Downtown Toronto Archives - Delsuites' Blog

Downtown Toronto, Family Vacations in Toronto

What to See in Downtown Toronto for Every Kind of Traveller

August 6, 2025

You step out of Union Station, and the city instantly hums around you. Just a few blocks apart, you’ll find historic buildings, art galleries, waterfront views, and world-class food—all packed into one walkable core.

That’s Downtown Toronto for you. It’s where the city’s energy hits first and stays with you. Whether you’re here for a work trip or on a getaway with your whole family, it’s one of the best neighbourhoods in Toronto that can keep pace with almost any kind of traveller.

If you’re wondering what to see in Downtown Toronto, this guide will help you find places that match your plans.

Spoiler alert! There’s more here than most expect if you know where to look.

With DelSuites handling your hassle-free stay, you’re free to focus on your adventures.

Let’s get into it.

Welcome to Downtown Toronto

Downtown Toronto stretches from the waterfront at Lake Ontario up to Bloor Street and from Bathurst Street in the west to the Don Valley Parkway in the east. In between, you’ll find a dense mix of business, arts, culture, and everyday neighbourhood life.

What makes Toronto so magnetic is its diversity. Toronto is one of the most multicultural cities in the world, with 51% of its residents born outside Canada. This cultural mix gives its neighbourhoods, like the downtown core, their edge and makes them feel familiar.

Curious about what to see in Downtown Toronto? You won’t be short on options.

First-Timer Must-Sees

If this is your first trip to Toronto, you’ll want to experience the city’s signature sights and iconic energy. These spots offer a snapshot of what makes downtown special. Here are some you shouldn’t miss:

CN Tower: One of the tallest free-standing structures in the world. You’ll love the glass-floor observation level, daring EdgeWalk, and 360° city and lake views.
Harbourfront Centre: Located along Lake Ontario, it’s a scenic area full of parks, public art, and summer festivals. You can walk the boardwalk, rent a kayak, or ride a ferry.
St. Lawrence Market: This food and cultural hub dates back to the early 1800s. Today, you’ll find everything from peameal bacon sandwiches to artisanal cheeses and local produce.
Distillery Historic District: This repurposed Victorian industrial complex offers unique architecture, galleries, boutiques, and cafes. It’s perfectly walkable and blends history with modern charm.

Family-Friendly Spots

The downtown core also features attractions for families with kids, mixing fun, learning, and lots of green and open spaces to play and explore. The best ones include:

Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada: Located just beside the CN Tower, the aquarium amazes families with its underwater walkthrough tunnel and daily shark feedings. Kids and teens alike love touching the rays and appreciating the jellyfish displays.
Toronto Railway Museum: Just steps from Union Station, this historic site features restored steam locomotives and miniature trains. Families can explore indoor displays or ride the miniature railway on days of operation.
High Park Playground: West of Downtown, accessible by transit, this extensive green space includes multiple play structures, splash pads, and zoo enclosures. Families can picnic, rent paddle boats, and enjoy the park’s natural ravines.

For the Food-Loving Traveller

Toronto’s downtown core is a global foodie paradise. It’s your chance to sample flavours from around the world, but within walking distance. To name a few:

Kensington Market: This vibrant neighbourhood celebrates international flavours. Expect Jamaican patties, Mexican tacos, and vegan treats in a photogenic bohemian setting.
King Street West: Known for elevated cuisine and foodie favourites. Ideal for those seeking a refined culinary evening after sightseeing.
Queen Street West Food Tour: This thriving street serves as a foodie strip. Restaurants here feature fusion dishes from Korean-Mexican to plant-based delights.

Location: Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO)

Getting Your Culture Fix

Downtown is a cultural hotspot for anyone seeking inspiration. You’ll find world‑class galleries, indie shows, and historic venues at basically every corner, including:

Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO): Home to Canadian and Indigenous collections as well as European masterpieces. Its iconic wooden facade and large galleries are a showpiece of Toronto culture.
TIFF Bell Lightbox: The flagship venue of the Toronto International Film Festival, it shows indie films, retrospectives, and Q&A sessions.
Royal Alexandra Theatre & Princess of Wales Theatre: In the main theatre district, catch a Broadway musical, local production, or cultural event. Architecture buffs will also appreciate the historic building designs.
Graffiti Alley (Rush Lane): This urban street art gallery runs south of Queen Street between Spadina and Portland. It’s a colourful outdoor display that feels like visiting an evolving cultural exhibit.

