Whether you want to reconnect with your SO or unplug from the world, here’s how to get mindful in Toronto.
Embracing the quieter side of Toronto is the perfect way to rejuvenate and relax after a busy holiday season. Set the tone for 2025 with one of these 15 soulful escapes.
De-stress at H2O Float Studio
H2O, located in the Distillery Historic District, offers various rejuvenating sensory experiences that allow you to float away in a bath containing 1,000 pounds of Epsom salt while listening to rainforest sounds (or another relaxing soundtrack of choice).
You can select a solo cabin or tandem, but we recommend saving the tandem for a Valentine’s Day outing. Make this day just about you. Your mind—and muscles—will thank you!
Soothe your soul at Rouge National Urban Park
At 79 sq km (27 sq mi), the world’s largest national urban park has plenty of hiking trails. Our recommendation: the 10.5-kilometre (6.6 mi) Central Trail, which follows Katabokakonk Creek and then Little Rouge Creek.
Research suggests the ever-present sound of flowing water can reduce anxiety and—plainly put—just make you feel good.
ALSO SEE: Forest Bathing in Toronto: Best Parks for Nature Therapy and Relaxation
Stretch and unwind at Ebb and Flo Studio
At this yoga studio in east-end Danforth-Greektown, you can choose from many yoga styles (hatha, vinyasa, yin, Pilates-inspired flo and more), with classes from dawn to well past dusk. Staff recommend the 60-minute Stretch and Unwind as a peaceful way to end a day.
Enjoy a Candlelight Concert
The popular Candlelight Concert series—lyric-free music in atmospheric, candlelit spaces—features everything from ABBA to Coldplay to Vivaldi.
For your Toronto visit, we recommend booking a soothing classical concert in a traditional venue like the Metropolitan Community Church on a residential street in Toronto’s leafy Riverdale neighbourhood.
Walk the High Park Labyrinth
A contemplative walk in the High Park Labyrinth, located in a grassy area near Grenadier Pond, can help boost focus and concentration. The labyrinth’s circles were designed to remind visitors of nature’s cycles and the changing seasons.
Head to High Park's Grenadier Restaurant for a restorative cup of hot chocolate.
ALSO SEE: 10 of the Best Hot Chocolate Spots in Toronto
Immerse yourself in Canadian art at the Art Gallery of Ontario
Dedicate a quiet weekday morning or afternoon admiring the nature-themed works of the Group of Seven and Tom Thompson: snowy Algonquin Park, wind-bent jack pines, the Canadian Shield in winter, mornings in the Canadian Rockies, rugged shores of Lake Superior and white pines.
Pro tip: To completely immerse yourself, download Dan Gibson’s “Algonquin Suite” nature soundtrack from Spotify before arrival.
Enjoy the lull at the Royal Ontario Museum
A tip from ROM insiders: to visit the museum when it’s quiet, arrive after 2 p.m. on a weekday during the school year—after the school groups have departed for the day.
That’s the perfect time this winter for some soulful reflection as you wander through Cloudscape (now through June 30, 2025), an exhibition of traditional Chinese artwork full of soothing water and cloud motifs.
Grab a paintbrush and release your creativity
Fresh Paints Studio on The Danforth hosts adult freestyle painting drop-ins.
No worries, it’s not a class, and no experience is necessary. Staff are available to provide tips and advice if asked, but the goal is for you to let your creativity flow without any agenda or rules.
ALSO SEE: 10 Creative Spaces Where You Can Make Your Own Souvenirs in Toronto
Mellow out during a candlelight yoga class
JayBird Studio (two locations: Queen West and Yorkville) hosts yoga classes in infrared-heated rooms, which reportedly can boost your immune system.
The mirror-free studios are lit only by candles, allowing participants to completely disconnect and focus solely on their inner selves, free of distraction.
New to hot yoga? First-timers may want to arrive early to get comfortable in the unfamiliar environment and let the instructor know it’s their first visit.
Enjoy the solitude of Toronto Island in winter
During the off-season, the Toronto Islands are crowd-free, quiet, and just a short ferry ride from the Waterfront. The only winter stop is Ward’s Island.
Stroll the 1.5-kilometre (0.9 mi) boardwalk on the island’s south side to take in awesome lake views—or walk the full length of the island to Hanlan’s Point if your energy allows.
You can be guaranteed no line-ups for the ferry or the handful of heated washrooms kept open year-round.
Pro tip: The Island Riviera Café is open from 12 to 7 p.m. in winter if you feel peckish.
Enjoy a free lunchtime organ recital at St. James Cathedral
Escape the madding crowd of downtown Toronto and let yourself be transported away—in the middle of the day—by the soulful sounds of St. James Cathedral’s 5,000 organ pipes. It takes place on Tuesdays at 1 p.m., and while admission is free, donations go toward providing food and support to the city’s homeless community.
Silent Sundays at the Revue Cinema
Imagine a movie with no talking parts. No need to imagine: head to Roncesvalles Village, where the Revue Cinema screens silent-era films, many from the 1920s and 1930s, with live musical accompaniment each Sunday at 4 p.m.
Take the waters at a spa
Body Blitz Spa: Health by Waters has curated a Therapeutic Waters Circuit, which, in the tradition of East European public baths, incorporates a series of soothing water treatments patrons do on their own.
They include a warm Dead Sea salt pool, a hot Epsom salt pool, a cold plunge, a eucalyptus steam room and an infrared sauna. Spa services can also be booked at this women-only mini-chain, which has locations in the east and west end.
ALSO SEE: 6 Top Toronto Spas for Last-Minute Spontaneous Pampering
Pursue inner growth at the Gardiner Museum
The Gardiner, which reopened in October 2024 after a $14-million makeover, offers a variety of classes that incorporate personal development with art.
In the two-hour “Centering with Clay,” a registered psychotherapist shows students how to play with clay while providing guidance on how to breathe slower, relax into the core of your body and focus on the present.
Pro tip: wear comfortable clothes, preferably short-sleeves, so you can really lean into the physicality of clay work.
Escape for the afternoon to Leslie Street Spit
Apart from the calls of ring-billed gulls or cormorants, you’ll hear little else as you walk the length of the Leslie Street Spit in Tommy Thompson Park.
It’s approximately 5 kilometres (3 mi) from the entrance to the abandoned lighthouse at the end of the spit—longer if you include a side loop. Expect to walk about 2.5 hours.
The park is only open to the public on weekends and after 4 p.m. on weekdays, so be sure to plan ahead.
