You want to explore Toronto in one day? Here are our tips!

So you are in Toronto – Hooray! Maybe you have a stopover in Toronto before your onward flight or you are on your way to Ottawa, Kingston, Niagara Falls or the United States. Whatever brings you to Toronto, no matter the purpose, it’s a great city (and the largest city in Canada) with plenty to explore. Since we have lived there for quite some time, we would like to show you in this blog post our complete plan (with restaurants and cafés) for a day in Toronto.

Early morning activity: Sunrise at Lake Ontario

Good morning! If you are in town early or have slept there for a night, you should watch the sunrise. If that doesn’t fit into your schedule, you can skip this section and start with breakfast. Read more about this topic here: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada

If you want to watch the sunrise or just take a morning walk, you should go to the Lake Ontario boardwalk. If you are downtown, you will end up at the “Harbourfront”. From there you can see Billy Bishop Airport. There is a path along the promenade that is popular with cyclists, walkers and joggers alike. You can sometimes even see the planes coming and going in the early morning sunshine.

The photo above was also taken in Toronto – but in the eastern end of the city in a neighborhood called “The Beaches”. You could go there to watch the sunrise – but it’s a 40-minute ride on the tram, which might be a bit long if you only spend one day in Toronto.

Location: Walk towards Harbourfront Centre: 235 Queens Quay West

Breakfast: Portland Variety

Now it is breakfast time – and you will need a good meal to prepare for the long day. Toronto is known for its many cafés/restaurants that offer a super delicious breakfast and/or brunch. We’ve had brunches in many different places around the city – literally across the city from the west end to the east end. However, if you are closer to downtown, you should visit Portland Variety for breakfast.

Portland Variety is located on King Street West (King West) and is an upscale and trendy place. There is always a lot going on at brunch time – and although the restaurant is very large, sometimes you have to wait until you get a seat. They also have a small “mini café” at the front if you just want a coffee and a pastry to go. However, we would recommend the right brunch if you have the time.

Eric once had Fried Egg Bravas and a Caesar and it was absolutely wonderful. In his opinion it was worth the wait! The menu varies according to the day and time of day. You can find more information on their website.

Address: 587 King St W, Toronto

Morning activity: Explore Downtown West/North End

There is a lot to see in Toronto and you will not have the time to discover everything. But with the right planning you can tick off some of the sights. Therefore, you should explore the best areas and sights in the north end of downtown in the morning and then work your way towards the water during the day.

Toronto is pretty good to explore on foot as it is so flat. However, it is a bit stretched out. So if you just want to walk all day, you might have sore feet at the end of the day. Therefore, in the following infobox we want to talk briefly about the transport possibilities in Toronto. Concerning the sights you could see in the morning, we recommend the following:

Areas that you can visit:

Kensington Market
Chinatown
Queen Street West
Queen’s Park
Trinity Bellwoods Park
Attractions:

Royal Ontario Museum
Art Gallery of Ontario
The Bata Shoe Museum
Casa Loma
The Toronto Sign in Nathan Phillips Square
Our tip: Depending on how much time you have, you can also join an ultimate day tour of Toronto, which includes the CN Tower, a harbour tour (depending on the season) and much more!

If you want to use public transportation, you’ll need a Presto Card or a day pass to ride the TTC (streetcars, buses, subway). Honestly, the TTC is good, but their payment systems aren’t always the best. We recommend buying a Presto card from a machine in one of the subway stations (or at the airport), loading it with CAD 15, and using public transportation that way.

You may also be able to purchase a “day pass” for the TTC, but these are supposedly sold from kiosks, and we thought most of them had closed to make way for the Presto Tap system. Honestly, we’re not sure this day pass is still an option. We would recommend the Presto Card.

You can also purchase a 24-hour ticket for the hop-on hop-off buses, which will take you between Toronto’s major attractions. This is just an idea and may be more convenient for you than public transportation.

Another great option is to explore Toronto by bike. There are also some great Toronto bike tours that will show you the sights. Riding a bike can be convenient, especially when Toronto’s traffic is at a standstill. While this is only an option for the warmer months of the year, it’s still an option.

Lunch: Smoke’s Poutinerie

It is lunchtime and you may want to try a classic Canadian meal that will fill you up and be delicious. We suggest you try Poutine – that’s that Canadian dish with fries, gravy and cheese curds! And there’s no better place to eat lunch in downtown Toronto than Smoke’s Poutine!

There you can choose Poutine in classic Quebec style (our favourite)… or add various add-ons like Pulled Pork. Smoke’s offers many different Poutine variations. And believe us, you’ll definitely get fed up.

There are several locations in the city, but the Adelaide St. location is best for you to get to your next activity. You can learn more on the website if you want to.