Pet-Friendly Picks

Travelling with pets? No worries. The downtown core has pockets that welcome your four‑legged family member:

David Crombie Park: A connected green space stretching from Queen to Queen’s Quay East. Dogs can walk the paths off‑leash at designated times. It’s relaxed and less crowded than big parks.
Clarence Square Dog Park: A small off‑leash park in the core, popular with local dog owners. It’s a social spot for both pets and owners and only steps from King and Bathurst.
Harbourfront Trails: Wide waterfront paths that welcome pets on a leash. The breeze off Lake Ontario is enjoyable for everyone, with benches along the route for rest.
Trinity Bellwoods Park (edge of Downtown): A popular city dog spot with open lawns and shaded areas. There are dozens of pet‑friendly patios that line nearby Dundas Street West.

For Corporate and Business Travellers

Downtown Toronto is well set up for bleisure (business + leisure) travel. These are some locations to take note of as you go around:

PATH Network: The world’s largest underground pedestrian network, connecting office towers and transit stations. Ideal for those moving between client meetings or avoiding bad weather while on the go.
Union Station/Front Street Ride: Toronto’s transit hub links corporate offices with fast access to VIA Rail, GO Transit, and the UP Express to Pearson Airport.
Financial District Public Art Loop: Between meetings, take a walking tour of public sculptures on Richmond, Bay, and King Street. Great for a mindful break during a busy day.
BarChef on Queen Street West: Known for its immersive cocktail experiences and molecular mixology, this upscale lounge is ideal for business travellers looking to decompress.

Discover the City and Relax with DelSuites

Downtown Toronto is calling. Now that you know what to see in Downtown Toronto, you’ll see that the options are as diverse as the area itself.

After a packed itinerary, where you stay matters. With DelSuites, you don’t need to choose between comfort and convenience. Our fully furnished luxury rentals across the Greater Toronto Area offer everything you need to feel at home while you travel.

Whether you’re here for business, a family getaway, or anything in between, DelSuites makes your Toronto stay smooth from start to finish. Reach out today to plan a stay that fits your trip.

Business Travel, Downtown Toronto, Vacation Travel

Downtown Toronto Apartments: Stay Close to the Heart of Toronto

February 25, 2025

Toronto is one of the world’s most recognizable cities. With a multicultural and diverse undersetting, you can often see Toronto posing as other cities, like New York and Detroit in movies and television.

Many production studios film projects here, many corporations have offices here, and many people immigrate here from around Canada and the rest of the world.

Choosing which downtown Toronto apartment to stay in for your trip can really dictate the experience you have, cut down commute and help you explore and enjoy your trip even more.

Downtown Toronto Is In The Centre of the Action

The shared culture and diversity of Toronto means there is a wide variety of places to go and things to experience. In a way, Toronto culture is a condensed version of global culture.

Experience the Best of a Global City

Short-term rentals are the perfect solution for prospective condo owners and visiting working professionals to experience a global city like Toronto fully.

Downtown Toronto is not only walkable, but it is also cyclist and bike friendly. If you would instead take transit, you are also in luck. Our transit lines run 24/7, and you can easily purchase a transit pass at machines and stations spread throughout the city.

Getting across town is a breeze. We have buses, subway trains, and streetcars available to you, ensuring that you will get from our suites to your destinations in record time.

Toronto has many architectural and cultural achievements you can view, like Casa Loma, the Harbourfront, Little Italy, city parks, and more.

Providing A Clean and Healthy Stay To Our Guests

Providing a clean, healthy, and safe living experience to our clients is paramount. Safety is our top priority, and our ability to quickly pivot and offer our guests these and other services shows our commitment to you and your experience while staying with us.

We also offer travel flexibility for new reservations, in-house reservations, and third-party reservations, with generous cancellation and rebooking policies.

Discover the DelSuites Difference

Toronto is still alive, hustling, and bustling. Toronto continues to demonstrate why it’s considered a world-class city.

We take pride in our ability to offer bespoke furnished short-term rentals to clients in Toronto. Look at our listings for downtown Toronto on our website, and contact us today to begin the process of becoming a DelSuites customer.

