A view of the CN Tower and a poutine stand in Toronto Ontario

Where to Stay in Toronto (And Where Not To)

ByKristin

Looking for the best area to stay in Toronto? There are a number of really nice neighbourhoods in Toronto, that put you clsoer to different attractions, depending on what you’re looking for. The TTC (Toronto Transit Commision) is very easy to use, and I recommend choosing somewhere within walking distance of a metro stop so you can easily see many parts of our city.

Living just outside of Toronto, I stay overnight often – sometimes just with my husband, and sometimes with our kids. We often go to see Broadway shows, ballets, sporting events, and performances that my kids are in. We’re close enough to the city that we can just drive home the same day, but often, we stay overnight to get more of an experience! There’s so much to do and see in Toronto, for all ages, and no different with kids.

The best areas to stay in Toronto are:

  • The Financial/Entertainment District -This is where most of the major hotel chains are. The area feels large and cosmopolitan, surrounded with skyscrapers. You’re also near the waterfront. It’s very accessible from the airport via the express train. Its right near Union Station, and within walking distance of the CN Tower, Ripley’s Aquarium.
  • Old Toronto – just a couple blocks north of the Entertainment District, many hotels list themselvea as being in ED, or in Old Toronto, its used interchangably. Old Toronto is slightly north, closer to Nathan Philps Square (where the TORONTO sign is.) You’re also closer to historic buildings like the St. Lawrence Market, Flatiron Building, etc.
  • Yorkville/Annex – Yorkville and Old Toronto (the two neighbourhoods are adjacent to eachother) is one of my favourite areas of the city, just north of Old Toronto, with Victorian architecture, cozy neighbourhoods, the Royal Ontario Museum, beautiful architecture and greenspace and gardens, the Hogwarts-style U of T campus, LOTS of great hole-in-the-wall style food.
  • Trinity-Bellwoods – west Toronto, close to Little Italy. Trinity Belwoods is a massive park, and there are many other smaller parks as well. It has more of a neighbourhood feel. Ossington, Queens Park and Dufferin are the subway stops, and it would be 15 minutes to the CN Tower
  • Liberty Village – This is a newer neighbourhood is in southwest Toronto, near the waterfront. Perfect for if you’re seeing a concert at the Budweiser stage, or a soccer game at the BMO stadium. It has more condos and homes as opposed to hotels. The area has lots of great places to eat, check out my post on restaurants near the Budweiser stage (most of them are in Liberty Village!)
  • The Junction -The Junction is further west in Toronto than Liberty Village, and near High Park. It’s a very artsy area, and lots of great food and shopping. It’s about a 20 minute travel time down to the CN Tower area. However, there aren’t a lot of places to stay in the Junction
  • Etobicoke – Etobicoke is where the Pearson International Airport is, so there are tons of airport hotels. But if you want a better Toronto experience, I recommend leaning towards the eastern part of Etobicoke, near the Humber River area (this is very close to the Junction.) Here, you’re close to metro station so you have access to downtown Toronto.

Even if you can’t stay in all of these areas, I recommend visiting most of them because they all offer something unique. See my 1-week Toronto itinerary, which takes you threw all the different places to explore within the ctiy.

The areas I’d probably avoid staying in Toronto are Scarborough and East or North York. Not because they are bad areas; but because they don’t really offer you that prime Toronto experience. If you’re just looking for a place to lay your head or you’re on a budget, then those places work fine if you don’t mind 30-40 minute public transit rides into the city centre. But if you want to really indulge in the Toronto experience, especially if you only have a 2-3 days, then choose one of my recommended areas above.

Below is a bit more detail on each of the areas above (the ones I recommend, and the ones I don’t) so you can decide the best place to stay in for your Toronto trip.

Financial and Entertainment District (Union Station area)

Staying in the Entertainment and Financial District puts you within walking distance of Union Station, which is Toronto’s main station. From Union, you can easily get anywhere – any of the other city neighbourhoods are accessible, as well as Niagara Falls, the zoo, Casa Loma, the Distillery District, or any of the other attractions you want to see.

In addition, you’re within walking distance of the CN Tower, the Rogers Stadium, Air Canada Centre, Ripleys Aquarium. You can walk to Old Toronto, and see the St. Lawrence Market, the Flatiron Building, Old City Hall and Nathan Phillips Square. It’s a good area, and there are many hotels to choose from, as well as AirBnbs.

