Visiting Toronto with young adults? Check out 30 family-friendly attractions approved by even the coolest young travellers.
Toronto is full of fun activities for teens and young adults. From iconic landmarks like the CN Tower to one-of-a-kind guided tours and seasonal thrills, there’s always something unique to do, whether your young’uns are hanging with you or are old enough to strike out on their own for a few hours.
Top Toronto attractions
Thrill seekers can zip up to the CN Tower’s observation level and peer 114 stories down through its famous glass floor to the streets below, or test their mettle on EdgeWalk, the world’s highest full-circle hands-free walk. It takes place on the top of the CN Tower’s main pod, 116 stories (356 metres or 1,168 feet) above ground.
Check out the undersea creatures you’ve only learned about in biology class at Ripley’s Aquarium, like the giant Pacific octopus, piranha, stingrays and lemon sharks.
Snap a photo with the Stanley Cup at the Hockey Hall of Fame, if you can tear yourself away from playing virtual goalie or testing your wrist shot with a real puck and stick at the shoot-out exhibit.
Sneakerheads will enjoy Bata Shoe Museum’s Art/Wear: Sneakers x Artists exhibition (until March 23, 2026), but every fashion hound and shoe lover will find something striking in the museum’s collection of footwear dating from 4,500 years ago.
Aspiring artists must see the Art Gallery of Ontario’s collection, which features 120,000 works, including important art by Indigenous and Canadian artists and European masterpieces. There are also frequent teen-appropriate art-making workshops.
Best Toronto shopping destinations
One of Canada’s largest shopping malls, the Toronto Eaton Centre is a downtown Yonge Street hotspot with everything from K-beauty hotspots (Kiokii) to Uniqlo’s graphic tees, to mall mainstays like Zara, Sephora and superstar Canadian brands October’s Very Own (OVO), Aldo, Lululemon and Aritzia.
With easy subway access (and ample free parking), Yorkdale is a luxury shopping centre (Gucci, Dior, Balenciaga) that also beckons Toronto’s teens with OVO, Apple, Mango, a Cineplex movie complex and the always-popping Cheesecake Factory.
The Bloor-Yorkville intersection of Bay and Bloor streets features a less-hectic Sephora, Eataly with its seating nooks perfect for latte-and-cannoli breaks, and a multi-storey Indigo bookstore with huge manga, YA and stationery sections.
Vintage lovers flock to Queen Street West’s secondhand shops (Black Market Vintage, House of Vintage, Mama Loves You) or Kensington Market (Courage My Love, Exile Vintage). For thrifting, the Salvation Army on St. Clair West, and the Value Village in Leslieville are less-scoured favourites.
Toronto has a healthy comic book scene, including beloved shops like The Beguiling, Silver Snail, Little Island Comics and the secondhand book superstore, BMV, located in the eclectic, University of Toronto-adjacent Annex neighbourhood.
Cool guided tours in Toronto
The Graffiti Walking Tour from The Tour Guys takes street art aficionados through the fascinating mural-filled alleys around Queen Street West, ending in Chinatown.
With its moody cobblestone street and Victorian industrial architecture, the Distillery Historic District is the perfect spot for a twilight ghost walk that even teens will feel just a little bit trepidatious about.
Heritage Toronto hosts fun, history-inflected tours that will appeal to history buffs of all ages. Past events have included a candy factory bus tour that ended with a chocolate workshop.
Okay, it’s not a tour but an escape room adventure that provides novel surroundings and no way for your crew to get lost. Find your way as a family or leave the youth to go alone at these unique escape rooms across Toronto.
Great places to eat and drink in Toronto
Downtown Yonge Street is fantastic for quick, crowd-pleasing eats like YouTube-famous chicken sandwiches at Dave’s Hot Chicken and the Philippine fast food chain, Jollibee, or burgers at Canada’s only Shake Shack. Or, grab a seat among the Toronto Metropolitan University crowd at Salad King for student-approved Thai.
Fresh Kitchen is one of the city’s most beloved vegan table-service chains, with off-the-hook burgers, quinoa onion rings and black bean nachos, plus dreamy blender drinks. Buddha Vegan for Chinese-Canadian and The Hogtown Vegan for Southern-style comfort food are other top vegan choices.
With outposts in Scarborough, North York and downtown near Church-Wellesley Village, OneZo Tapioca is among the city's most aesthetic bubble tea purveyors. Tapioca pearls in bright shades are paired with delicious (read: Instagrammable) pastel- and jewel-tone juices and teas.
Prospective University of Toronto students can grab a bite at the open-to-the-public The Arbor Room café on the lower level of historic Hart House. The stunning Beaux Arts Gothic Revival-style student community building also has a free-admission art museum.
Kensington Market is hard to beat for its snack bar scene, offering up everything from iconic square croissants at Little Pebbles to Swedish sammies and pastries at the hygge Fika Cafe. Global foodies will find stellar tamales and empanadas at the Latin American food court at 214 Augusta Avenue.
Got discerning snackers in your fam? H Mart and T&T (various locations) are the best quick stops for a wide variety of harder-to-find Asian chips and candy.
Family-friendly Toronto spas
Perfect your brows, sit down to a refreshing mani/pedi or deep clean your pores with a relaxing facial at Ten Spot, which has multiple locations across town. (Pro tip: check the parent consent policies before you book.)
Suitable for all ages, Seoul Zimzilbang is Toronto’s first traditional Korean Sauna. No reservations are needed to steam it up like a K-pop idol in the seven-sauna circuit. You can also chill in the social areas: books and devices are welcome, and guests are fully clothed.
Open to guests 16 and up, the Park-Hyatt’s Stillwater Spa is a pampering retreat for spa-savvy teens and their adults. Choose from aromatherapy during a serene Swedish massage or unknit tight muscles with a deep tissue massage performed by a licensed registered massage therapist.
Toronto activities for active teens
Test your bowling skills at Shamrock Bowl, Toronto’s oldest—and old-school—five-pin alley. Or strike out at Danforth Bowl’s cozy retro lanes (reservations required).
In summer, make a splash at The City of Toronto’s outdoor public swimming pools at multiple locations across town. Favourites include Giovanni Caboto, High Park and Alex Duff pools in the west end, and in the east, Donald D. Summerville Olympic and Riverdale Park East.
Come winter, hit the slopes at Earl Bales public ski hill, with a bunny hill, ski lift for the steeper slope and rentals available at the Downhill Ski and Snowboard Centre.
Wintertime also means hitting the ice in Toronto. Head to the Bentway underpass skate park, where a figure-eight trail and skate and helmet rentals await, or glide away at bustling Nathan Phillips Square in front of the Toronto sign (rentals also available).
Outdoor fun in Toronto
While Centre Island offers urban wilderness year-round, summer is the time to rent a four-seater quadricycle bike and zip around the car-free trails or paddle Lake Ontario with a canoe rental from Harbourfront Canoe and Kayak Centre.
Bring a blanket and takeout food for an impromptu picnic beneath a shady tree at Trinity Bellwoods Park in the artsy Queen West neighbourhood. (Visiting during the colder months? Warm up browsing the adjacent boutiques and one-of-a-kind food spots.)
Canada’s Wonderland, a huge amusement park with 200+ attractions, is irresistible fun for teens year-round.
Beat the summer heat at Splash Works, an 8-hectare (20-acre) waterpark with a lazy river and 18 slides. In fall, Halloween Haunt offers seven immersive scare zones, while WinterFest, a holiday-themed festival, includes live music, festive Christmas trees and lights, plus ice skating in front of Wonder Mountain.
