Exploring the Financial District and City Halls

(23 reviews)

Toronto audio tour: Exploring the Financial District and City Halls

This is a 1.2mi walking tour.

It takes an average of 75 mins to complete.

Toronto

Canada

$8.99

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About the Tour

Toronto's Financial District tells the story of a city that built its way to becoming Canada's commercial capital, one tower at a time. On this walking tour, you'll trace that rise through the competing ambitions of banks and architects who each left a distinct mark on the skyline. You'll also discover how architectural styles shifted from ornate Beaux-Arts grandeur to Modernist austerity and back again.

The tour starts outside the Bank of Montreal on the corner of Yonge and Front Streets, now home to the Hockey Hall of Fame. You'll pass through the soaring glass atrium of Brookfield Place, where a reconstructed 1845 bank facade sits inside a modern structure, and along Bay Street past the gold-tinted towers of the Royal Bank. From there, you'll move through the austere plazas of the TD Centre and up toward the ornate civic landmarks on Queen Street.

The tour ends at Nathan Phillips Square, where Toronto's current City Hall – a sculptural landmark designed by Finnish architect Viljo Revell after an international competition drawing 510 entries from 42 countries – frames one of the city's most recognisable public spaces.

On this 75-minute tour, you'll have a chance to:

Step inside the Allan Lambert Galleria, Santiago Calatrava's breathtaking six-storey elliptical glass atrium at Brookfield Place
Hear how 2,500 ounces of gold were used to tint the 14,000 windows of the Royal Bank towers
Explore Commerce Court and learn how the 1930 Bank of Commerce once topped its towers with an observatory and four giant heads representing Courage, Foresight, Observation and Enterprise
See Joe Fafard's bronze sculpture The Pasture, seven grazing cows installed in the TD Centre plaza to soften the wind-swept Modernist landscape
Admire the Art Deco bas-reliefs on the Bank of Nova Scotia, designed by John Lyle, who also created Union Station
Learn why a piece of marble falling from the 60th floor of First Canadian Place, Canada's tallest building, forced a complete exterior makeover
Stand before Old City Hall, a Richardsonian Romanesque landmark saved from demolition by community activists in the 1960s

This tour is a masterclass in how ambition, money, and design shaped one of North America's most dynamic financial districts.

Tour Producer

Jane Herman

3 tours

I'm the founder of On the Town Tours in Toronto. Since 2013 we've offered an eclectic menu of tours that highlight Toronto's history, architecture, and culture. 50% of Torontonians (including me) were not born here. As a non-native, I've always been driven to understand how Toronto became the city it is today. My curiosity and love of learning have led me to study our city's history, architecture and culture in a deep and serious way, and in turn share my passion for our urban fabric and its treasures with visitors and curious residents alike. I offer bespoke, customized in-person and live-streamed tours for individuals and groups. Since 2022 I have been an instructor at the LIFE Institute at Toronto Metropolitan University, offering a series of popular walks exploring Toronto through its public art, architecture, and literature. Come join me!

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Preview Location

Location 22

Old City Hall

Stop for a moment here at the corner of Bay Street and Queen Street.

Now that we have reached Queen Street, we have left the Financial District. Queen Street is a major east west thoroughfare that extends from the Beaches in the East, on your right, all the way to King and ... Stop for a moment here at the corner of Bay Street and Queen Street.

Now that we have reached Queen Street, we have left the Financial District. Queen Street is a major east west thoroughfare that extends from the Beaches in the East, on your right, all the way to King and Roncesvalles in the West End.

Standing in front of you at the head of Bay Street is Toronto's third or Old City Hall, a massive, ornamental landmark.

In the final decades of the 19th century the courthouse down in the Old Town had become inadequate. The City Council also decided a new city hall was needed to serve the city's growing needs and stature. A competition was held and EJ Lennox, one of the leading architects of the day, won the commission.

Lennox designed the building in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, which was a popular style of public building at the time. Victorians had revived the round-arched style of classical Roman architecture. The American architect Henry Hobson Richardson created a style of Romanesque that was so distinctive it was named after him. These buildings, like the Old City Hall, are typically chunky, weighty and massive. They are often clad in rock faced ashlar and red brick and feature wide round arches that occur over doorways and high roofs with broad planes.

This building closely resembles Richardson's Allegheny Courthouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Like that building, the clock tower is deliberately placed off center and provides a focal point when looking up Bay Street.

Following the opening of Toronto's fourth and current City Hall, Old City Hall was threatened with demolition during the planning of the Eaton Centre, a large mall that is now situated at Queen and Yonge, the next main street on your right. A group of concerned citizens and community activists, known as the "Friends of Old City Hall", convinced the City to preserve this important landmark. In 1989 Old City Hall was declared a National Historic Site.

[2 SECOND PAUSE]

When you're ready, cross safely over to the other side of Queen St, then turn left and continue walking until you reach the entrance to the underground pedestrian concourse.

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Major Landmarks

Brookfield Place
Hockey Hall of Fame
Toronto Dominion Centre
Commerce Court West
Toronto Old City Hall
Toronto City Hall

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Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
101 King St E Unit 1, Toronto, ON M5C 2B5, Canada
Total distance

2km
Final location
100 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M5H 2N3, Canada
Distance back to start location

818.79m

Directions to Starting Point

Start at the northeast corner of Yonge and Front. You should be facing the Bank of Montreal, now the Hockey Hall of Fame.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

Hockey Hall of Fame; Marche, PATH, The Bay, Nathan Phillips Square/City Hall

Best time of day

The weekend is nicest if you prefer a quieter streetscape; this area is bustling Monday-Friday, 9:00-5:00.

Precautions

This is a generally safe area, but always be alert and use common sense.

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App Store Review

“Great app. walk around at your own pace, stop where you want, move on or speed up when you want. Read the script before you go or during the commentary, speed it up or replay it. Repeat the tour whenever you like.”