Toronto
Kensington Market & Chinatown
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Pedestrian Sundays, vintage shops, cheap pho on Spadina — Toronto's most multicultural and most affordable neighbourhood for food.
Kensington Market is a 4-block warren immediately west of Spadina, Canada's most concentrated multicultural neighbourhood — Portuguese bakeries, Jamaican patties, El Salvadorean pupuserias, Mexican grocers, Jewish bagel holdovers. The streets close to cars on the last Sunday of every month (Pedestrian Sunday). Spadina Avenue immediately east is downtown Chinatown — banh mi, dim sum, hot pot all under CA$15. Vintage shopping in Kensington rivals NYC's East Village.
Scores
Walkability
Transit
Price
Local feel
Nightlife
Family-friendly
Centrality
What you gain
- ↑Cheapest dining in the downtown core — pho, dim sum, banh mi all under CA$15
- ↑Pedestrian Sundays (last Sunday May-Oct) — street food, buskers, no cars
- ↑Best vintage shopping in Toronto — Courage My Love and dozens of indie shops
What you sacrifice
- ↓Almost no hotels — Airbnb/short-term only inside the market
- ↓Late-night noise on Friday/Saturday from bars on Augusta Avenue
Best for
Avoid if
Other Toronto neighbourhoods
University of Toronto's neighbourhood — Victorian houses, bookshops, Bloor Street cafes and the original Honest Ed's site.
The tourist core — CN Tower, Ripley's Aquarium, Rogers Centre, Harbourfront and Union Station all within a 15-minute walk.
Toronto's luxury quarter — Bloor Street West's "Mink Mile," the ROM, Yorkville restaurants and TIFF's celebrity hotels.
Know where to stay — now find when to go.
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