commemorates 300 professional hockey players who have made it into the Hall of Fame, as well as team founders and referees. It’s a popular spot especially for sports enthusiasts. The complex around it offers restaurants and galleries.
Two blocks east of the Hockey Hall of Fame is the historic Gooderham Building from 1892, one of the most beautiful remaining in downtown.
Address: 30 Yonge St., Toronto
Click here for the museum's current hours of operation and costs…
The Toronto Dominion Centre
The Toronto Dominion Centre complex is located about a block and a half west of the Brookfield Place complex in Toronto's Entertainment District. It's a series of six black skyscrapers with a captivating presence that officially kicks off the city's financial district. The skyscrapers were built in 1969 as the headquarters for the Dominion Bank and now host the TD Gallery of Inuit Art.
Address: Wellington St. W, 66, Toronto
St. Lawrence Market
The most fun place in Toronto is located a bit east of the Hockey Hall of Fame. It's a large original food market that has become a must-visit destination in Old Town Toronto, especially around lunchtime when you start to get hungry. The market itself is much loved by the city's residents, divided into the North Market and the South Market. There are over 100 stalls operating in the area, selling fresh market produce and, most notably, high-quality street food. This is the spot to taste Toronto in the most immediate and delightful way possible.
Address: Front St. E 92-95, Toronto
Click here for the full Toronto Center food tour…
