Toronto is laid out on a grid that runs north from the lake, and the thing worth knowing before booking is that the city gets less interesting as you go up it. The lakefront, the financial core, the Distillery District, St Lawrence Market, King West and Queen West all sit within a strip roughly two kilometres deep from the water. North of Bloor Street, the city becomes residential quickly, and Yorkville, which has the luxury hotels and the shopping, is a genuinely pleasant enclave that requires a subway ride to reach most of what you came for.
Almost nobody explains this, and visitors book Yorkville because that is where the recognisable hotel names are.
Why the southern strip is the walkable one
Two kilometres is a comfortable walking depth. Inside it you have the lake and the islands ferry, the CN Tower, the Rogers Centre, the financial district's PATH tunnels, St Lawrence Market, the Distillery District's Victorian industrial streets, and the restaurant strips on King and Queen West. All of it connects on foot or with one short streetcar ride.
The northern option, Yorkville, is two subway stops up. It is elegant, it has the Royal Ontario Museum and the best shopping in Canada, and it is the right base for a shopping trip or a business trip to the midtown offices. It is the wrong base for a first visit.
The ten below are grouped by which they are.
The lakefront and the financial core
The southern edge, closest to the water, the ferries and the PATH network that makes winter workable.
Fairmont Royal York Hotel is the 1929 railway hotel opposite Union Station, the largest and most recognisable building of its kind in Canada, with a beautiful lobby and a direct connection into the PATH tunnels. It is the most useful position in the city in February.
Fairmont Royal York Hotel
Opposite Union Station · 4★ · $$$
1929 railway hotel wired into the PATH tunnels
Check availabilityThe Ritz-Carlton, Toronto occupies the upper floors of a tower in the financial core with the largest rooms in Toronto, a very good spa and lake views from the higher floors. It is the most comfortable hotel in the city.
The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto
Financial core · 5★ · $$$$
Largest rooms in the city with lake views up high
Check availabilityShangri-La Toronto sits in a tower on University Avenue with a serious restaurant and bar, a strong art collection and the best service downtown. It is a short walk to both the lake and Queen West.
Shangri-La Toronto
University Avenue · 5★ · $$$$
Best downtown service with a serious bar
Check availability1 Hotel Toronto occupies a waterfront site with a rooftop pool over the lake and a sustainability-led interior. It is the best position in the city for the islands ferry and the harbourfront walking.
1 Hotel Toronto
King West, near the lake · 5★ · $$$
Rooftop pool over the lake near the islands ferry
Check availabilityHotel X Toronto, a Destination by Hyatt Hotel sits on the western lakefront in a converted historic building beside the exhibition grounds, with a rooftop and tennis courts. It is the most self-contained property here and a streetcar from the centre.
Hotel X Toronto, a Destination by Hyatt Hotel
Western lakefront · 5★ · $$$
Rooftop and tennis on the exhibition grounds
Check availabilitySt Lawrence and the Distillery District
The eastern part of the strip, with the market, the Victorian industrial streets and the best walking in Toronto.
The Omni King Edward Hotel is the 1903 hotel near St Lawrence Market with a restored crystal ballroom and a lobby that is the most impressive interior in the city. It is minutes from the market and the Distillery.
The Omni King Edward Hotel
St Lawrence · 4★ · $$$
1903 crystal ballroom minutes from the market
Check availabilityAce Hotel Toronto occupies a nineteenth-century building in the Garment District with an atrium lobby, a rooftop bar and the most distinctive design of any hotel in Canada. It sits between the financial core and Queen West.
Ace Hotel Toronto
Garment District · 4★ · $$$
Atrium lobby and the most distinctive design in Canada
Check availabilityLe Germain Hotel Toronto sits in the entertainment district with contemporary rooms and a very good restaurant, a short walk from the theatres and King West.
Le Germain Hotel Toronto
Entertainment District · 4★ · $$
Short walk to the theatres and King West
Check availabilityYorkville
Two subway stops north. Elegant, quiet, expensive, and the right choice for shopping or a museum-focused trip.
Four Seasons Hotel Toronto occupies a tower on Bay Street with the deepest service in Canada, a two-storey spa and the best hotel restaurant in the country. It is a minute from the shopping and the museum.
Four Seasons Hotel Toronto
Yorkville · 5★ · $$$$
Two-storey spa and the best hotel restaurant in Canada
Check availabilityPark Hyatt Toronto sits on Avenue Road with a rooftop restaurant and terrace looking over the city, an art collection and a quieter tone than its neighbours.
Park Hyatt Toronto
Yorkville · 5★ · $$$$
Rooftop terrace over the city beside the museum
Check availabilityWhat we have left off
The Hazelton is excluded, and it is the most exclusive room in Canada. It sits at the northern end of Yorkville, which puts it two subway stops and a walk from the lake, the market and the Distillery.
What to do
Take the ferry to the Toronto Islands, which takes fifteen minutes and gives you the skyline from the water, plus beaches, bike paths and no cars.
Do St Lawrence Market on a Saturday morning and the Distillery District afterwards on foot. The Art Gallery of Ontario has a Gehry addition and a serious collection; the ROM has the Libeskind crystal.
Eat across the city. Toronto is one of the most diverse cities in the world and the food follows: Little Italy, Chinatown, Little India on Gerrard, and the Caribbean restaurants in the west end.
Kensington Market on a weekend, Queen West for the shops and the bars, and a Blue Jays or Raptors game if the season allows.
Niagara Falls is ninety minutes and worth a day if you have never seen it.
Practical notes
Pearson connects on the UP Express train to Union Station in 25 minutes, which is much better than a taxi in traffic. Billy Bishop is on the island beside downtown and is the easiest arrival in Canada.
May, June, September and October are the good months. July and August are hot and humid. January and February are cold and the PATH tunnels become the point.
The streetcars are slow and pleasant; the subway is fast on two lines and limited beyond them.
Explore 4 & 5 Star Toronto Hotels
Questions people actually ask
Yorkville or downtown?
Downtown for a first visit and walking. Yorkville for shopping, the museum and quiet, with a subway ride to everything else.
Is the lakefront a good base?
Yes for the ferry and the harbour walking, less so for restaurants, which are further north on King and Queen.
Is Toronto worth more than a stopover?
Three days, comfortably, particularly if you eat across the neighbourhoods rather than downtown.
How many nights?
Three, four with Niagara.