Toronto's markets car-free: St Lawrence & Kensington

The South Market building, photographed from the south in February 2026. The Front Street entrance used in this guide is on the other side. Photo: Dillan Payne, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Yes. Visit St Lawrence Market for food stalls and breakfast, then Kensington Market for independent shops, bread and street-level browsing; walk between them or use one TTC fare for the connecting streetcar ride.

Choose Saturday, St Lawrence first and Kensington after. That gets you the farmers' market as well as the South Market food hall. This plan does not suit someone looking for a single indoor shopping centre or a day with very little walking.

What is St Lawrence Market actually for?

Start at the South Market, 93 Front Street East. It is the food-hall part of the visit: counters, display cases and something to eat now. The separate Saturday farmers' market is in the North Market across Front Street. The address and buildings matter when setting a meeting point. South Market address, market hours and locations.

Make a short shopping list:

• Breakfast: Carousel Bakery's peameal bacon sandwich, on the upper level. Start here if you eat pork. Official vendor page.
• Cheese: Alex Farm Products for Canadian and imported cheeses. Ask for a piece to take away rather than turning breakfast into a full grocery haul. Official vendor page.
• Saturday fruit: Cherry Avenue Farms in the North Market. Its market listing specifies fresh fruit on Saturday mornings. Official farmers' directory.

Buy what you will eat during the visit. Leave the heavy bags and food needing refrigeration until your final stop. Carrying a grocery shop across downtown makes this a different outing.

Carousel Bakery inside the South Market, photographed in 2019. Archival photograph; displayed prices are not current quotes. Photo: Leventio, CC BY-SA 4.0.

When is St Lawrence Market open?

Confirmed hours

• South Market, Tuesday to Friday: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• South Market, Saturday: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• South Market, Sunday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• South Market, Monday: closed
• North Market farmers' market, Saturday: 5 a.m. to 3 p.m.

These are the official hours checked on 17 September 2026. Skip Monday for this two-market plan. Sunday works for the South Market, but it does not give you Saturday's farmers' market.

The early-start catch: 5 a.m. is for the farmers, not your South Market breakfast. The South building opens two hours later. For this itinerary, arrive after both are open rather than setting an alarm for the first opening time you find.

What happened to the Sunday antiques market?

The official listing now shows Antiques at St. Lawrence Market in the North Market, Sundays from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., except the last Sunday of each month. It explicitly lists 20 September 2026. Do not turn “Sunday antiques” into an every-Sunday promise. Official antiques listing.

What is Kensington Market for?

Kensington is a neighbourhood west of Spadina Avenue, not another hall with a front door and one closing time. Use Kensington Avenue, Baldwin Street and Augusta Avenue as your browsing loop. The City’s walking map places the food shops along Baldwin and the vintage-clothing stretch on Kensington Avenue. City of Toronto neighbourhood walk.

Go for the mix. A loaf and a pastry, then a look through the clothing shops, then another street. There is no need to eat a second full lunch just because you have reached the second market.

Looking south along Augusta Avenue in October 2025. Kensington is a neighbourhood of streets and shops. Photo: Dillan Payne, CC BY-SA 4.0.

On Baldwin, Blackbird Baking Co., 172 Baldwin Street, is the bread stop. Its published range includes sourdough loaves and butter croissants. Sanagan's Meat Locker, 176 Baldwin Street, is the butcher stop for meat and prepared food to take home. These are working food shops, not just sightseeing stops. Blackbird’s product list, Sanagan’s.

What time should you visit Kensington?

Aim for late morning into the afternoon. That is the itinerary recommendation, not a neighbourhood-wide opening schedule. Each shop sets its own hours: Sanagan's Kensington location lists Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Shop hours.

You do not need a street festival to visit. Car-free travel here means arriving on foot or by TTC; it does not mean the neighbourhood's roads are closed to vehicles every day.

Baldwin Street between Augusta and Kensington avenues, photographed in 2017. An archival streetscape, not a record of today’s tenants. Photo: DXR, CC BY-SA 4.0.

How do you get between the markets without a car?

Walk via Church and Dundas

From Front Street, head west to Church Street and north to Dundas. Turn west along Dundas, cross Spadina, then turn north into Kensington Avenue and continue to Baldwin Street. Turn west on Baldwin for Augusta.

For the full trip from 93 Front Street East to Baldwin and Augusta, Google Maps shows the Church Street/Dundas option at 3.4 km and 49 minutes on foot. That is the map’s walking estimate before browsing, not a timed tour. Walking-route comparison.

Use the 505 for the middle stretch

Walk west on Front to Church, then north to Dundas. Board the 505 Dundas westbound toward Dundas West Station at Church Street and get off at Spadina Avenue. Continue west on foot to Kensington Avenue, then north to Baldwin. No subway change is needed for this version. TTC westbound route and stops, September 2026 downtown map.

This option cuts out the cross-downtown Dundas walk, but still has walking at both ends. Choose it when you want to save your feet for the shops.

Dundas and Spadina in September 2026. The photograph shows the Spadina platform, not the westbound 505 boarding stop; the market walk continues from this intersection. Photo: Dillan Payne, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What does “one fare” cover?

An adult fare paid by PRESTO card, debit or credit card is CA$3.30. Use the same card or device for each tap. TTC permits further taps within two hours of the first tap without another TTC fare; cash does not include that two-hour benefit. TTC fares and transfer rules.

Here is the practical distinction: walking to St Lawrence and taking your first ride after breakfast starts the clock later. Taking transit to breakfast starts it earlier. A long browse at both markets can outlast the window, so “one fare between markets” does not promise your journey home is included. Do not rush Kensington to save another fare.

Where to base yourself

StayToronto’s short-stay options include Jarvis in the Garden District, Atmos in the Entertainment District, York in South Core and Parade in CityPlace. For a Garden District base, 251 Jarvis to the South Market is a mapped 1.0 km, estimated at 14 minutes walking via Jarvis Street. Choose your base around the rest of the trip as well. Walking route.

One real studio layout at 251 Jarvis Street.

Before you go

Check St Lawrence’s hours and holiday exceptions, the antiques calendar and TTC service advisories for your travel date. Check individual Kensington shop hours and food availability before making a special trip. For October walks, check the City’s Kensington construction updates: its current notice schedules Toronto Hydro pole replacement on Augusta Avenue from October 2026, with the wider road project expected in spring 2027.

About this guide

Written by Declan Moss. Market, shop and transit facts were checked against the linked official sources on 17 September 2026; walking estimates were checked in Google Maps on the same date. This is an independent visitor guide, not affiliated with either market, the named vendors or the TTC.