CN Tower and Toronto Waterfront Self-Guided Audio Walk: Union Station, the SkyDome and Harbourfront
1 hour and 25 minutes
About this experience
Toronto's waterfront is made ground. The lake once reached roughly to Front Street; everything south of it was filled in for railways and ships, and parts of that working shore are now public parks and promenades. Start at Union Station's row of 22 limestone columns, a station a 1968 plan would have demolished. Walk under the tracks to the CN Tower, built because the new skyline blocked TV signals, then to the 1929 roundhouse with its turntable and the SkyDome, whose four-panel roof rolls open in about 25 minutes. Under the expressway, the harbour opens up: wooden WaveDecks shaped like Great Lakes shorelines, a city beach of yellow umbrellas, a 1926 powerhouse that is now a free art gallery, and a 1927 warehouse that grew a glass crown. Nine stops, about 2.5 km and 85 minutes, in English and at your own pace. Entry to the CN Tower, the Toronto Railway Museum and the island ferry is not included.
- Experience type
- Day tour or activity
- Duration
- 1 hour and 25 minutes
- Guide
- English
- Audio guide
- English
- Categories
- Walking tour · Cultural and theme tours · City tours
What's included
Self-guided audio tour in English: 9 stops, 2.4 km, 85 minutes Stops at CN Tower, John Street Roundhouse, SkyDome 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: Pick a clear day, for the view from the tower and across to the islands. Wednesday to Sunday after noon lets you add the Toronto Railway Museum, which opens at 12:00 outside the summer season (checked 2 October 2026). On Blue Jays game days Bremner Boulevard fills with crowds before and after the game, so a morning or a non-game day is calmer. Book CN Tower tickets online for a timed entry, up to 30 days ahead, and go on a clear day: the views reach about 160 kilometres when it is clear (checked 2 October 2026). The island ferries leave from the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal where the walk ends. Round-trip fares: adult (20 to 64) $9.57, older adult (65+) and youth (15 to 19) $6.15, junior (2 to 14) $4.51, under 2 free; tickets online or at the terminal booths. From 16 September to 13 October 2026 the last departures from the city are 11:00 p.m. to Centre Island, 11:30 p.m. to Ward's Island and 10:30 p.m. to Hanlan's Point; a new schedule starts after 13 October, so check the City of Toronto ferry page (checked 2 October 2026). Ward's Island is about a 35-minute walk from Centre Island, so pick the island you want before you board. Michael Snow's The Audience, gold-painted sculptures of cheering fans (1989), sits above the north-east and north-west entrances of the Rogers Centre, on the stadium's far side from the walk: a short detour round the building. The Chinese Railway Workers' Memorial, honouring the labourers who built the Canadian Pacific line through the Rockies, stands at 4 Blue Jays Way on the far side of the stadium, a short detour from stop 4. Rogers Centre ballpark tours were not on sale when this walk was checked: the Blue Jays' tours page said more information was coming soon (checked 2 October 2026). The Power Plant gallery at Harbourfront Centre is free, but closed for installation until Saturday 24 October 2026. Union Station, where the walk began, is a short walk back up Bay Street from the ferry terminal. In 2026 Union Station is in the middle of a long rebuilding, with construction between Bay and York Streets; expect hoarding and follow the signed sidewalks. The walk passes under the rail corridor on Lower Simcoe Street and under the Gardiner Expressway on Rees Street; GPS can drift in the short covered stretches. Crossing Lake Shore Boulevard and Rees Street under the expressway takes several signalled stages with traffic islands; wait for each light. The Martin Goodman Trail along Queens Quay is a busy two-way cycle path; look both ways before stepping across it. The locomotives in Roundhouse Park sit on display tracks; keep off the tracks unless signs say otherwise. In 2026 the shoreside works for the new electric ferries put fencing near the slips at the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal. The waterfront is exposed and can be much colder and windier than downtown; bring a layer in spring, autumn and winter. Public transportation nearby
Itinerary
- 1Day 0
Union Station: The Station a Plan Would Have Demolished
Union Station, 65 Front Street West, Toronto
A station a 1968 plan would have torn down. Its twenty-two limestone columns face Front Street, and a 1930 train shed runs behind it.
- 2Day 0
CN Tower: Built to Clear the Skyline
Bremner Boulevard at Lower Simcoe Street, Toronto
The railway built this tower to beam signals over downtown. For more than three decades it was the tallest free-standing structure in the world.
- 3Day 0
Roundhouse Park: Where Steam Engines Turned
Roundhouse Park, 255 Bremner Boulevard, Toronto
Steam engines swung on this turntable into 32 brick stalls. Parks Canada calls it the best surviving roundhouse in Canada, and the park is free.
- 4Day 0
Rogers Centre: The SkyDome and Its Rolling Roof
Rogers Centre, Bremner Boulevard at Rees Street, Toronto
The SkyDome's roof of four panels opens in about 25 minutes. It opened in 1989, and the Blue Jays won the 1993 World Series inside.
- 5Day 0
HTO Park and the Rees WaveDeck: A Beach on an Old Quay
Rees Wave Deck, Toronto
A wooden deck rolls in waves by the beach. Beyond it, Claude Cormier's yellow umbrellas stand on an old concrete quay.
- 6Day 0
Simcoe WaveDeck: A Shoreline in Wood
Simcoe WaveDeck, Queens Quay West, Toronto
Wooden waves rise here high enough to sit in like an amphitheatre. Beside them, Queens Quay was rebuilt with granite paving in maple leaves.
- 7Day 0
Harbourfront Centre: The Power Plant's Chimney
231 Queens Quay West, Toronto
This 1926 chimney once made heat and cold for the warehouse. The powerhouse below it is now a free gallery of contemporary art.
- 8Day 0
Queens Quay Terminal: The Warehouse That Grew a Glass Crown
Queens Quay Terminal, 207 Queens Quay West, Toronto
A 1927 warehouse that became homes, under four glass storeys. Look for its Art Deco clock tower on the Queens Quay side.
- 9Day 0
Jack Layton Ferry Terminal: The Islands Across the Bay
Jack Layton Ferry Terminal, 9 Queens Quay West, Toronto
The walk ends at the ferry docks facing the Toronto Islands. A bronze Jack Layton waits on a tandem bicycle with the front seat free.
Meeting point
Union Station, Toronto Union Station, 65 Front Street West, Toronto, Ontario, CA
Pick up
Pickup is not provided.
Cancellation policy · CN Tower and Toronto Waterfront Self-Guided Audio Walk: Union Station, the SkyDome and Harbourfront
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.