Business Travel, Downtown Toronto, Fitness and Health, Lifestyle talk

Tips for a Healthy Workplace

February 20, 2025

Healthy workers are more productive workers – so what can you do to create a healthy workplace? Here are some tips to ensure that everyone is performing at their best.

Stretch Often

Stretching will help to prevent back, neck and shoulder strain and it will also increase circulation which will improve alertness and brain function.

Encourage all of your employees to take regular breaks from their work and stretch. You might even want to organize a morning stretching session where everyone starts their day with some stretches together.

Take Plenty of Breaks

Working too hard for long hours can cause burn-out and can make your employees tired, fed up and unable to concentrate. They will actually be more productive and alert and able to do quality work if they get regular breaks to recharge.

Create a breakroom area where your employees can go to recharge their batteries. It can have fun games to play, books to read, snacks, water and a few cozy places to sit. If you notice that one of your employees has been working on a project for a long time and they look a little bit tired or overwhelmed, encourage them to take a 15 minute break so that they can return to the work refreshed.

Provide Healthy Snacks

Instead of offering donuts and muffins in the break room and during meetings, why not provide your staff with healthy snacks instead? Sugary food will cause them to crash, but snacks such as fruit, nuts, crackers and vegetables with dip will give them energy to keep going.

Drink Water throughout the Day

Hydration is very important for health and drinking enough water throughout the day will help your employees in a number of ways. It will ensure that they are more alert, their immune systems are functioning well and they are able to concentrate better.
To facilitate your employees drinking more water you can place a water cooler in the office in a location that is convenient for everyone. Also, allow employees to keep water bottles at their desk so that they can sip water throughout the day.

Use Ergonomic Chairs

The human body isn’t designed to sit down for many hours per day and most ordinary chairs will cause a lot of strain on the back and hips. Also, being hunched over a computer monitor and typing on a keyboard without the right support can cause a lot of pain and discomfort.

It is worth investing in ergonomic chairs and keyboards for your office environment for a healthy workplace, as it will make a big difference when it comes to the comfort of your employees. Make sure that the chairs are adjusted to the right height and angle to ease strain on the back and shoulders, as this will be different for each employee depending on their height.

These are just a few of the ways that you can maintain a healthy workplace so that you can perform at your best.

Looking to stay downtown Toronto?

Whether you are planning a new expansion downtown Toronto or have been hired for a contract position, be sure to explore available short-term suites in Toronto today.

Downtown Toronto

Medical Stays in Toronto: What You Need to Know

July 20, 2024

If you are traveling for medical treatment – it can be a stressful experience.

Unlike traveling for a vacation, when you travel for medical stays in Toronto you may need to stay for awhile and you may be in some state of discomfort. This is why having a comfortable place to say is so important.

The short term, furnished apartments at The Livmore provide a convenient environment where you can rest and feel at home – which will help aid you in your recovery during medical stays in Toronto.

Toronto’s Medical System

Canada has a publicly funded, private provided healthcare system. Public Health Insurance is handled at a provincial level and when you go to see a doctor, it is covered by the taxes you pay.

This health-care system has an excellent reputation around the world and many international tourists visit to seek out treatment in high quality private clinics. In addition to the many robust public health facilities in Toronto, there are also a collection of high end clinics that offer treatment from doctors and specialist staff. (Here’s a guide to the best and worst hospitals in Toronto, from local website blogTO.)

Whether you’re coming to Toronto for a necessary operation, an examination or a cosmetic procedure, you’ll find the medical care in this city top notch.

Priorities for Your Medical Stay

When it comes to planning for a medical-related trip to Toronto, the following considerations will need your attention:

Cutting Down on Expenses

Medical treatments are a large expense, so anything you can do to save money in other departments is desirable. A short term rental offers better value compared to a hotel, so you can cut costs here.

Cooking For Yourself

When you are recovering from a surgery or an illness, you might need to adjust your diet. Also, you might not feel like dining out in a restaurant every night. Having your own kitchen allows you to prepare the food that suits your needs – in the privacy of your home away from home.

A Home-Like Atmosphere

It’s hard to relax fully in a hotel room, as it doesn’t give you the feeling of being at home.

Longer-Term Stay Options

Chances are, if you are visiting Toronto for medical reasons, you might need to stay for awhile as you recover. Furnished apartments offer longer term rental options, so you can take your time.

