Toronto/Harbourfront

By streetcar

The 509 LRT streetcar line runs underneath Bay Street from the Union Station subway station to an underground station at the intersection with Queen's Quay West, at which point it leaves the tunnel and proceeds West along Queen's Quay in a separate right-of-way, making stops at the major intersections; its western terminus is Exhibition Place. The 510 LRT streetcar line follows the same route from Union Station to the intersection of Queen's Quay and Spadina Avenue, at which point it turns and heads north on Spadina, still in its own right-of-way, to Spadina subway station at the intersection of Spadina and Bloor Street. The 511 streetcar line runs with traffic along Bathurst Street from Bathurst subway station to the intersection of Bathurst and Fleet Street, where it turns and follows the same route as the 509 West to Exhibition Place.

By subway and train

The nearest subway station is Union Station. From there you can either take the 509 or 510 streetcars to Queen's Quay or you can walk south along Bay Street from Front Street, underneath the railway tracks and the Gardiner Expressway to Queen's Quay. Union Station is also the main terminus for commuter and intercity trains.
For more information on the subway and streetcar lines, visit the Toronto Transit Commission website

By car

The Gardiner expressway runs the length of the harbourfront one block north of Queen's Quay and there are exits at Spadina, York, Bay, and Jarvis. There is a large parking garage underneath the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel and several commercial surface lots, including ones at Queen's Quay and York Street, Queen's Quay and Rees Street, on Bay Street across from the Air Canada Centre and on Queen's Quay next to the Redpath sugar refinery.

By plane

Billy Bishop Toronto City AirportThe island airport (Porter Airlines, Air Canada) is accessed by a tunnel from the mainland at Bathurst Street south of Queens Quay West. See the Toronto article for further details.

The Waterfront is massive redevelopment of the city's 46-kilometre waterfront in the city. The redevelopment of Queens Quay West was completed in 2015 providing a bicycle path and a wider pedestrian area. Toronto's waterfront is already quite spectacular, with galleries, walking trails and art, film and theatre complexes. Redevelopment of Queens Quay East is still underway, but there are a few sites to see east of Yonge Street.
Sites are listed from east to west.

• Sherbourne Common

  address: 61 Dockside Dr
  Sherbourne Common is a modern park with a 240-meter long water channel, three nine-metre tall art sculptures, and 182 planted trees. Underground, there is a water filtration plant.

• Sugar Beach Park

  address: 11 Dockside Dr
  Sugar Beach has a sandy beach with ornamental lighting, umbrellas, Muskoka chairs, a rocky amphitheatre, and pedestrian areas paved with granite setts arranged in a stylized maple leaf motif. The beach, on a former industrial dock, has sunbathing but no swimming facilities. Across from Sugar Beach, you might see a large ship unloading sugar at the sugar plant.

• Redpath Sugar Museum

  address: 95 Queen's Quay East
  This small museum is in the enormous Redpath Sugar Refinery and details the production of sugar.

• Pier 27

  address: 29 Queens Quay E
  Pier 27 is a condominium development on a former industrial wharf. It contains glass-faced buildings with an unusual design: There are four 10-story towers, and on top of them sit 3-story buildings like large box-like bridges at different angles overlapping and connecting pairs of 10-story buildings. Between the two main buildings there are a series of metal sculptures mostly resembling giant blooming flowers. At the rear of the buildings is a peaceful wharf promenade with benches where you can watch ferries depart to the Toronto Island. On the west side of Pier 27, you can usually get a view of the Trillium, a side-wheel ferry built in 1910 and now in semi-retirement.

• Yonge Street plaque

  address: Yonge St at Queens Quay
  This is the southern end of Yonge Street where there is decorative bronze plaque set in the sidewalk to promote the urban myth that Yonge Street is the longest street in the world. Until 1999, the Guinness Book of World Records supported this myth because it incorrectly assumed that provincial Highway 11, long, and Yonge Street, long, were one and the same. Yonge Street is only a relatively small portion of Highway 11. There is also a Yonge Street map at Yonge and Dundas Streets again to promote this urban myth.

