Old Town History Tour

Tour information

Beginning at Toronto City Hall, your storytelling guide will lead you into Old Town Toronto, which has seen it’s share of calamity and chaos over the past 150 years, to stand where what once was the very heart of the inferno during the Great Fire of 1904 and hear the sad tale of John Croft.

Walk to the corner where the first victim of the Cholera epidemic of 1832 dropped dead, before making your way to a former cemetery said to contain hundreds of cholera victims left undisturbed to this very day. Your guide will paint a vivid picture of that dark period of our history.

This tour is a romp through the early history of Toronto, as it grew from the Town of York into the city it is today. Your guide will share the very best stories of the past two centuries, dramatize a duel to the death, describe a public hanging, divulge a failed rebellion, and maybe even dish out a shocking fact here and there.

This tour includes:

English-speaking guide — Hear the stories most would rather forget — Stand on the sites of Toronto's worst fires — The story of a public hanging where it took place — Participate in (or watch) a dramatization of a duel to the death — Murders from the distant past to yesterday's headlines — Learn more about cholera than you probably want to — Perhaps gain a better appreciation for being alive today

Traveler Reviews

• “Absolutely brilliant!. Highly recommend it”
  Reviewed on June2, 2016

  I went on a walking tour for the first time in Madrid with family and thought it was brilliant so i said id give it a go in Canada..im over visiting friends here so im doing my sight seeing on my own…

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• “Great tour of toronto”
  Reviewed on June1, 2016

  Tim was our guide and even though he's not from Canada he was pretty knowledgable. Our tour around the financial district was informative and interesting. We went places we never knew you could even…

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• “Great tour.Sights brought to ilfe through stories well told with humor and historic and contemporary content”
  Reviewed on June1, 2016

  We spent the day with TIM — We enjoyed the Downtown Toronto tour so much we went on the next two tours as well (Old town History and St Lawrence Market).Tours cover different topics with virtually…

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On arrival

This walking tour starts on the steps of Old City Hall. The address is 60 Queen St W Toronto.

Things to note

Our tours run rain or shine so please dress according to the weather!