When planning a visit to Toronto, you’ll quickly find out it’s not the cheapest destination. As one of the most expensive cities in Canada, it’s important to find some fun and cheap things to do in Toronto on a trip!
Luckily, I recently went to Toronto and found a bunch of affordable things to do! Throughout this post, I’ll share some things that are well worth doing ona trip and won’t be too pricy.
Note: For the purpose of this post, “cheap” is anything under $15. Cheap is a relative term, so please note that as you review. I’ll outline exact prices I paid in more detail below.
1. DIY Architecture Tour
First up on our list is exploring the architecture and history of Toronto with one of the many different free architecture tours that the City of Toronto created.
Toronto has diverse architecture with historical, modern, and contemporary designs to discover throughout the city. From the financial district skyscrapers to unique galleries and museums, there are tons of beautiful buildings and history to discover, how nice is it that they’re all free!
You can find all the options for different free architectural tours from the City of Toronto on their website. After you choose a walking tour, you can download and print the map and walking details.
- Cost: free
- Hours: anytime you’d like
2. Meet Animals at Riverdale Farm
In the heart of the city, you’ll find Riverdale Farm, which is a complete working farm with barns, trails, woods, and ponds. This is a great activity for families visiting Toronto.
Animals include cows, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, turkeys, horses, ducks, and more on this farm. It is not a petting zoo, so no feeding of animals is allowed, but you can get close to the animals and see how a working farm operates!
This is an excellent spot in the summer as well to bring a picnic, you’ll find plenty of space under trees in the shade, grass, or on the benches and picnic tables. Plus, you can hang out in the wading pool with large rocks to keep you cool as you hang out at the farm!
- Cost: free
- Hours: 9 am – 5 pm daily, year round
3. Enjoy a Concert in the Distillery District
This pedestrian-only area was once a 19th-century large whisky distillery and has been redesigned into a vibrant hub of restaurants, bars, boutiques, and galleries. Browsing this area is free, and drinks will be around CAD 10 – 15, depending on where you walk in!
In the summer, there’s something almost every day, and checking their calendar will give you the best look at upcoming events.
This area is a must when visiting Toronto and there’s no better way to relax for an afternoon than with a great performance with a drink in hand!
- Cost: Free to listen +drinks
- Hours: Varies by performance
4. High Park Zoo
Similar to Riverdale Farm, High Park Zoo is another great free activity for families to see some amazing animals! There are several different walking trails where you can see animals. In the spring this area is especially beautiful as some of the paths are lined with cherry blossoms!
Its located within High Park and features a variety of animal species. These include bison, llamas, highland cattle, reindeer, capybaras, birds, and more. Unlike the farm above, this zoo does allow petting of certain animals, depending on the weather.
- Cost: Free, run by a non-profit that accepts donations
- Hours: Open every day 9:00 am – 7:00 pm
- https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g155019-d7377917-Reviews-High_Park_Zoo-Toronto_Ontario.html
5. Allan Gardens
Allan Gardens is a free conservatory with six different gardens run by the Horticultural Society of Toronto. The most famous of the gardens is the Conservatory’s Palm Greenhouse, which is a beautiful building that was recently reopened after a renovation. They are ready for visitors!
There are five different free gardens you can walk through and enjoy, no matter what time of year! It’s a popular spot for weddings and photography so you’re bound to get some great pictures while here!
- Cost: free
- Hours: 10 am – 5 pm, Monday to Sunday, Last entry at 4:45 pm, Opened 365 days a year
6. Explore the PATH
This list would not be complete without mentioning walking in Toronto. Hear me out on this one because Toronto has an extensive underground tunnel system that goes throughout downtown. This means even if it’s raining, freezing cold, or an extremely hot day, you can walk around comfortably downtown.
It’s called the PATH system and spans over 30 kilometers. Here’s the map for you. Even if you don’t need to use it, this is a cool thing to check out while downtown in Toronto.
You’ll find lots of shops in this area, but walking the PATH will also take you to many of the major sites throughout downtown, like City Hall, CN Tower, Hockey Hall of Fame, and more.
- Cost: Free
- Hours: Generally 24/7, but shops and services vary
7. Check Out One of the 10 City of Toronto Museums
All the City of Toronto museums are free, including Spadina House. Each location offers unique stories, exhibitions, and events about the histories, experiences, and contemporary issues of Toronto’s diverse communities.
Museums include historic homes, galleries, important historical sites, and art galleries. Below is a list of museums:
- Colborne Lodge: 1836 Regency-era cottage where the vision for High Park was born.
- Fort York: Original War of 1812 battle site that gave way to modern Toronto.
- Gibson House Museum: 19th century farmhouse offering hands-on historical experiences.
- Mackenzie House: Home to the triumphs and tragedies of Toronto’s Victorian era and its controversial first Mayor.
- Market Gallery: Exhibitions of the ever-changing face of Toronto reflected through art and artifacts above St. Lawrence Market.
- Montgomery’s Inn: Historic inn that allows visitors to see how a 19th-century Canadian inn was run from ballroom to bedrooms.
- Scarborough Museum: Learn how Scarborough developed from land farmed by Indigenous peoples and settlers to a major suburb of North America’s fourth largest city.
- Spadina Museum: Explore the opulence and splendor, triumphs and tribulations of 1930s Toronto.
- Todmorden Mills: A cross-section of Toronto history, layered through centuries of industry and art.
- Zion Schoolhouse: A classic rural schoolhouse experience from 1910.
Plan your visit on their website. Every museum is slightly different on hours, all are free!