• Banksy mural

  address: 1 York St
  A Banksy graffiti mural, depicting a policeman and dog, is on concrete slabs placed in a glass case. The slabs were carefully salvaged from a demolished building. Banksy created the piece during a 2010 visit, and the work is the only survivor from that visit.

• Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery

  phone: +1 416-973-4949
  address: 231 Queens Quay W
  Exhibitions rotate, consult the website to see what's on display.

• Harbourfront Centre

  address: 235 Queens Quay West
  Harbourfront Centre is the arts and entertainment hub of the district. In the summer there is a full schedule of events and performances for the whole family.

• Bill Boyle Artport

  phone: +1 416-973-4600
  address: 235 Queens Quay W
  Art gallery and workshops. On the east side of the building, there is a raised aisle where visitors can look into artist workshops. Sometimes, the art gallery is empty when there is a change in exhibits.

• H T O ParkThis public park by the water's edge contains a sandy area with beach umbrellas and lounge chairs. It is used for relaxing, sunbathing but not for swimming. On the west side of the park, one may see two fire fighting boats beside a fire hall. The name H T O is a play on H 2 O and "TO" which is a nickname for Toronto. There is also a H T O West Park, without a sandy area, just across the inlet from the fire hall.

• Spadina Quay Wetlands

  address: 441 Queens Quay W
  An urban wildlife sanctuary and wetland restoration site.

• Toronto Music Garden

  address: 479 Queens Quay West
  Designed by cellist Yo Yo Ma and landscape designer Julie Moir Messervy, the Toronto Music Garden is an interpretation of Bach's First Suite for Unaccompanied Cello. Wheelchair accessible.

• Ireland Park

  address: Queens Quay W
  Ireland Park contains a memorial about the Irish Potato Famine of the mid-19th century. This memorial, depicting life-size statues of hunger victims, is similar in style and identical in purpose to a memorial on the Liffey River in Dublin.

• Queen's Wharf Lighthouse

  address: Fleet St
  This quaint lighthouse was built in 1861, decommissioned in 1911, and moved to its current site in 1929.

• Fort York National Historic Site

  address: 250 Fort York Blvd
  Fort York is a historic site of 19th century military fortifications and barracks. The fort was built by the British Army and Canadian militia troops in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, to defend the settlement and the new capital of the Upper Canada region from the threat of a military attack, principally from the newly independent United States. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1923.

• Trillium Park

  address: 955 Lake Shore Blvd W
  The park has natural-looking landscape with native tree and shrub species, trails, rolling landforms, rock outcrops, pebble beach and a great view of the CN Tower and downtown skyline.

• Exhibition Place

  address: 200 Princes' Blvd
  In addition to the exposition buildings, there are a few other sites of interest at Exhibition Place, Toronto's fair grounds. Except during the CNE, admission is free. See also Exhibition Place events.

• Princes' GatesThe Princes' Gates is a large ceremonial Beaux-Arts monument marking the eastern entrance to Exhibition Place. The gates are named for Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII), and his brother, Prince George (later the Duke of Kent), who visited in 1927. The monument is a 300-foot-long, 18-column structure with a 41-foot-high central arch, topped by the Goddess of Winged Victory statue. There are nine pillars to either side of the main arch, representing the nine Canadian provinces in existence at the time of construction. Flanking the central arch are various figures representing progress, industry, agriculture, arts, and science.

• BMO Field

  address: 170 Princes' Blvd
  Home of the Major League Soccer team Toronto FC since it began play in 2007, with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League joining them in 2016. The current capacity is 30,000, normally restricted to 25,000 for Argos games, but can be expanded with temporary seating. With Canada now confirmed to be cohosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup alongside the US and Mexico, it is likely the stadium will be expanded to 40,000 in time for that event.

