6 Days in Toronto: The First-Timer Itinerary

Six days lets you go genuinely deep on Toronto instead of skimming the surface, and that’s exactly how I’d treat it: downtown icons first, then museums, islands and a castle, a full neighborhood day, sports and nightlife, then a day out in Scarborough that most short-trip visitors never even consider.

Book these before you go

Day Focus
1 Downtown icons: CN Tower, St. Lawrence Market, Distillery District
2 Museums and the west end: ROM, Kensington Market, AGO
3 Toronto Islands and Casa Loma
4 Neighborhood deep dive: the Danforth and Little India
5 Sports and nightlife
6 Scarborough and hidden Toronto

Day 1: Downtown Icons

CN Tower (from about 45 CAD adult online; official hours ) and Ripley’s Aquarium (separately ticketed, 40-45 CAD) in the morning. St. Lawrence Market for lunch, peameal bacon at Carousel Bakery for 10-14 CAD, closed Mondays. Distillery District in the afternoon. Dinner at The Chase, then Nathan Phillips Square at dusk for the illuminated Toronto sign. Stay at the Fairmont Royal York or the InterContinental Toronto Centre, both a short walk from Union Station.

Day 2: Museums and the West End

Royal Ontario Museum in the morning (dynamic pricing from around 26 CAD, free 4-17 during the June 19-September 7, 2026 summer promo), Kensington Market next door for lunch, car-free on select summer Sundays. Art Gallery of Ontario in the afternoon (30 CAD adult, free annual pass for Ontario residents under 25). Dinner at Pai Northern Thai Kitchen.

Day 3: Islands and Casa Loma

Ferry to the Toronto Islands (official ferry page , round trip about 9.57 CAD adult, mid-April to mid-October), the strongest skyline photo in the city and a better use of the morning than fighting the CN Tower deck crowd for the same view. Casa Loma in the afternoon (45 CAD adult, official site ), rough on strollers given the stairs. Dinner back on the mainland at a lakeview spot.

Day 4: Neighborhood Deep Dive

The Danforth for Greek food (15-30 CAD per person), then Little India along Gerrard Street East for samosas and curry (10-20 CAD). Graffiti Alley, south of Queen West between Spadina and Portland, fits in if you’re passing through that stretch, it doesn’t sit inside Kensington despite what a lot of guides claim. Dinner at La Carnita for a change of pace.

Day 5: Sports and Nightlife

Hockey Hall of Fame in the morning, inside Brookfield Place, home to the actual Stanley Cup. Catch a Blue Jays, Leafs, Raptors, or TFC game if the schedule lines up, remembering MLS pauses league play May 25-July 16, 2026 for the FIFA World Cup matches at BMO Field. Dinner at Real Sports Bar & Grill, then an Entertainment District evening.

Day 6: Scarborough and Hidden Toronto

Morning

  • Scarborough food crawl: technically folded into “Toronto” since the 1998 amalgamation but still its own food world, home to some of the best-value, most authentic Chinese, Sri Lankan, and Filipino cooking in the entire GTA. Dim sum here runs 20-35 CAD for a full spread and is arguably better and cheaper than downtown’s Chinatown version. Budget 30-45 minutes each way by subway and bus from downtown.

Afternoon

  • Scarborough Bluffs: dramatic lakeside cliff formations, free to visit (Bluffer’s Park at the base has seasonal parking fees), best in autumn for the tree colour against the rock but striking year-round. This is my honest pick for the single best “why didn’t more people tell me about this” stop on a repeat visitor’s list, it reads as less scenic than downtown on paper and then completely isn’t in person.

Evening

  • Aga Khan Museum: if today’s a Wednesday, it’s free 4-8pm, genuinely one of the calmest, least touristy grounds in the city, paired with reflecting pools and gardens shared with the adjacent Ismaili Centre.
  • Evergreen Brick Works, as a daytime alternative if the museum timing doesn’t work: a former quarry in the Don Valley turned green community hub, feels like a different city ten minutes from downtown.

Where to Stay: keep your existing downtown base, Scarborough is a day trip within the city, not an overnight change.

Getting Around: a car makes this day meaningfully easier if you can arrange one, transit covers it but adds real time; otherwise budget the extra 30-45 minutes each way on subway and bus that downtown days don’t require.

Tips: go into Scarborough hungry and without a fixed restaurant plan, the best spots here reward wandering more than a booked reservation does.

Things to Know

Toronto is genuinely multicultural, with over half of residents born outside Canada, and it shows up directly in the food scene rather than in any single “Toronto dish.” Pack layers regardless of season. Tipping runs 15-20% in restaurants and bars, calculated on the pre-tax subtotal.

Getting Around (citywide)

TTC covers streetcars, buses, and subways with one PRESTO or contactless tap at 3.30 CAD, and starting September 1, 2026 monthly fare capping extends to contactless debit and credit payments too, not just PRESTO. Take the subway over the streetcar whenever your route allows it, Line 1 and Line 2 run far more reliably than the surface streetcars stuck in traffic.

Tips

Grab a PRESTO card on day one, it smooths out every transit leg for the rest of the trip. If you’ve got a seventh day, the 7-day itinerary adds a second neighborhood deep dive and more flex time on top of everything here, and the Toronto places guide has specific restaurant and hidden-gem picks worth cross-referencing before you lock in Day 6.