Is it possible to visit Toronto in one day? How to spend 24h in Ontario's capital city

The Six, this one of the many nicknames by which Toronto is called, is the protagonist of the second episode of 24h a.... , who (re)christened it so was American rapper Drake in a song. The

The Queen City is a very popular city in Italy, not only because of its geographical location, but mainly because of the concentration of Italians in the metropolitan area. Statistics in hand 1/3 of Italian-Canadians live here, confirming this are the direct flights of ITA Airways, Air Canada, as well as AirTransat and others.

24h a... the format of TFC

As we explained in the first installment of our new format, we don't want to be tour guides or sell tickets for attractions, but simply tell how to approach a long stopover around the world. Toronto can be a point of stopover to other destinations in Canada, the continental United States, and beyond. Here, then. our installment today aims to take those who have never been to this city, and also those who have been there but may have missed some places, on a 24-hour tour.

PS needless to say. even if you have a 10h stopover you have to be covered by accident and contingency insurance, if you have airport transits, the luggage guarantee is also very important, because the risk of losing your suitcase increases disproportionately when there are layovers in between. For this and all other insurance I recommend Heymondo's policies. (which for TFC readers are a given).

Landing in Toronto

Toronto has two main airports: the Toronto-Pearson International Airport (YYZ) and the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ).

Pearson is the largest and busiest airport, located about 27 km northwest of downtown Toronto. ITA Airways, Air Canada and all other carriers from Europe land here. It is well connected to downtown via the UP Express, a direct train that takes about 25 minutes to Union Station. Cabs, ride-sharing services, and public buses such as the TTC's 900 Airport Express are also available.

The Billy Bishop, located on an island near downtown Toronto., is very convenient for domestic flights and some destinations in the United States. It offers quick access to the city via a free ferry, which takes less than two minutes to cross the channel, or via a pedestrian tunnel. Once on the island, you can take a cab or bus, or walk to downtown in a few minutes.

Poodle's advice

For our family trips, we use the unmistakable and indestructible yellow trunk from Level8 When it pops up on the tape, it is impossible not to recognize it, the extra large handle is super convenient for dragging it around the street (we walked across the Canada/US border) and, if there is no better discount code, with TFC10 you save on all Level8 products.

Obviously the apps that work in Canada are the same ones we use in Italy, me for ride sharing I use Lyft cos so every ride becomes free Hilton points and I often receive discounts on rides.

For having the data, I never make packages with my operator, but I prefer to use Airalo's eSIMs because it's always cheaper, particularly because of being able to do a single data package that applies across North America, If you've never used Airalo with TFC20 you have 20% discount on the first eSIM and with TFC10 on all subsequent ones.

Canada like the United States is a place where you can still safely pay with cash, let's say the only cash I use is for tipping, where I can't do it with a credit card, because you pay anything with the card and you get points. Then Using the Miles&More Gold Mastercard you don't even have fees And so it's even better.

Moving to Toronto

Toronto is well served by public transportation (streetcars, buses, and subways), so it will be easy to move between stops using a TTC Day Pass, ideal for unlimited travel in 24 hours. The Financial District area then is all "walkable" from the waterfront, to City Hall, from Union Station to the CN Tower you can easily walk around.

What to see in Toronto in a day (with kids)

Since I was not traveling alone this time, we were with family, In the list of things to see, I have also included some ideas designed especially for family trips, but first a small premise. In Toronto, the big difference on what to do is the period. It can be freezing cold in the winter and very hot in the summer, so not all of the ideas I thought of are viable year-round.

After popping into the iconic City Hall Square, with the giant TORONTO sign. I recommend going towards the CN Tower, one of the icons of Toronto. You can climb up to the viewing platform and admire the view from above, it is located above Rogers Stadium and in front you find the Ripley's Aquarium, an interesting attraction, especially if you are with children. From here you can move to the St. Lawrence Market is the city's historic market, perfect for a lunch break. With a full belly, one can walk leisurely to the Distillery District, a former distillery transformed into a cultural, food and wine and alternative shopping hub.

If it's season (and there are games) I say definitely go see a baseball game, also not all of it, but the stadium is downtown and is a classic American tradition. Tickets are bought on resell platforms, and if it is midweek last minute they cost a few tens of dollars, even 10 minutes before it starts or after it has started (it lasts no less than 2 hours anyway).

If the season permits (and you have children) one option is to take a water cab, or free ferry, to Middle Island. Here you can go to the beach for swimming, a walk to get away from the concrete, or take the children to Centerville, an amusement park suitable for young and old.

On the other hand, if you are short of time, you take the ferry just to get to/from without spending a euro and admire the Toronto skyline. It simply departs from the pier a few steps from the CN Tower, arrives at Middle Island, does not disembark, and returns.

Few people know it, but Toronto has a small Times Square. It is called Yonge-Dundas Square and here is the famous Eaton Center a shopping mall where more than 1M people enter every week. There are also many tourist locations in the area such as the Hard Rock Cafe and the store of city professional teams such as Raptors and Toronto FC.

This is a location I discovered while I was in Toronto, is called Casa Loma, and it is a fake castle in downtown Toronto. A beautiful location, built by a "patron" in the 1800s. Very nice if you have children or are a cinephile, as it has been used as a location for dozens and dozens of movies. For Marvel fans in X-Men,  Charles Xavier's "School for Gifted Youth" was here. For fans of Musicals several scenes from Chicago were filmed here, and for the children of the 70s/80s this was where Tom Cruise made drinks in the movie Cocktails.

After Casa Loma, I recommend that you take a Lyft (or an Uber) and have it take you to the Dutch Dreams, a truly crazy place to eat ice cream of epic proportions.

Where to sleep in Toronto

One is spoiled for choice. We stayed at the Sheraton using Marriott Bonvoy points, but in the Financial District area there are Hilton. The good thing about this property is definitely the location, in general I absolutely recommend sleeping in this area, you don't waste time and everything there is to see is within walking distance and overlooks Queen Street.

Day trip to Niagara Falls

From Union Station you can take a bus and in less than 2 hours get to Niagara Falls.

There is enough time to do everything there is to do and see what there is to see. The two cities on their respective shores are tourist traps, so best to spend as little time as possible so as not to bleed your wallet dry. Of course wanting to there are also several hotels where you can sleep e in this case I recommend without ifs and buts to do it Canada side.

In the summer every night there is also a fireworks display that lights up the falls, which is also a once-in-a-lifetime thing to see.

In conclusion

Toronto can be visited in 24h without major problems, certainly I would say 3 days is the right amount of time to see everything important, but if you have a long layover you can definitely get out of the airport, go downtown and visit the city, at least in its key places.

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