Hi--I am visiting Toronto for the first time in a couple weeks, on business, but only for one day. I have free time between 9:30 am and 2 pm on a Wednesday. I will be disembarking from the subway at St. George Station and have to make my way to Union Station by 2 pm for my work appointment. I will not be carrying luggage. Can anyone suggest a good walking route that will allow me to get a good flavor of the city in that general area, in that amount of time? I would prefer stuff that I can walk by or through (food markets, parks, interesting buildings, etc.), not museums or retail shopping/boutiques. I am coming from Washington, DC. Thanks!
1
rgm
Walk east on Bloor st to University Ave and go south. You'll go past the Ontario Parliament buildings and then further south a few hospitals and insurance office buildings. The US consulate is also on University.
NO shopping malls etc.
Or walk east on Bloor st to Yonge st and then go south. It's an experience!
2
mclarjh
If you walk down University, take a couple of block detour west on Dundas to see the Art Gallery of Ontario.
3
ref_traveller
Respectfully, I would disagree about walking down University or Yonge; busy business-like streets.
From St. George station, hang a left on Bloor to Queen's Park and admire or admonish the Lee-Chin Crystal structure that is part of the Royal Ontario Museum. Rather than walk down Queen's Park, return on Bloor slightly to the path that runs behind the Musuem, known as "Philosopher's Walk." At the end of the path, hang a right on Hoskin and then a left on Tower and into the King's College part of the University of Toronto.Walk through King's College and to College Ave. Make a right on College, left on Spadina, and a left on Baldwin, a street lined with restaurants. Hang a right on McCaul and down past Dundas and the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Ontario College of Art and Design. Backtrack to Dundas and walk through Chinatown past Spadina to Kensington Ave. Going up Kensington, you enter Kensington Market, one of the city's most unique neighbourhoods. It will be quiet if you are there so early in the day but still worth a visit. After you wander Kensington (Kensington, Nassau, and Augusta Sts/Aves), make your way down to Queen St and head east to see Nathan Philips Square/City Hall/Old City Hall. If you are short on time, you can cut down to Union Station via Bay St. If you still have time, you can head east on King, Wellington, or Front to see, among other things, St. James Cathedral, the Flatiron Building, and, importantly, St. Lawrence Market. Have fun!
4
marka55
To walk from St George to Union takes less than an hour, it is only about 2 miles so you have plenty of time meander, you can go south on St George and then east of Harbord or east on Bloor and then south on University, both will take you through the University of Toronto and then to Queens Park, the Ontario Parliament (east on Bloor and then south on University will also pass the Royal Ontario Museum). South of College you will pass lots of hospitals, At Dundas a meander west of the Art Gallery of Ontario (and behind it the Ontario College of Art and Design) and a couple of blocks further west to Spadina will bring you to one of Toronto's Chinatowns. At Queen meander east to City Hall and Nathan Philips Square . At King meander east to Bay which is the financial centre of C|anada. At Union meander south to Lake Ontario and the Toronto islands.
6
ur_4194127055
Thank you, all--these are very helpful.
Looking forward to it!
They have all given you very reasonable and thorough
possibilites. Hope you enjoy your visit and that the day
affords you good weather.
7
Thorn Tree
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