One Day in Toronto, Canada: Toronto One Day Itinerary
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A detailed itinerary for one day in Toronto exploring the city’s vibrant neighborhoods, iconic landmarks, and delicious culinary scene.
A Day in Toronto: (Jump To)
The plan was to use Toronto as a home base for three different day trips; a visit to Canada’s Wonderland, a day at Six Flags Dorian Lake, plus a trip to Niagara Falls. We set aside just one day to explore Toronto, one of North America’s greatest cities.
We booked four nights at Ramada Plaza by Wyndham Toronto Downtown. We picked the hotel because it was close to the Toronto Subway (TTC) and within walking distance of The Village and Church and Wellesley. It ended up being the perfect home base for everything we planned for the long weekend, especially our One Day in Toronto.
24 Hours in Toronto
This is our one day in Toronto itinerary, follow it or use it as a Toronto trip planner.
Stop 1: Coffee and Breakfast
When in Canada breakfast at Tim Hortons is mandatory. We fueled up for our one day in Toronto with coffee and breakfast sandwiches. If you were to marry the best parts of Dunkin’ Donuts with the breakfast menu of McDonald’s you would have Tim Hortons. Inexpensive, fast, and delicious.
We used the machines to buy day passes for the subway. They use a system called PRESTO. A PRESTO card can be loaded with single trip tickets or full-day tickets Our pass for the day of unlimited rides cost CAN $13.50.
Stop 2: Yorkville Shopping
We scanned our PRESTO cards and made our way to Yorkville. This is the fancy-times Toronto neighborhood, home to the highest of high-end stores and dining. We slowly strolled down Yorkville Avenue. Designer shopping isn’t really our scene (we spend too much on travel), but the street was charming and a perfect stroll to introduce us to the morning sunshine.
Stop 3: Kensington Market
We were enjoying the weather so much we decided to forgo the subway and walk to another unique Toronto neighborhood, Kensington Market. We cut through the gorgeous St. George Campus of the University of Toronto landing us in the Kensington Market neighborhood in about thirty minutes.
Kensington Market is filled with beautiful Victorian homes and tall green trees. The shopping and dining vibe is that of a street fair or an artist’s community. You’ll find the vegan grocery next to the art gallery next to the vintage clothing shop. This is a must visit spot for your one day in Toronto.
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Stop 4: Poutine for Lunch
For lunch, we stopped by Smoke's Poutinerie. We split a bin of poutine, a Québec dish consisting of french fries topped with cheese curds and brown gravy.
Stop 5: Explore the Shore of Lake Ontario
We let our stomachs settle as we boarded a trolly car to the shores of Lake Ontario. Toronto borders the Great Lake to the North. We decided to walk the Martin Goodman Trail from Toronto Music Park to Harbor Square Park. The walk is about a mile and a great way to enjoy the shoreline of Lake Ontario. There are some small beaches along the way, but the walk is very much a city walk with tall buildings on the left and piers and boats on the right.
We ended our walk with another Canadian treat, a beavertail from BeaverTails. A beavertail is a flat donut-style fried pastry pulled into the shape of a beaver’s tail. The pastry is often filled and topped with frosting much like a donut.
Stop 6: Climb the CN Tower
This was my third visit to Toronto. On the two prior trips, I made sure to go to the top of the iconic CN Tower. If this is your first time in the city you should add a visit to the tower to your one day in Toronto itinerary.
Stop 7: St. Lawrence Market
Our next stop was St. Lawrence Market a huge two-story complex selling mostly food items. The building is over 100 years old. Inside you’ll be overwhelmed with food choices ranging from a standard produce stand to a vendor specializing only in peanuts. Stuffed from our poutine and beavertails we regrettably did not have any room to enjoy any of the amazing-looking vendors. This would be an amazing place to have lunch.
Stop 8: Eaton Centre Mall
A huge bastion of commerce, The Eaton Centre, was our next destination. The enormous shopping mecca is North America’s busiest shopping mall. An avid shopper could easily spend an entire day here. The Hudson’s Bay store alone is eight stories tall. Inside the mall, you’ll find all your favorite mall stores and a few local specialties like Canadian Naturalist and Indigo Books.
Stop 9: Dinner Near Chinatown
For dinner, we visited Pai, a Northern Thai restaurant on the outskirts of Chinatown. It was recommended to us by the Canadian Border Patrol officer who checked us in through immigration. It had quite a line outside, which is always a good sign. We waited for about thirty minutes before getting to our table. It was worth the wait. We ordered family-style dishes of Panang Curry and Pad Gra Prow. Delish!
Stop 10: Night Out in The Village
We went back to our hotel to freshen up before heading out to The Village for a few drinks before bedtime. The Village is home to the LGBTQIA+ nightlife in Toronto. Our first stop was Woody’s. It’s a huge space with a stage for shows and cheap cocktails. We crossed the street to Boutique Bar and enjoyed a specialty cocktail on their outdoor porch before heading back to Woody’s as it started to get more crowded. We would have stayed longer, but we needed to be up early to get a head start on the crowds at Canada’s Wonderland.
Things To See in Toronto:
CN Tower
Yorkville Shopping District
Kensington Market
St. Lawrence Market
Eaton Centre Mall
The Village (LGBTQIA+ nightlife area)
Toronto Music Park
Harbor Square Park (Martin Goodman Trail)
