Stand at the corner of Front Street and Parliament Street and you are standing in the "Old Town", the settlement that grew at the harbour's eastern end behind the sand-bar peninsula. Toronto spreads far beyond that corner now, along rivers and ravines, but the old grid is still a good place to start walking.
The city suits travellers who like museums, live performance, markets and long walks in equal measure, and who are happy to move between neighbourhoods rather than stay in one spot. It is a place where the cultural institutions are large and the neighbourhoods are distinct, and where a single day can move from a castle to a stadium to a pedestrian-only district of 19th-century distillery buildings.
This guide covers the sights and experiences worth your time, followed by a plan for a single day and answers to the questions visitors ask most often.
Top things to do in Toronto
1. Royal Ontario Museum
The Royal Ontario Museum is a museum of art, world culture and natural history, and it is the largest museum in Canada. Its collections span several fields, so you can shape a visit around whatever interests you most.
Because it is one of the largest museums in North America, allow more time than you think you need. It pairs naturally with the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art, which is dedicated to ceramics and housed in an exquisite contemporary building.
2. Art Gallery of Ontario
The Art Gallery of Ontario is the largest art gallery in Canada. It holds a great Canadian paintings exhibit and the world's largest collection of Henry Moore sculptures, and its European paintings exhibit includes a few excellent pieces, among them Rubens' The Massacre of the Innocents.
If you have a particular interest in the Canadian or European rooms, plan your route before you go in, since the gallery rewards a focused visit.
3. CN Tower
At 533 metres tall, the CN Tower is the third tallest free-standing structure in the world and the tallest in North America. It is the city's most recognisable landmark and the obvious orientation point for a first visit.
Combine it with the Rogers Centre next door, a large multi-purpose stadium with a retractable roof and home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball.
4. Casa Loma
Casa Loma is a step back in time to a period of European elegance and splendour. The museum has decorated suites, secret passages, a 250-m-long tunnel, towers, stables and beautiful 5-acre estate gardens.
The gardens and the tunnel are easy to overlook if you rush the interiors, so set aside time for both.
5. Distillery District
The former Gooderham & Worts distillery lands have been rejuvenated into a pedestrian-only village dedicated to the arts and entertainment. It has restaurants, festivals and art galleries housed in its 19th-century distillery buildings.
Because it is pedestrian-only, it works well as an unhurried afternoon or evening stop rather than a quick look.
6. Toronto City Hall
Toronto City Hall consists of two buildings forming a semi-circle overlooking Nathan Phillips Square. It is architecturally striking, and next door stands Old City Hall, now a court house, which has a more classical architecture.
Seeing the two together is the point, since the contrast between them is what makes the civic square worth a stop.
7. Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame is both a museum and a hall of fame dedicated to the history of ice hockey. It is the natural stop for anyone following the sport.
It sits in the downtown core, so it fits easily into a day that already includes the financial district and the old town streets.
8. Bata Shoe Museum
The Bata Shoe Museum is an offbeat museum devoted to shoes and footwear from cultures all over the world. It is a good counterweight to the larger institutions on this list.
It is compact, which makes it a sensible addition to a day built around the Royal Ontario Museum rather than a destination in itself.
9. Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art
The Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art is dedicated to ceramics and is housed in an exquisite contemporary building. The building itself is part of the reason to go.
It is the obvious companion to the Royal Ontario Museum, and visiting both in one outing saves you a second trip.
10. Spadina House Museum
Spadina House Museum is in a historic mansion dating from the 1860s, and the grounds contain a beautiful garden. It offers a quieter, domestic scale of history compared with the city's large museums.
Leave time for the garden rather than treating it as a backdrop to the house.
11. Black Creek Pioneer Village
Black Creek Pioneer Village is a recreation of life in 19th-century Ontario, consisting of over 40 historic buildings decorated in the style of the 1860s with period furnishings and actors portraying villagers.