• Shriners' Peace MemorialLocated in a Rose Garden, this monument depicts a winged angel holding aloft a crown of olive branches and standing upon a globe held aloft by female sphinxes. The Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (better known as the Shriners) presented the monument to the people of Canada on June 12, 1930 as a symbol of peace and friendship between the United States and Canada. The winged angel faces the Niagara River, which forms part of the Canada-United States border.

• Fort Rouillé MonumentA large obelisk marks the site of the French-built Fort Rouillé erected in 1750 and 1751. The governor of New France ordered its construction to establish a French presence in the area, and to intercept the trade of Indians traveling towards an English fur-trading post in present-day Oswego. It was a small palisaded fort with a bastion at each of its four corners, and contained five main buildings: a corps de garde, storeroom, barracks, blacksmithy, and a building for the officers. The French garrison destroyed the fort in 1759, while retreating from invading English forces. The outline of the original fort has been marked out in concrete around the obelisk.

• Scadding CabinThis one-room cabin is located adjacent to the Fort Rouillé Monument and behind the CNE Bandshell. It is the oldest building in Toronto. It was built by the Queen's York Rangers in 1794 on behalf of John Scadding, who served as clerk to John Graves Simcoe, the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada. The original cabin was moved from its original site on the Don River and to its present site just prior to the opening of the Toronto Industrial Exhibition (later the CNE) in 1879.

• Toronto Harbour Tours

  phone: +1 416-203-7786
  address: 145 Queens Quay W
  Boat tours of the harbour.

• Mariposa Cruises

  phone: +1 866-627-7672
  address: 207 Queens Quay West
  Harbour tours. There is a by the wharf.

• Tallship Cruises Toronto

  phone: +1 416-203-2322
  address: Great Lakes Schooner Company, 249 Queen's Quay West, Suite 111
  Cruises on a tall sailing vessal. The is located where the ship Kajama moors.

• Fleck Dance Theatre

  phone: +1 416-973-4000
  address: 207 Queens Quay West, 3rd Floor, Queen's Quay Terminal
  Features modern dance and theatre performances from around the world.

• Harbourfront Canoe & Kayak Centre

  phone: +1 416-203-2277
  address: 283 Queens Quay W
  Canoe & Kayak Rental Service

• Wheel Excitement

  address: 249 Queen's Quay West
  Bicycle and inline skate rental. Located right on the Martin Goodman Trail.

• Natrel Rink

  address: 235 Queens Quay West
  In the winter, the Natrel Rink is Canada's largest artificially-cooled outdoor skating rink. Skate rentals available. Music and Friday DJ nights.

• Exhibition Place eventsThe following are the major events at Exhibition Place. See also Exhibition Place for points of sightseeing interest.

• Canadian National Exhibition

  address: 200 Princes' Boulevard
  The Ex is a annual fair offering an amusement park (The Midway), a casino, live entertainment, an international market, agricultural exhibits including livestock and a variety of other exhibits. It is Canada's largest fair and the fifth largest in North America, with an average annual attendance of 1.3 million.

• Indy Toronto

  phone: +1 416 588-7223
  IndyCars race through the streets at Exhibition Place for a thrilling annual weekend event at Exhibition Place.

• Toronto FCThe first Major League Soccer team in Canada (since joined by teams in Vancouver and Montreal), TFC plays at BMO Field, which was built specifically for the team but later expanded to allow it to host the Argonauts (below). TFC has become one of the league's powerhouses, notably becoming the first Canadian team to claim the MLS Cup (league championship) in 2017.

• Toronto Argonauts

  phone: +1 416 341-ARGO
  Toronto's entry in the Canadian Football League, the team has existed since 1873—making it the oldest existing professional sports team in North America still using its original name. The Argos have won the CFL's championship, the Grey Cup, a record 17 times, most recently in 2017. The team joined Toronto FC at BMO Field in 2016.

Ontario PlaceOntario Place is a former theme park built on man-made islands that still hosts summer concerts at 2 outdoor venues:

• Molson Canadian Amphitheatre

• Echo Beach

• Harbourfront Centre Shop

  phone: +1 416-973-4993
  address: 235 Queens Quay W
  Some products are made by artists working within Harbourfront Centre's Craft & Design Studio.

