How many days do you need in Toronto?

The CN Tower from one real StayToronto York suite.

Two full days. That is the honest answer for a first Toronto visit.

Use day one for one museum, Ripley's and the CN Tower. Use day two for St. Lawrence Market and the Toronto Islands. If you only have one day, cut the museums. If Niagara Falls is on your list, add a third day.

This plan is car-free. It works because it follows closing times, not a map crowded with pins.

What actually fits in one, two, three or four days?

• One full day: St. Lawrence Market, the Toronto Island ferry, Ripley's Aquarium and the CN Tower. Cut the ROM and AGO.
• Two full days: One museum plus Ripley's and the CN Tower on day one. St. Lawrence Market and the Toronto Islands on day two.
• Three full days: Keep the two downtown days and give Niagara Falls its own day.
• Four full days: Add Casa Loma and the museum you left out.

Do not turn two days into a race. The useful question is not how many attractions fit on a list. It is which doors close first.

Day one: choose one museum, then use the late hours

Make the first choice before you leave your stay: ROM or AGO. Not both.

The ROM exterior. Photo: Maksim Sokolov, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The Royal Ontario Museum is at 100 Queen's Park. For the week of 10 to 16 August 2026, it posted daily hours of 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The ROM uses Plan-Ahead Pricing, so there is no honest fixed adult price to print here.

The AGO. Photo: Jeff Hitchcock, CC BY 2.0.

If the AGO is your priority, replace the ROM with the Art Gallery of Ontario at 317 Dundas Street West. Adult admission is $30. It opens at 10:30 a.m. and closes at 5:00 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, 9:00 p.m. Wednesday and Friday, and 5:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Monday is closed. Ontarians under 25 enter free. The first Wednesday evening of each month is free from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Decision made. Now move to the late pair.

Ripley's Aquarium of Canada at night. Photo: Chris Woodrich, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Ripley's Aquarium of Canada is at 288 Bremner Boulevard, on the same block as the CN Tower. On 12 August, Ripley's posted 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.

Put Ripley's first and the CN Tower second. The tower's observation levels run from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., but the last entry is 9:30 p.m. Timed General Admission is $47 for an adult aged 14 to 64.

That 9:30 p.m. last entry is the hard edge of day one. Build backwards from it.

Day two: St. Lawrence Market, then the ferry

St. Lawrence Market at dusk. Public-domain image via Rawpixel, CC0 1.0.

Start at St. Lawrence Market, at 92 to 95 Front Street East. The South Market hours are:

• Tuesday to Friday: 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
• Saturday: 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Sunday: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Monday: closed.

The North Farmers' Market is different. It runs Saturday only, from 5:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. If that is the market you mean, the day of the week has already made part of the itinerary for you.

From the market, continue to Jack Layton Ferry Terminal at 9 Queens Quay West, behind the Westin Harbour Castle. The adult Toronto Island ferry fare is $9.57 round trip for ages 20 to 64. Buy the ticket online in advance.

Toronto from an Island ferry. Photo: Lord of the Wings, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Give the middle of the day to the Toronto Islands. Do not bolt Casa Loma onto the return. A second full day should not end with another sprint across a checklist.

For city travel around these stops, an adult TTC fare is $3.30 by PRESTO or contactless tap and $3.35 in cash. The two-hour transfer applies to taps, not cash.

If you have one day, cut the museums

Most one-day plans sequence Toronto by distance. That is the wrong test.

The ROM posted a 5:30 p.m. close for the week checked. The AGO closes at 5:00 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, 9:00 p.m. Wednesday and Friday, and 5:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Monday is closed. The St. Lawrence Farmers' Market exists only on Saturday from 5:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. On 12 August 2026, Ripley's and the CN Tower both posted hours until 11:00 p.m.

So use this order:

1. Start at St. Lawrence Market.
2. Take the ferry if the Toronto Islands matter to you.
3. Go to Ripley's, then enter the CN Tower before 9:30 p.m.

Drop the ROM and AGO completely. Do not move them to after dinner. Their doors, not the kilometres between them, make that decision.

Who does two days not suit?

Two days does not suit someone trying to fold Niagara Falls into the same visit. Niagara is not a spare afternoon. Make it day three and use our Toronto to Niagara Falls without a car guide for that day.

Niagara Falls. Photo: Ethan Sahagun, CC BY-SA 3.0.

A fourth day gives you room for Casa Loma and the museum you skipped.

Casa Loma. Photo: Bintyamin20248, CC0 1.0.

Casa Loma is at One Austin Terrace, at Davenport Road and Spadina Avenue. Touring runs daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with last admission at 4:30 p.m. Adult admission for ages 18 to 64 is $45 plus HST.

Two days is a first downtown look. It is not an exhaustive Toronto museum trip, and it is not a downtown visit with a day trip hidden inside it.

Which downtown base fits your version of the route?

No StayToronto building wins the whole itinerary. Choose the side of downtown you care about most.

• York suites fit the South Core side of the plan. Use the Financial District guide and CN Tower area guide to judge that base.
• Atmos suites fit the Entertainment District side.
• Parade suites fit CityPlace and the west side of downtown.
• Jarvis suites fit the Downtown East side.

Pick the address around the first door you need to reach, not the centre point of every attraction on a map.

Before you go

• Re-check Ripley's daily calendar and the ROM's posted week before leaving. The hours in this guide were checked on 12 August 2026.
• Confirm current attraction prices and the AGO's first-Wednesday free window before paying.
• The ferry promotion for children, youth aged 15 to 19 and seniors aged 65 and over is temporary. Those groups travel free only from 1 to 31 August 2026, and each passenger still needs a ticket.
• TTC fares, ferry fares and attraction admission can change. Use the official pages linked in this guide for the current figures.

Official sources

• CN Tower hours and tickets
• Ripley's Aquarium of Canada
• Royal Ontario Museum visitor information
• Art Gallery of Ontario visit information
• Casa Loma visitor information
• St. Lawrence Market hours
• City of Toronto ferry information and August 2026 fare promotion
• TTC fares and passes

StayToronto is not affiliated with the CN Tower, Ripley's Aquarium of Canada, the ROM, the AGO, Casa Loma, St. Lawrence Market, the TTC or the City of Toronto ferry service. Their names, hours and prices appear here as travel-planning references from official sources.

About this guide

Written by Declan Moss. Every travel-planning fact here was checked against an official source on 12 August 2026, and the links are in the text.

Compare StayToronto's current downtown short-stay availability and choose the base that fits the part of the route you care about.