Old Town Toronto Self-Guided Audio Walk: St Lawrence Market, the Flatiron and the Distillery District
1 hour and 50 minutes
About this experience
Toronto began as the town of York, ten blocks laid out in 1793, and its oldest streets still show who paid for what: stone for the bank and the grand hall, brick for the school and the gasworks. Start at St James Cathedral, rebuilt after the fire of 1849, then pass the Flatiron Building and its dog fountain, the St Lawrence Market wrapped around an old city hall, and the stone front of St Lawrence Hall. Walk on past a colonial bank and a post office of 1833, the site of Ontario's first parliament, and a brewer's free school, into the Distillery District's limestone distillery and Victorian brick warehouses. Eleven stops, about 3 km and 1 hour 50 minutes, in English and at your own pace. The Distillery is private property with its own rules, and its Winter Village is ticketed at set times from 12 November 2026.
- Experience type
- Day tour or activity
- Duration
- 1 hour and 50 minutes
- Guide
- English
- Audio guide
- English
- Categories
- Walking tour · Cultural and theme tours · City tours
What's included
Self-guided audio tour in English: 11 stops, 3.2 km, 110 minutes Stops at St Lawrence Market and Hall, Flatiron Building, Toronto's First Post Office and the Stone Distillery GPS map and walking directions in your phone browser, no app needed Lifetime access: start any day, at any hour, and replay it
What's not included
A live guide: you set the pace and the pauses A fixed start time: begin whenever you arrive Museum and monument tickets, all optional extras Tip or gratuity Food and drinks Entry or admission fee
Please note
To start the tour, enter the ticket code from your confirmation on the Roamer redemption page linked there. Do this before you set off, while you still have signal. The tour then opens in your phone browser, with no app to download. Bring a charged phone and earphones. Mobile data helps; if you have none, open the tour on wifi before you set off. Best time: A Tuesday to Friday morning, starting around 10 a.m.: the cathedral opens at 10 (Monday to Saturday), the South Market is open Tuesday to Sunday, and you reach the Distillery District around midday. Saturday morning adds the farmers' market at the North Market but brings crowds. Avoid Mondays if you want to go into the market. From 12 November 2026, on Fridays, weekends and most December evenings, aim to reach the Distillery before 4 p.m., when Winter Village tickets apply. St James Cathedral is free to visit Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and open on Sundays for services (checked 2 October 2026). Its twelve change-ringing bells are usually rung on Sunday mornings between 10 and 11 (cathedral guide, 2023). St Lawrence Market South is open Tuesday to Friday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Mondays; the Saturday farmers' market in the North Market runs 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. Entry is free (checked 2 October 2026). Toronto's First Post Office, at stop 5, is a small museum with admission by donation: Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (with a 30-minute lunch closure), Sunday noon to 4 p.m., closed holiday Mondays, including Thanksgiving Monday, 12 October 2026. The stair-free entrance is at the rear, through the gate on George Street (checked 2 October 2026). The Distillery District is private property open to the public, 364 days a year; its FAQ gives Monday to Wednesday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and its shops and restaurants keep their own hours. Casual photos are free, but wedding, engagement and professional shoots need a paid permit, drones are prohibited, and dogs are welcome on a leash (checked 2 October 2026). Distillery Winter Village 2026 runs 12 November 2026 to 3 January 2027 (closed Christmas Day). Tickets, from $16 plus HST and a service charge, are required on opening night, from 4 p.m. every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, from 4 p.m. on Thursdays in December, and from 4 p.m. daily from 14 to 31 December. Entry is free before 4 p.m. and all day Monday to Wednesday through 13 December; children 9 and under are free (checked 2 October 2026). The Distillery District has two public washroom facilities (checked 2 October 2026). In autumn 2026 the Ontario Line's Distillery District Station is under construction around Front, Berkeley and Parliament Streets, so expect hoarding, narrowed sidewalks and changed crossings near stops 6 and 7. If the path into Parliament Square Park is closed, listen to stop 7 from the Berkeley Street sidewalk at the park entrance. The Distillery District's cobblestones are uneven: wear flat shoes with grip, and take care with strollers and wheelchairs. King, Front, Jarvis, Adelaide, Parliament and Eastern are busy streets; the route crosses them at the lights, except Front Street near the Distillery, which it crosses at a zebra crossing. During the Winter Village (12 November 2026 to 3 January 2027) stops 9 to 11 are inside a ticketed area at the times listed in the tips. The Enoch Turner Schoolhouse, Little Trinity Church, St Lawrence Hall, Berkeley Castle and the Bank of Upper Canada are seen from outside on this walk; the schoolhouse has no regular drop-in hours. Public transportation nearby
Itinerary
- 1Day 0
St James Cathedral: Rebuilt After the Fire of 1849
St James Cathedral, 106 King Street East, Toronto
Fire took the old church in 1849, on the day before Easter. Its pale brick Gothic replacement waited twenty years for its spire.
- 2Day 0
Flatiron Building and Berczy Park: The Office That Left the Factory
Berczy Park, 35 Wellington Street East, Toronto
The distillers' head office from 1892. In the park, twenty-seven cast-iron dogs and one cat gaze at a golden bone.
- 3Day 0
St Lawrence Market: A Market Wrapped Around a City Hall
St Lawrence Market, 93 Front Street East, Toronto
The town's market site since 1803. The 1904 market hall was built around what was left of an older city hall.
- 4Day 0
St Lawrence Hall: The Stone Hall That Rose After the Fire
St Lawrence Hall, 157 King Street East, Toronto
William Thomas built it after the 1849 fire. A domed cupola crowns its fifteen-bay front on King Street.
- 5Day 0
Bank of Upper Canada: Money in Stone, Mail in Brick
Bank of Upper Canada, 252 Adelaide Street East, Toronto
A stone bank built to look permanent. Next door, a post office of 1833 still sells stamps.
- 6Day 0
Berkeley Street: Where the Town Ended and the Gasworks Began
24 Berkeley Street, Toronto
The town of 1793 ended at this street. Its gas company brick is now a theatre, and a knitting mill became the castle.
- 7Day 0
Ontario's First Parliament: The Story Behind the Hoarding
Parliament Square Park, Front Street East at Parliament Street, Toronto
The first parliament stood near here. Burned in 1813 and again in 1824, its site is now a subway station dig.
- 8Day 0
Little Trinity and the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse: A Brewer's Free School
96 Trinity Street, Toronto
A brewer's free school of 1849. One architect is credited with the school and the church beside it.
- 9Day 0
Trinity and Mill: The Windows Built to Blow Out
16 Trinity Street, Toronto
The way into the Gooderham and Worts works. The glass walls of its Pure Spirits buildings were built to burst in an explosion and save them.
- 10Day 0
Stone Distillery: Built to Face a Vanished Shore
Gristmill Lane, Toronto
The oldest building here dates from 1859. It runs parallel to a lake shore that is no longer there.
- 11Day 0
Tank House Lane: Buildings for Waiting
35 Tank House Lane, Toronto
Storehouses built for whisky to age in. Ten of about a dozen survive, all by David Roberts Junior.
Meeting point
St James Cathedral, Toronto St James Cathedral, 106 King Street East, Toronto, Ontario, CA
Pick up
Pickup is not provided.
Cancellation policy · Old Town Toronto Self-Guided Audio Walk: St Lawrence Market, the Flatiron and the Distillery District
Standard Viator policy
- Cancellation 0–24 hours before departure: 100% cancellation fee.
- Cancellation 24–24000 hours before departure: 0% cancellation fee.
Good to know
Operated by Roamer and sold by AGORA. Your voucher and booking reference arrive by email straight after payment.