• International MarketplaceOn weekends in the summer, the outdoor International Marketplace at Harbourfront Centre hosts a range of arts and crafts vendors.

• The Nautical Mind

  phone: +1 416-203-1163
  address: 249 Queens Quay W #108
  Independent book store specializing in marine books and charts.

• The Dock Shoppe

  phone: +1 416-362-3625
  address: 350 Queens Quay W
  Marine supply store.

• Queen's Quay Terminal

  phone: +1 416-203-3269
  address: 207 Queen's Quay West
  This shopping, restaurant and condo development is in a beautiful art deco warehouse. Since the closure of most shops by December 2015, Queen's Quay Terminal has changed from being a shopping centre to being an eatery centre with the opening of new or renovated eating establishments.

• Sobeys Urban Fresh

  phone: +1 416 603-1212
  Supermarket inside Queen's Quay Terminal shopping centre, with entrance off Queen's Quay. There is a salad bar and other prepared food which can be consumed at tables within the mall or on an outdoor patio overlooking a wharf, or to make a picnic to eat in one of the small parks on the waterfront. There is also an aisle for wine and beer, including refrigerated items, for consumption at home or in the hotel room.

• Tim Hortons

• Pearl Harbourfront Chinese Cuisine

  phone: +1 416 203-1233
  Cantonese cuisine including dim sum. More expensive than in Chinatown but the quality is generally better and you get a second-floor view of the harbour.

• The Goodman Pub & KitchenPub / restaurant with indoor seating plus a seasonal patio overlooking the harbour.

• Joe Bird

  phone: +1 647-977-2767
  Chicken-oriented menu; table service with seasonal patio seating overlooking the harbour, plus a food truck for take-out. The restaurant design has a surreal characteristic. If you approach the restaurant from within the mall, you will see the food truck parked next to the restaurant wall. If you look into the side window of the food truck, you will notice that the kitchen within is larger than the truck interior.

• Pie Bar

  phone: +1 647-341-7221
  Pasta and pies (but not sweet pies); table service with seasonal patio seating overlooking the harbour; take-out gelato counter on the mall side of the establishment.

BeaverTails

phone: +1 416-360-8245

address: 145 Queens Quay W

A pastry shop with a small seating area offering a line of fried dough pastries, hand stretched to resemble a beaver’s tail.

Lavazza Espression

phone: +1 416-366-0202

address: 225 Queens Quay W

Espresso bar. Light meals from the counter.

Swiss Chalet Rotisserie & Grill

phone: +1 416-596-7292

address: 266 Queens Quay W

Specialty: BBQ chicken with Chalet sauce.

Loblaws

phone: +1 416 304-0611

address: 10 Lower Jarvis St

Very large supermarket, however it is at the less developed end of the Harbourfront and the walk from the streetcar is about 700 metres. Three bus routes serve the store.

Also check the Drink section for pubs serving meals.

• Amsterdam BrewHouse

  phone: +1 416-504-1020
  address: 245 Queens Quay West
  14,000-sqft lakeside brewery & restaurant serving craft beer with local foods. Patio.

• The Slip

  address: 235 Queens Quay W
  Seasonal patio bar with a view of the harbour.

• Westin Harbour Castle

  address: 1 Harbour Square
  Indoor pool, gym and spa facilities, on-site restaurants.

• Radisson Admiral Hotel249 Queen's Quay West (at Harbourfront Centre). Outdoor pool, fitness centre, business centre, complimentary in-room wireless Internet. Restaurant and bar on-site.

• Fort York Library

  phone: +1 416-393-6240
  address: 190 Fort York Blvd
  Wi-fi, computers with internet access.

• Shoppers Drug Mart

  address: 390 Queen's Quay W
  Post office outlet within the store.

• Entertainment and Financial Districts
• Kensington and Chinatown
• Toronto Islands