Toronto Small-Group City Tour with CN Tower and Harbour Cruise

The CN Tower: observation level and glass floor

Your tour begins at the CN Tower, the 553-metre concrete tower completed in 1976 that is the symbol of Toronto. With your entry included and skip-the-ticket-line access, you ride a glass-fronted elevator up to the observation level, where floor-to-ceiling windows open onto views of the city, the islands and Lake Ontario.

You have about an hour at the top. Step out onto the outdoor terrace at 342 metres to feel the breeze, then walk on the glass floor, the first of its kind in the world when it opened in 1994, and look straight down at the ground far below. Many visitors ask whether the CN Tower is worth visiting; with tickets arranged and a guide to explain the view, it is the perfect start to a day in Toronto.

Driving tour: Sankofa Square and Queen's Park

From the tower your guide leads a narrated driving tour of about 45 minutes in an air-conditioned vehicle through downtown. You pass Sankofa Square, formerly Yonge-Dundas Square, the bright crossroads of Toronto's main shopping street, and continue north to Queen's Park, the green oval around the Ontario Legislative Building.

The Legislative Building, opened in 1893, is a massive Romanesque Revival structure of pink sandstone, where the province of Ontario is governed. Along the way your guide explains how Toronto grew from a small colonial town into Canada's largest city, pointing out universities, museums and historic districts. This part of the tour is a good way to get your bearings and decide which neighbourhoods you want to explore later on your own.

Nathan Phillips Square, City Hall and the PATH

The next stop is Nathan Phillips Square, the main public square of Toronto, in front of the modern City Hall with its two curved towers around a round council chamber, opened in 1965. Here you have about 15 minutes for photos with the large Toronto sign, beside the reflecting pool and its three concrete arches, which becomes a skating rink in winter.

Your guide also tells you about the PATH, the vast network of underground walkways that links office towers, shopping centres and transit stations beneath downtown, allowing people to cross the financial district without stepping outside in winter. It is one of the largest underground shopping complexes in the world, and knowing how it works is useful for the rest of your stay in Toronto.

St Lawrence Market or the Distillery District

Next comes about 30 minutes at St Lawrence Market, a market site since 1803 and one of the most celebrated food markets in the world. Inside the historic red-brick hall, stalls overflow with fresh produce, cheese, breads, pastries and local specialities, and you have free time to shop or buy something quick to eat.

St Lawrence Market is closed on Sundays and Mondays, so on those days the tour visits the Distillery District instead, a pedestrian quarter of Victorian industrial buildings with brick lanes, galleries, design shops and cafés. Either way, your guide shares the story of Old Town, the original heart of Toronto, and points out nearby landmarks such as the red-brick Flatiron building on the way.

Toronto Harbour cruise or Casa Loma

From May to October, weather permitting, the tour ends with a relaxing one-hour cruise from the Harbourfront on Toronto Harbour. The boat glides past the Toronto Islands, and from the water you enjoy the classic view of the skyline with the CN Tower rising above the towers of downtown, one of the best photos of your trip.

Outside the cruise season, the tour visits Casa Loma instead, the Gothic Revival castle built between 1911 and 1914 on a hill north of downtown, with towers, terraces and lavish rooms. The cruise schedule varies from year to year, so our team confirms which version applies to your date. At the end of the tour, your guide drops you back at your hotel in downtown Toronto.