Downtown Toronto, with lit up CN Tower and Rogers Centre
  • The Westin Harbour Castle is right on the watefront, and right beside the area where you can take the ferry or water taxis over to the Toronto Islands. It’s also walking distance to the CN Tower, and other attractions in the area.
  • Le Germain Hotel is a boutique hotel, perfect for seeing shows downtown as its right around the corner from the Princess of Wales Theatre.
  • 3-bedroom condo suite, with lake views, this is a self-catering apartment-style place with views of Lake Ontario and the Toronto Islands. I stay in places similar to this often when our whole family is in Toronto, as we like having separate rooms

Yorkville/The Annex

Staying within the Yorkville and Annex area puts you close to the Royal Ontario Museum, the lesser-known Bata Shoe Museum, and lots of gorgeous older buildings and parks. You’re also close to the Kensington Market (which is where most Toronto food tours are held) and Chinatown. The Art Gallery of Ontario is nearby too. The Yorkville area is also so close to the CN Tower area, you could almost walk, but it would take 20-30 minutes. The metro would only take 10 minutes tops. Yorkville is just so so close to a lot of the best of what Toronto offers.

There are not as many of the big hotel chains in the Yorkville area, (which is part of what I like about it, it has more of an old world charm.) But there are some smaller boutique hotels, and many self-catering apartments or house-style accommodations.

The Annex in Toronto just beside the Yorkville area, and you’re still fairly close to a lot of those same things, even if you need to take the subway for one or two stops. The Annex has lots of green space and gardens, Toronto’s only castle, and the Spadina House across from it (a free museum.)

Hotel/accomodation suggestions in Yorkville:

  • The Hilton is right by Nathan Phillips Square and Old City Hall, it’s also close to the Hummingbird Centre where the Nutcracker is performed every year. In winter, it’s nice being so close to the skating rink in front of Nathan Philips Square.
  • The Chelsea Hotel – The Chelsea is is right in between Old Toronto and Yorkville. It’s one of the celebrated family-friendly hotels in Toronto, as they do lots of family programming (however, their rooms are all studio which doesn’t work for me). It’s just a few minutes’ walk from Sankofa Square, the Eaton Centre, but easily accessible via metro. Its also close to Cabbagetown, another one of my favourite areas
  • The Yorkville Royal Sonesta Hotel Toronto is right in the heart of this area, has a huge pool, the rooms are spacious (but all are the 1-room style, so not my personal preference for a family stay.)
  • Kimpton Saint George Hotel by IHG a smaller boutique hotel with Queen and King rooms. It’s right on Bloor street, you can walk or take metro to everything!
  • Park Hyatt Toronto, right around the corner from the Royal Ontario Museum

The Junction Area/Etobicoke

The Junction area is in west Toronto just north of High Park, the largest and most well-known park in the city. High Park has trails, a zoo, ponds, gardens, and lots of nature. The area is pretty easy to get to from ‘downtown Toronto’, just a 15-minute metro ride, to Keele or Runnymede station, depending on where you’re staying.

  • One place that looks really nice in the Junction area is By The Park Bed & Breakfast, right near High Park. Most of their rooms are for 2 guests, but some can accommodate more.
  • There are plenty of Toronto Airport Hotels, if that’s something you want. The airport area is very busy and car dependent, and it’s not on the metro line. So if you want to explore Toronto, I’d at least stay somewhere that’s east of the Kipling metro station

Liberty Village

Liberty Village is a nice little neighbourhood in the city, very walkable, and lots of restaurants. I have not actually stayed over here, but we’ve visited, parked and eaten here many times. The only thing I don’t love about Liberty Village is that it’s not on the metro. You can get to Union Statio via a GO Train (there’s a station right nearby) or a streetcar. They’re both very convenient, I just am so used to the metro and prefer places where I can simply hop on it.

a pedestrian only throughway in Liberty village
a pedestrian-only walkway in Liberty Village

Good Places to Stay in Liberty Village

  • 3-bed apartment (2 bedrooms, with 2 beds plus a futon bed in one of the rooms)

Places that I Don’t Recommend Staying in Toronto for First Timers (But Why You May Want to Stay There Anyway)

  • Vaughan – Vaughan is a busy area just north of Toronto, and isn’t particularly nice. It’s not walkable, its very high traffic and business. However, there are many hotels here. One perk of these hotels is being close to Canada’s Wonderland, Legoland, and other exciting attractions that Vaughan offers.
  • West Etobicoke – my husband works in this area, and similar to Vaughan, its just very busy and is outside the TTC (Toronto metro) limits. However, it does put you very close to the Toronto airport
  • Scarborough – Scarborough would rarely be mentioned as one of the best places to stay in Toronto. There are tons of good hotels near the airport, I recommend one with a free shuttle like Embassy Suites by Hilton.

In a Nutshell

I hope that this list of places to stay in Toronto While Toronto hotels can be pricey considering how close we are, we often take advantage of the opportunity to spend time in the city, and discover new things that we haven’t seen before. Toronto has enough that even in all the time we’ve spent there, we still don’t feel we’ve seen everything.

Most of the big hotel chains (like Hilton and Marriott) are going to be right downtown, near the waterfront, in what we call the Financial and Entertainment District. If you want to stay in a quieter, more neighbourhood-feel area, then Yorkville, the Annex, the Junction or even Cabbagetown are great options for areas to stay in Toronto.