Old Town: Toronto Travel Guide

The ten blocks that started Toronto

Toronto began here. In 1793 the colonial surveyors laid out the Town of York as a small grid of ten blocks between what are now George, Berkeley, Adelaide and Front streets. Today Old Town covers that grid and spills west towards Yonge.

The listed address, 258 Adelaide St E #400, is a suite on the fourth floor of an office building. Treat it as a reference point. The neighbourhood around it gets far less attention than the waterfront towers a few blocks south.

What to look at on foot

Red brick and stone set the tone. Most of the buildings here are 19th-century commercial blocks. A loop of about two hours takes in the essentials:

• Toronto’s First Post Office, 260 Adelaide St E, next door to the listed address. It dates from 1833 and is still a working post office.
• St. Lawrence Market, Front and Jarvis. The South Market hall holds two levels of butchers, fishmongers and cheese counters.
• St. Lawrence Hall, King and Jarvis. It opened in 1850 as the town’s ballroom and lecture hall.
• St. James Cathedral, King and Church. This Anglican cathedral was completed in the 1850s and has a tall Gothic Revival spire.
• Gooderham Building, where Front meets Wellington. It is the brick flatiron from 1892, with a mural on its blunt back wall.
• Berczy Park, behind the flatiron. Its fountain is ringed with cast-iron dogs, plus one cat.

From the market, the Distillery District is a 15-minute walk east along Front or Mill Street.

Getting to Adelaide near George

King Station on Line 1 (Yonge–University) is the closest subway stop. From there, walk east along King for about 10 minutes, past the cathedral, then turn north on George.

The 504 King streetcar is a quicker way across. Get off at Jarvis or Sherbourne. From Union Station, St. Lawrence Market is a flat 10-minute walk east along Front Street.

Parking downtown is in paid municipal lots and garages. Transit is simpler.

Market mornings and the office door

Plan around two schedules. The suite at #400 currently opens only Tuesday and Wednesday, 9am–5pm, and it is closed the rest of the week. Don’t build a weekend around knocking on that door.

St. Lawrence Market keeps its own hours, which differ from the office’s, so check the market’s official site before you go. On Saturdays the farmers’ stalls are there too, and turning up early usually means shorter lines at the busiest counters.

At the market:

• Order the peameal bacon sandwich. It’s back bacon rolled in cornmeal, served on a bun. Carousel Bakery made it famous, and the queue moves fast if you know what you want.
• Pay by tap. Most counters take cards, but a few small vendors prefer cash.
• Tip only where there’s service. At takeaway counters you don’t tip. At sit-down restaurants nearby, the usual tip is 15–20%.
• Visit the cathedral quietly. St. James is a working church, so keep to the edges during a service.