Discovery walk is a hike exploring many of Toronto landmarks and skyscrapers. Parking is readily available on Bremner Blvd. and Lower Simcoe Street, by the ScotiaBank Arena. Fares range $20 from 6am -6pm. Plenty of parking.
On the corner of Bremner and Lower Simcoe there is a park on the northwest corner. The park is called Olympic Park. There you will have a map of the discovery walk (as shown below). The discovery walk will explore the following: Union Station, St. Lawrence Market, St. James Cathedral, Old City Hall, Toronto City Hall, Osgoode Hall, CBC Broadcast Centre, Cn Tower and Rogers Centre. The discovery walk is approximately 6.7 kilometres. There you will explore the downtown core along with gardens, parks nestled between magnificent skyscrapers.
The discovery walk downtown tour begins at Bremner Blvd and Lower Simcoe Street. The starting point is packed with many iconic landmarks to explore. For instance, there you will have the CN Tower, Ripley’s Aquarium, Rogers Centre (SkyDome), Railway Museum and Steam Whistle to explore. After that, there is Olympic Park to sit and admire the financial district skyscrapers. In other words, the Olympic Park is your starting point .
Having stopped and explored, we weaved through the discovery walk map. Walking toward the CN Tower I stopped to admire the sheer size and beauty of the CN Tower. Widely recognized around the world as Toronto’s landmark, this architectural wonder comes alive at night. In the evening the CN Tower lights up Toronto, making it a magical place to experience .
Moving along the walking tour you will come across a suspension bridge with another view of the CN Tower . Further north, you run into the CBC Broadcasting building. Just adjacent to CBC Broadcasting Building, is Simcoe Park. Just a side note, there are fast food eateries located underground at Simcoe Park, however, everything was closed do to Covid. I did enter the underground which felt surreal and made me feel like I was in a horror movie, waiting for zombies to attack me. Weird!
As we approached David Pecaut Square, I got to experience another part of the city. This part of the city, could be classified as the entertainment area. With its close proximity to the Entertainment District, Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto Walk of Fame, Royal Alexandra Theatre, Princess of Wales Theatre(further west on King Street) and The TIFF Bell building are relatively close to each other. That is to say, all are located on King Street.
As we kept going, we ventured toward Queen Street, running into other famous landmarks and areas of interests. For example, Old City Hall, Toronto City Hall, Nathan Philips Square, Eaton Centre and Osgoode Hall are within close proximity of each other. This alone would be a great day trip into the city, post covid. There is parking under Nathan Philips Square (off of Bay Street), if you ever choose to explore this part of Downtown Toronto only.
As we headed towards Jarvis Street, we ran into other popular and iconic landmarks in the city; St. James Cathedral, St.Lawrence Market and Hall, Gooderham Building, Hockey Hall of Fame and Union Station. Each one of these landscapes are popular with visitors. After this discovery walk, you will leave with many memories of a beautiful Toronto, as well as, many photos of iconic landmarks in Toronto. Enough to post on your instagram everyday for a month.
To sum up the discovery walk, you will get to explore Downtown Toronto free of congestion and people. Moreover, you will acquaint yourself with what this beautiful city has to offer. There are many coffee shops open while you explore. This is a must if you want to experience Downtown Toronto, in a relative short period of time!