One day in Toronto

Day by day

1. Day 1: CN Tower and Ripley's Aquarium of Canada

   CN Tower, Ripley's Aquarium of Canada, Royal Ontario Museum and Art Gallery of Ontario, then Nathan Phillips Square in the evening.

   1. Morning

      CN Tower

      Go about an hour before sunset to see the city by day and lit up, and skip it on hazy or low-cloud days. Allow 1.5–2 hours.

   2. Late morning

      Ripley's Aquarium of Canada

      Late-evening sessions and weekday mornings are much quieter than weekend afternoons. Allow 2–3 hours.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Peameal bacon sandwich

      Carousel Bakery and other counters at St. Lawrence Market.

   4. Afternoon

      Royal Ontario Museum

      Start with the dinosaur gallery before school groups arrive, then pick two or three other galleries rather than trying to see everything. Allow 3 hours.

   5. Late afternoon

      Art Gallery of Ontario

      Head first for the Group of Seven rooms, then climb Gehry's spiral staircase at the back of the building. Allow 2–3 hours.

   6. Evening

      Nathan Phillips Square

      Come after dark for photos of the lit sign, and bring or rent skates in winter.

Before you go

• CN Tower: Timed tickets bought online avoid the longest queues; EdgeWalk must be booked well ahead.
• Ripley's Aquarium of Canada: Book a timed ticket online for weekends and school holidays.

If it rains

• Swap in St. Lawrence Market (Old Town): Come hungry on a weekday morning or early on Saturday, before the lunchtime crowds.
• Swap in Casa Loma (The Annex): Climb the towers for the view, and approach on foot up the Baldwin Steps from Spadina Avenue.
• Swap in Hockey Hall of Fame (Financial District): Pair it with a Maple Leafs or Raptors game at nearby Scotiabank Arena if your dates line up.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 9–12 hours of visiting over one day, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 8.9 hours in December to 15.4 hours in June, so in winter start early and keep museums for the afternoon.

Getting between stops: Metro. The TTC subway's Line 1 (Yonge–University) forms a U through downtown via Union Station, and Line 2 (Bloor–Danforth) crosses it east–west along Bloor Street.

More or fewer days

• 2 days in Toronto
• 3 days in Toronto
• 4 days in Toronto
• 5 days in Toronto
• 7 days in Toronto

Questions travellers ask