The actors are what turn the buildings into a lived-in village, so go when you can linger and talk to them.
12. Textile Museum of Canada
The Textile Museum of Canada shows drawn from a 13,000-piece collection of textiles from around the world and from other collections. Exhibitions rotate, so what you see depends on when you visit.
It is a small, focused museum, best paired with other downtown stops rather than made the centre of a day.
13. Toronto Zoo
The Toronto Zoo is Canada's premier zoo, showcasing over 3,000 animals and over 300 species. It is a full-day outing rather than a stop on a downtown circuit.
Because it sits apart from the core sights, give it its own day and do not try to combine it with the museums.
14. Toronto Islands beaches
The third major beach area in the city runs along the south shore of the Toronto Islands. The area is pleasantly secluded, with most of the islands covered with parkland and a small amusement park. Hanlan's Point Beach on the western shore is the City of Toronto's only officially recognised clothing optional beach.
If you want a beach closer to the centre, the most popular section is in the aptly named Beaches neighbourhood; the beaches in the western end of the city in the Parkdale neighbourhood are a quieter alternative.
15. Edwards Gardens and the Toronto Botanical Gardens
Toronto is "the city within a park", with miles of parkland following the streams and rivers that flow through it. Edwards Gardens and the Toronto Botanical Gardens in the neighbourhood of North York might just be the place to start exploring this natural environment.
Look for the brown circular signs marking the city's Discovery Walks, which highlight the natural and human history of the region, including the Belt Line, Garrison Creek and the Humber River.
If you only have one day
Morning. Start at the Royal Ontario Museum, the largest museum in Canada, and follow it with the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art next door while you are still fresh. If you would rather spend the morning outdoors, walk the Discovery Walks route instead.
Afternoon. Head to the CN Tower for the view, then cross to the Rogers Centre, a large multi-purpose stadium with a retractable roof. Finish the afternoon at Toronto City Hall, where the two semi-circular buildings face Nathan Phillips Square and Old City Hall stands next door.
Evening. Spend the evening in the Distillery District, the pedestrian-only village of 19th-century distillery buildings given over to restaurants, festivals and art galleries. If you have energy left, the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Bata Shoe Museum are both compact enough to slot in earlier in the day.
Frequently asked questions
When is the best time to visit the Toronto Islands beaches?
The beaches along the south shore of the Toronto Islands are pleasantly secluded, with most of the islands covered with parkland and a small amusement park. Hanlan's Point Beach on the western shore is the city's only officially recognised clothing optional beach. If you prefer to stay closer to the centre, the most popular beach section is in the Beaches neighbourhood.
Which museums should I prioritise if I only have a day?
The Royal Ontario Museum is the largest museum in Canada and the Art Gallery of Ontario is the largest art gallery in Canada, so either can anchor a day. The Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art sits alongside the Royal Ontario Museum and is easy to add. The Bata Shoe Museum, the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Textile Museum of Canada are smaller and work well as additions rather than centres of a day.
What annual events might shape when I travel?
Doors Open is held the last weekend of May and opens more than 100 architecturally, historically, culturally and socially significant buildings, many normally closed to the public, with free admission at a number of the city's museums. Pride Toronto runs the last week of June. The Canadian National Exhibition runs from mid-August to Labour Day at Exhibition Place. The Toronto International Film Festival starts the Thursday night after Labour Day.
Where can I see live performance in Toronto?
Second City, the world-renowned comedy and improv theatre, has a location in Toronto in the club district of downtown. For theatre, the big theatres on Yonge Street stage large shows, while smaller theatres in the Annex and elsewhere offer original Canadian works, avant-garde and experimental theatre, small budget musicals and British murder mysteries. The Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts is home to the Canadian Opera Company and the National Ballet of Canada, and the Toronto Symphony plays in the acoustically renovated Roy Thomson Hall.
Pick the two or three places above that match how you like to travel, check the current details for each, and start building your days around them.