A cultural guide to Toronto

There are so many reasons why Toronto has been named the most Instagrammable city in Canada. Its wildly diverse cultural treasures are the lure—from brutalist structures to neoclassical architecture, street graffiti to museum masterpieces, and Michelin-starred plates to next-level food trucks.  

And there’s more to experience all the time: The country’s top metropolis is booming, becoming more global by the day with a record-breaking number of new Canadians putting down roots for the last decade (immigration went up 103% in 2022 alone). The ongoing surge of international tastes, styles and sensibilities have had a hand in reshaping the city’s 158 neighborhoods completely, producing globally enlightened restaurants, world-class landmarks, cosmopolitan hotspots, and some of the most diverse gallery spaces in North America.  

If you can tear yourself away from the five-prism, interlocking exterior of the Royal Ontario Museum, check out the First Peoples Gallery on level 1 to see more than 1,000 Indigenous objects connected to Toronto’s past and present, including ceremonial headdresses and ancient birchbark canoes.  

And those who aren’t afraid of heights should explore the city’s iconic CN Tower, Canada’s tallest spire, which measures 1,815 feet. Walk around the Q-tip-like structure or pay an additional fee to go outside and walk among the clouds in a safety harness. 

Food & drink

Torontonians take brunch seriously, so book ahead. White Lily Diner, located in Toronto’s east end, just earned the city’s first Michelin Green Star for sustainable gastronomy: We love the buttermilk griddle cakes (with Canadian maple syrup), fresh doughnuts, fermented greens, and hashbrowns. For a casual lunch, hit the charming St. Lawrence Market, operating since 1803, with more than 100 specialty food vendors; in-the-know locals make a beeline to family-run Uno Mustachio and order The Godfather—the city’s best chicken and/or eggplant parmigiana.

Music & nightlife

It’s a rite of passage for Canadian music royalty (think Feist, The Beaches, Alanis Morrisette) to return to the city’s intimate and beloved Neoclassical concert venue Massey Hall. What’s more, the site’s intimate new space, TD Music Hall, seats just 500 and is devoted to emerging singer-songwriters, composers and rappers.  

Hot ticket

Downtown’s newly opened hybrid living-working-dining-entertainment complex, The Well, is tailor-made for families looking to let the kids run wild for a few hours in a multisensory area. Along with retail giants such as Adidas and Sephora, you’ll find a skating rink and a family friendly, immersive, interactive art installation called Acadia Earth. Explore its 10 hi-tech rooms that incorporate augmented reality, virtual reality and projection mapping focused on nature and biodiversity.

Watch before you go   

The Toronto International Film Festival, held each September, is one of biggest and most prestigious film events in the world, and one of the few that offers tickets to the public. But the city’s starring role in the film industry doesn’t end there: The now-iconic graduation scenes from Mean Girls were filmed at the University of Toronto’s Convocation Hall; in X-Men, scenes in Professor Xavier’s school were shot in a Gothic Revival mansion called Casa Loma, which is open to the public; while in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the Toronto’s Greektown stood in for Chicago’s Greektown.