Necessary Medications

Make sure that you have a prescription for all medications that you will need to carry you through the duration of your stay – including painkillers and antibiotics. If you need to stock up, there are many pharmacies located nearby in downtown Toronto.

Friends and Family

Recovering from an operation or an illness is much easier when you have loved ones around to support you. Staying in a furnished apartment with multiple bedrooms allows you to bring companions along who can assist.

To learn more about the high-quality furnished apartments at The Livmore in downtown Toronto, you can contact us at any time.

Downtown Toronto, Entertainment, Food & Recipes

Top 5 Favourite Bars for Craft Beer in Toronto

July 7, 2024

Craft beer is big business in Toronto. According to the Ontario Craft Brewers Association, “there are currently over 100 craft breweries in Ontario employing over 1,000 people in direct brewery jobs across the province. This represents over 30 per cent of the direct brewery jobs in Ontario.”

Now that grocery stores will now have the opportunity to sell beer and wine, this will not replace your visit to your local bar to taste test brews. If you don’t want to stay in your furnished suite or apartment to drink, here are our favourite places in Toronto for this niche experience.

1. Bellwoods Brewery. The popular indie brewery on Ossington Ave–with its white picket fence and prime people-watching patio– is listed as one of the 100 best breweries in the world by Rate Beer. Sip and savour on IPAs, stouts, single hop series, Belgian saisons, and a variety of ales. There’s a good selection of charcuterie to nibble alongside your pints. The brewery is dealing with its line-ups with a next door bottle shop (you’ll also want to save those beautiful labels for your home collection) and are opening a new location at Dupont and Dovercourt. Currently, you can quench your thirst by participating in a spring guided tasting.

2. Bar Volo. Bar Volo is the craft beer bar that was ahead of the trend and now 25 years old. It’s a great central location if you are living in our downtown toronto apartments or North Toronto. The dim-lit, intimate, wooden space gets crowded early. It’s a casual process: look at the list on the walls for over 30 rotating regional beers on tap, casks, more than 75 international types of bottles, and a hectolitre nano brewery. You then find your own table, and order/pay at the bar. Though known for beer, there are two VQA wines served on tap, and over 60 bottles of bourbon and rye for non-hopheads. In the summer, there are DJ nights and during those times, cans of Howe Sound Lager is available for $5 (as previously stated on their site, last year).

3. Bar Hop. Located a short walk away from our 300 Front, Icon, and Element locations, Bar Hop is the ideal unpretentious after-work spot on King West. The bar has over 36 rotating taps plus tap takeovers, gluten-free beers and ciders, and two casks. Special deals like Sunday Sessions ($5 for select craft beers); Mussel Mondays (2 pounds of mussels and fries for $9.95); and Buck-a-Shuck Tuesdays ($1 Oysters) make this a bustling place. Fret-not, a second location is in the works around Richmond and Peter.

4. Indie Ale House. If there is one reason to head over to the Junction, it’s for its noteworthy brewery. There’s a variety of beers here, including their speciality of bold ales. Peruse their menu for collaborations and their original brews with fun flavours and names like the Broken Hipster, Zombie Apocalypse, and the Breakfast Porter. Add a flavourful, varied menu of healthy options and bar staples with a twist; tours, and tastings, and you’ll never want to leave (unless you go here first and then dance the night away at 3030 down the street).

5. Amsterdam Brewery. Though it now feels like a tourist attraction due to its Harbourfront location, Amsterdam Brewery has been in Toronto since 1986 and come a long way from its first location on John St. Now the brewery is a short walk away from our downtown toronto apartments. Amsterdam Brewery is known for its Boneshaker unfiltered IPA and has other original brews like the Sweetwater Squeeze Radler, the 416, and the all natural Blonde. Sip lakeside on a muskoka chair with an unparalleled view of Lake Ontario and the Toronto Islands. A bonus if you can’t grab a seat on the patio is that you can grab your favourite beer from their bottle shop, which is open 7 days a week until 11pm.

Honorable mentions go to some of Toronto’s newer breweries like the soon-to-open Left Field Brewery (which is hosting tastings and pop-ups to buy select bottles from time to time); East York’s new Muddy York brewery; and the established Granite Brewery at Eglinton and Mount Pleasant.

What is your favourite bar for craft beer in Toronto?

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