Toronto with kids, no car: a downtown weekend
By Declan Moss
A downtown Toronto weekend with young kids works without a car: take the ferry to Centre Island on Saturday, then spend Sunday at the Ontario Science Centre's interim Harbourfront location. Stay near the waterfront, walk between outings and use one TTC ride for the Sunday morning approach.
That means one fare per fare-paying person, not a weekend transit pass. The ferry costs extra. Airport travel is outside this plan.
The Toronto skyline from the water. Photo: Reach Out Creations via Pexels.
Your weekend at a glance
- Saturday: Morning: Centre Island ferry; Centreville only if there is time · Lunch and afternoon: Packed lunch, return ferry, nap · Evening: Union food court; short waterfront walk
- Sunday: Morning: 509 streetcar; Harbourfront Science Centre · Lunch and afternoon: Taverna Mercatto, then a rest · Evening: Queens Quay; dinner near your base
- Wet Saturday: Morning: Ripley's replaces the island · Lunch and afternoon: Keep the lunch and nap break · Evening: Keep the evening short
Keep the weekend around Queens Quay
The useful bit of geography is the cluster: Jack Layton Ferry Terminal is at 9 Queens Quay West, at Bay Street. The Science Centre is inside Harbourfront Centre at 235 Queens Quay West, farther west. Ripley's Aquarium and the CN Tower sit inland on Bremner Boulevard, reached from the waterfront via Lower Simcoe Street. They are nearby, but they are not on Queens Quay itself. Ferry terminal · Harbourfront directions · CN Tower location.
Make that your whole weekend. One main outing before lunch, a return to your room, then food and a short walk. Bring the stroller even for a child who likes walking. Save their legs for the island, rather than spending all their enthusiasm on the approach to the dock.
The downtown ferry docks, photographed in 2014. Photo: Dennis G. Jarvis, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Saturday morning: the ferry is part of the outing
Have breakfast before leaving. Pack lunch, water, a spare layer and the snack your child reliably eats. Walk to Queens Quay and follow it to Bay Street and the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal. Take the Centre Island ferry, keeping your return on the same island route so you do not add a cross-island walk. Official ferry routes and schedules.
Buy the ferry tickets online before setting out. The 2026 round-trip fares are $9.57 for adults aged 20 to 64, $6.15 for ages 15 to 19 and 65+, and $4.51 for children aged 2 to 14. Children under 2 travel free. A four-year-old needs a ferry ticket even though they do not need a TTC fare. City ferry fares.
Set your return target around the nap, not around how many rides you can fit in. For a child who needs to sleep in a bed soon after lunch, keep this to a ferry ride, a short island walk and an early picnic. Do not make Centreville a promise before you have reached the island.
Centre Island: choose the small version
From the Centre Island dock, follow the signs towards Centreville. Walk only as far as the family wants to walk, then turn back towards the same dock. There is no need to add another island to make the fare worthwhile.
In September 2026, Centreville opens at 10:30 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Make it an optional stop for a family whose nap schedule leaves room for it. Skip the weekday version of this plan if the rides are the reason for going. Centreville's opening information.
Centre Island parkland in an archival spring photograph from 2013. Photo: Tarik B, CC BY 2.0.
Centreville, photographed in 2017. An optional part of the island morning. Photo: Alaney2k, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Eat your packed lunch on Centre Island before joining the return queue. Keep a separate snack for the wait. Start heading back while everyone still has some patience left; the queue at the dock is part of getting home, not time to borrow from the nap.
The cut-off rule: if the outward queue has already used the time you set aside for the island, abandon the crossing. If you make it over but lunch is approaching, cut Centreville first. The boat ride and picnic are enough.
Saturday afternoon and evening: stop adding tickets
Return to your room for the nap or a quiet break. Leave the CN Tower for another trip rather than trying to salvage every hour of Saturday with a second admission.
For an early dinner, use Paramount Fine Foods in Union Station's food court, at 65 Front Street West. Its posted Saturday and Sunday hours are 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Choose the food-court option when the children have used up their appetite for a long sit-down meal. Paramount at Union.
Union Station is the dinner stop and Sunday transit starting point. Exterior shown, not the Paramount counter. Photo: Dillan Payne, CC BY-SA 4.0.
For a final look at the water, walk south on Bay Street to Queens Quay and the ferry terminal. Turn back as soon as the youngest is done. Skip this loop altogether after a late return from Centre Island.
Sunday morning: one streetcar ride to the Science Centre
After breakfast, walk to Union Station and take the 509 Harbourfront streetcar towards Exhibition. Get off at the Harbourfront Centre stop, as named in the Science Centre's own directions. This is the plan's one TTC ride; the return is on foot. Science Centre transit directions.
Children 12 and under ride free on the TTC, with no fare or pass required. Each person aged 13 or older pays their own fare. TTC fares.
The low-floor streetcars avoid a flight of internal steps. Keep hold of the stroller and set its brake once aboard. At Union, use the elevator route rather than taking the stroller onto an escalator. TTC accessible travel · TTC stroller safety.
The low-floor TTC streetcar type. This archival King Street photograph does not show the 509 route. Photo: Bernard Spragg. NZ, CC0 1.0.
Harbourfront: book the morning, leave room for lunch
The Harbourfront Centre entrance with Science Centre signs, photographed in November 2025. The photograph predates the expanded 2026 interim programme. Photo: VCAtOSCToronto, CC0.
