Neighbourhood guide
Kensington Market, Chinatown and Little Italy
The market lanes, Spadina’s Chinatown, the AGO and College Street.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Jeff Hitchcock from Seattle, WA, USA · CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia CommonsKensington Market is a tangle of small streets of vintage shops, grocers, bakeries and cafés; Chinatown runs along Spadina Avenue beside it; the Art Gallery of Ontario is a few minutes east, and College Street’s Little Italy to the west, with the starred Quetzal and DaNico and Alo on Spadina.
Sights
The Art Gallery of Ontario, Kensington Market and Chinatown.
Eating and drinking
Alo, Quetzal and DaNico (One MICHELIN Star), Sunnys Chinese, Grey Gardens, Bar Isabel, Giulietta, Bar Raval and Cafe Diplomatico.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © bobistraveling · CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia CommonsStaying
Stay in Queen West or downtown.
Walk from the AGO to Kensington and finish on College Street.
Our advice: Kensington is at its best on a weekend morning.
Why it's on our list
- Sights
- Eating and drinking
- Staying
What’s nearby
Distances from Kensington Market, Chinatown and Little Italy are approximate, measured in a straight line (as the crow flies). Times are approximate too: walking at about 80 metres a minute, cycling at about 12 km/h and driving at typical city-traffic speeds. Traffic and routes vary.
Key sights
- Art Gallery of Ontario800 mWalk 10 minCycle 4 minCar or taxi 10 min
- Royal Ontario Museum1.5 kmWalk 19 minCycle 8 minCar or taxi 13 min
- CN Tower1.9 kmWalk 23 minCycle 9 minCar or taxi 14 min
- St. Lawrence Market2.6 kmWalk 32 minCycle 13 minCar or taxi 16 min
- Casa Loma2.6 kmWalk 33 minCycle 13 minCar or taxi 16 min
- Distillery District3.5 kmWalk 44 minCycle 18 minCar or taxi 19 min
- Island ferries3.7 kmCycle 18 minCar or taxi 19 min
- Pearson airport18 kmCar or taxi 63 min
Main stations
- St. Andrew1.6 kmWalk 20 minCycle 8 minCar or taxi 13 min
- Union Station2.1 kmWalk 27 minCycle 11 minCar or taxi 14 min
- Bloor-Yonge2.2 kmWalk 27 minCycle 11 minCar or taxi 15 min
Location
The map comes from Google Maps, which sets its own cookies once it loads.
More in depth
The back storyToronto at the table: stars, Bibs and a city of many kitchensThirteen One MICHELIN Star restaurants, from Alo and Edulis to Sushi Masaki Saito and Kaiseki Yu-zen Hashimoto, the Bib Gourmand tables of Chinatown and Dundas West, and St. Lawrence Market: how Toronto eats.
The back storyCanadian FoodThe peameal bacon sandwich, the butter tart, poutine, the Nanaimo bar, maple syrup and Niagara icewine: what to eat in Toronto.
The back storyWhere Toronto sleeps: Yorkville, downtown and the west endThe Four Seasons, the Hazelton and the Park Hyatt in Yorkville, the Royal York opposite Union Station, the Ritz-Carlton, the St. Regis and Nobu downtown, and the Drake and the Gladstone on Queen West: where to stay in Toronto.