8. Grafitti Alley
A short walk south on Spadina from either Kensington Market or Chinatown will lead you to Rush Lane, officially known as Graffiti Alley, which stretches three blocks. This area is full of, you guessed it – graffiti.
The popular area is a unique place to view some of the best examples of Toronto’s vibrant street art and mural culture. It reminds me a little bit of Wynwood Walls in Miami (but less refined!). This is an easy stop when you’re in Kensington Market or Chinatown to add on to a visit.
- Cost: Free
- Hours: Open 24 hours a day, but it is best to visit during the daytime!
9. City Festivals and Events
The City of Toronto hosts tons of great free events and things to do throughout the year, from Christmas Markets downtown to summer concert series and special guided tours.
We stumbled upon this fun event in Kensington Market happening with tons of local vendors, live music, and foods to try. It was a great surprise, but planning ahead to attend an event was definitely more enjoyable than stumbling upon one!
Check out the city’s Festivals & Events Calendar and tick the box to filter by “Free”. You’ll find tons of different things to do no matter what you are interested in!
10. Watch Free Movies in a Park
During the summer, you’ll find spots with free movies happening in outdoor spaces around Toronto. There’s something special about being outside in the summer during the evening with some friends, just relaxing with a picnic!
As a traveler, I love doing chill, free things like this in the evening. I feel like it’s well worth getting to know the city in a different way, plus, you need some relaxing evenings on a trip!
Here are a few to check out:
11. Grab a famous Peameal Sandwich at St. Lawrence Market
Peameal bacon sandwiches, consisting of cooked peameal bacon on a Kaiser roll and sometimes topped with mustard or other toppings, are often considered a signature dish of Toronto, particularly from Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market.
Peameal (or as Americans call it – Canadian bacon) originated in the 1800s when crushed peas were used to preserve pork loin. In the 1970s, two brothers at Carousel Bakery in St. Lawrence Market started selling sandwiches made from leftover peameal bacon on buns, and it has become an icon of Toronto!
St. Lawrence Market also has many other iconic Canadian foods like poutine, butter tarts, and maple syrup at great prices. Each snack will be between $6-15 so you can grab something small or go all out here! My friend and I decided to split everything and saved a little money.
Pro-tip: bring cash, many places are cash only within the market
- Cost: $8.40
- Hours: Tuesday to Friday – 9 am to 7 pm, Saturday – 7 am to 5 pm, Sunday – 10 am to 5pm, Monday – Closed
12. Self-Guided Walking Tour
I did a similar tour to this while in Nuremberg, Germany, too, and really enjoyed it! Makes exploring on my own easy, and I could skip things I wasn’t interested in.
- Cost: $8.99
- Hours: Anytime
13. Rent a Bike via Bike Share Toronto
Grab a city bike and explore Toronto as you pedal throughout the city! Bike Share Toronto bike kiosks are found all over the city, making it an easy and affordable option for exploring. You’ll find plenty of bike paths in places like the Harbourfront and Toronto Islands for a great view, or you can bike through the city in the bike lanes.
Here’s how it works – sign up for an account through their app, choose a classic pass or day pass, scan the QR code on the bike, and it unlocks! You bring it back to any kiosk location, lock it back up, and double-check the app has stopped your time. Easy as that!
If you choose to do a classic pass, it is charged by the minute. If you choose a daily pass, you have unlimited access throughout the day. You can return a bike and come back to start again without paying another fee for the day. They have both classic bikes and e-bikes to choose from.
- Cost: Classic bikes are $1 to unlock + $0.12/minute or $15 a day. E-bikes are $1 to unlock + $0.20/minute.
- Hours: anyitme
14. Take a Ferry to the Toronto Islands
The Toronto Islands are a chain of 15 small islands in Lake Ontario. Exploring this area will give you some of the best views and vibes in the city!
There are three access points available by ferry daily in the summer. In spring and fall, the schedule changes more, but generally, ferries will run multiple times a day to at least one of the three ports on the islands, most commonly Centre Island. You can check the schedule here.
The ferry from downtown is just 15 minutes to any of the three islands, with Centre Island being the most popular. Ferries run every 30 minutes from each port all day and into the evening in the summer, with more restricted hours in spring/fall. In winter, there’s only one ferry a day, and it will be very cold.
I would recommend heading to Centre Island on your first trip because it puts you right in the heart of all the things to do here! You’ll have fantastic views of the city, and you can easily spend an entire afternoon (or day) here.
- Cost: $9.11 for adults round trip
- Hours: Hours vary by season, summer 8 am – 11:45 pm
15. Grab a Snack and Browse Shops in Kensington Market
Kensington Market is one of Toronto’s most vibrant neighborhoods, known for its vintage shops, independent boutiques, and diverse food scene. It’s a perfect spot to explore on a rainy day, when ferries aren’t running, or if you want a fun neighborhood experience before heading to the airport.
The area is filled with endless vintage clothing stores—great for jeans, t-shirts, and unique finds—and you could easily spend several hours browsing. As one of the most multicultural corners of the city, Kensington reflects Toronto’s immigrant history, with influences from Portugal, the Caribbean, East Asia, Latin America, and Africa shaping its eclectic atmosphere.
Food is a highlight here, too. On our visit, we enjoyed pastries and matcha at Little Pebbles Cafe, coffee at Augusta Coffee Bar, dumplings at Juicy Dumpling, and tacos at Taco Love—essentially turning our afternoon into a self-made food tour.
I hope you love these fun and cheap things to do in Toronto as much as I did! Toronto is such a fun, unique city with plenty to keep you busy. Have the best trip!
Leave a reply