The Ontario Science Centre's interim location is inside Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay West. From September 12 through December 18, 2026, it opens Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $15 per person, including tax, with free admission for children aged 2 and under. Book a morning timed ticket online; peak slots sell out. Admission and hours.
Choose a 10 a.m. visit and aim to leave for lunch around noon. That is a suggested family rhythm, not a claim that every exhibit takes two hours. Let a four-year-old linger with something they enjoy instead of hurrying them through the building.
Sunday lunch to evening: Bremner, a break, then the water
From Harbourfront Centre, walk north on Lower Simcoe Street to Bremner Boulevard, then turn east for Taverna Mercatto, 120 Bremner Boulevard. Margherita pizza is on the menu: a straightforward order to share when nobody wants a complicated lunch. The afternoon plan is the walk back to your room and a rest, not another museum. Taverna Mercatto's menu and address.
After the break, return to Queens Quay for a short waterfront walk. Keep dinner near your base; the Union food court is the repeat option if choosing somewhere new feels like work. Finish early enough to pack for departure without a tired child waiting through another outing.
The CN Tower from Harbourfront. Enjoy the skyline without adding a second admission. Photo: andrewarchy, CC BY 2.0.
Rain plan: swap the island for Ripley's
Ripley's is the indoor swap for a wet island morning. Exterior photographed at night. Photo: Chris Woodrich, CC BY-SA 4.0.
On a wet Saturday, replace the island morning with Ripley's Aquarium of Canada, 288 Bremner Boulevard, beside the CN Tower. It is indoors; bring a compact stroller. Wagons, stroller wagons and large running strollers are not allowed inside. Ripley's stroller policy.
From Queens Quay, walk north on Lower Simcoe Street to Bremner and turn west for the aquarium. Keep the lunch and nap break; do not add the aquarium on top of an island day. Ripley's visitor information.
Sunday's Harbourfront Science Centre visit is already indoors.
Save these for another Toronto weekend
Leave the ROM, AGO and Little Canada out of this version of the weekend. Each is another choice to make and another journey to fit around sleep.
ROM: save for another version of the weekend. Photo: Maksim Sokolov (Maxergon), CC BY-SA 4.0.
AGO: another trip, rather than another stop. Photo: Jeff Hitchcock, CC BY 2.0.
Little Canada: the Little Niagara model, photographed in 2021. Save this indoor option for a different itinerary. Photo: EclecticEnnui, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Who should choose a different plan?
Skip renting a car for this downtown-only itinerary. But if Canada's Wonderland or the Toronto Zoo is the main event, build a separate day around the longer journey, by car or transit. They do not fit this compact waterfront weekend.
Canada's Wonderland needs its own day. This photograph is destination context, not a ride recommendation for young children. Photo: K2HWY, CC BY 4.0.
Toronto Zoo entrance, photographed in November 2025. Outside this downtown route. Photo: Silver Dovelet, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The old Don Mills Science Centre is permanently closed. It is not an out-of-town alternative to add by renting a car. Use the Harbourfront location in this guide. Science Centre closure notice.
Closed: the former Don Mills location, photographed in 2008. Do not travel here for this itinerary. Photo: David Ceballos, CC BY 2.0.
About this guide
Written by Declan Moss. Official information for this Toronto guide was checked on 16 September 2026. Sources are linked alongside the fares, locations and opening hours.
Where to base yourself
A downtown base keeps this route on foot and one TTC fare per fare-paying person; StayToronto's downtown stays include York at 12 and 14 York Street, in the South Core pocket used by this itinerary.
One real York one-bedroom layout.
Before you go
- Check the City's ferry schedule and Centreville's calendar for your actual weekend; September service and park openings are seasonal.
- Confirm your Science Centre or Ripley's ticket time and the restaurants' current hours before setting out.
- Check TTC service advisories and the accessible-stations and elevator list. Not every subway station has an elevator, and an installed elevator can be out of service.
The publisher is not affiliated with the TTC, City of Toronto, Ontario Science Centre, Harbourfront Centre, Ripley's, ROM, AGO, CN Tower, Centreville, or any other venue or operator named in this guide.
Frequently asked questions
Can you visit Toronto with young kids without renting a car?
Yes. From a downtown waterfront base, make Centre Island the Saturday outing and the Science Centre at Harbourfront the Sunday outing. This plan uses walking, one TTC ride per fare-paying person and separately paid return ferry tickets. Airport travel is not included.
Do children need tickets for the TTC and Toronto Island ferry?
Children 12 and under ride free on the TTC. The ferry has different age bands: children aged 2 to 14 pay $4.51 round trip in 2026, and children under 2 travel free.
Where is the Ontario Science Centre for this weekend?
Use its interim Harbourfront Centre location at 235 Queens Quay West. From September 12 through December 18, 2026, it opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $15 including tax, with free admission for children aged 2 and under. The old Don Mills location is permanently closed.
What should we do if it rains?
Replace the island outing with Ripley's Aquarium at 288 Bremner Boulevard. Keep Sunday's indoor Science Centre visit and the afternoon rest breaks. Do not add the aquarium on top of the island outing.
Is Centreville open during September weekends?
The September 2026 opening information lists 10:30 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Treat Centreville as an optional part of the island morning, and use its current calendar when planning your visit.