Toronto/Yorkville and the Annex

Yorkville and The Annex are two neighbourhoods along Bloor St where downtown Toronto meets midtown. Helped by the University of Toronto and the stately homes in the area, the district has a different feel than the downtown neighbourhoods to the south with their modern condos and busier lifestyles. So take a walk along Bloor St, browse through the designer boutiques in Yorkville or take an afternoon (or a day) to roam the halls and exhibits of the Royal Ontario Museum.

The Annex
The Annex is one of Toronto's oldest neighbourhoods and its first streetcar suburb, characterized by its distinctive tall narrow houses, lively community along Bloor Street, and indeed its name. Considered a food and shopping mecca, this district is well known by Torontonians as one of the friendliest neighbourhoods in the city. Due to the proximity of the neighbourhood to the University of Toronto and Central Technical School with its famous art school The Art Centre - there is a large population of students and faculty, the commercial strip along Bloor Street has quite the feel of a college neighbourhood (albeit an affluent one). Most of the commercial activity in the neighbourhood takes place along Bloor St, which is filled with small restaurants, pubs and bookshops. The side streets are mostly residential, with long, narrow townhouses to the south of Bloor and large, stately mansions to the north. The borders of the neighbourhood are, to some extent, debatable, however, less so than many other neighbourhoods in the city. The eastern and western boundaries are generally agreed to be Avenue Road and Bathurst Street respectively and the southern boundary is generally agreed to be Harbord Street. The northern boundary is generally considered to be Dupont Street.

Yorkville
During the 1960s, Bloor-Yorkville served as the centre of Toronto's hippie culture. After large scale development in the 1980s and 1990s, it has become Toronto's upscale shopping district, containing boutiques dedicated to haute couture. It has also become a focal point during the Toronto International Film Festival, making the area "ground-zero" for celebrity watching.

Along the narrow Cumberland Street and Yorkville Avenue, between Bay Street and Avenue Road, you will find smaller but expensive independent clothing stores. Near the corner of Yorkville Avenue and Hazelton Avenue, you will also find a number of private art galleries with more on Dupont Street near the northern end of Hazelton Avenue.

In 2018, the Yorkville is being redeveloped again as condo towers are beginning to replace the low-rise buildings that give the neighbourhood its character.

The Mink Mile
Bloor Street from Yonge Street to Avenue Road is known as the "Mink Mile" for its pricey, high-end stores such as Tiffany and Holt Renfrew.

Discovery District
Much of the district is synonymous with being Toronto's Discovery District, so named as it contains many of Toronto's most important centres of education, such as the University of Toronto (U of T), the Royal Conservatory of Music and the Royal Ontario Museum. Canada's foremost centres of medical research are also located in this neighbourhood, with several of Canada's most prestigious hospitals arranged in a row along University Avenue between College and Dundas Streets.

Get in
Yorkville and the Annex are within walking distance of many major attractions and a central point for the Toronto's subway system. Streetcar and bus connections link the subway stations to the surrounding neighbourhoods.

By car
From the Don Valley Parkway: exit at Bloor Street, follow Bloor Street West to Spadina.

From the 401: exit at Allen Road. Follow Allen Road south until Eglinton. Turn left on Eglinton, and right on Bathurst. Follow Bathurst to Bloor. Or: Exit the 401 at Avenue Rd., proceed south to Bloor St, where you make a right turn and continue until you reach spadina.

From the Gardiner Expressway: exit at Spadina. Follow Spadina north until Bloor St.

Parking: Finding a parking space on Bloor Street or any of the side streets is extremely difficult at the best of times and basically impossible during regular business hours. There is one parking lot in the neighbourhood, a commercial one just off Bloor Street, on Lippincott Street, one block east of Bathurst Street.

By subway
The neighbourhoods are well-served by the subway. Subway line 1 (Yonge-University) runs to Spadina Station; the St George Station on the same line is several blocks east of the Annex. Museum and Queens Park stations provide access to the University campus and some of the museums.

Subway line 2 (Bloor-Danforth) runs underground immediately north of Bloor Street, it stops at Spadina Station and Bathurst Station, on either end of the Annex, while the Bay and Yonge-Bloor stations access Yorkville. The Spadina and Bathurst stations have transfer-free connections to 510 and 511 streetcars respectively.

By streetcar
The 510 Spadina LRT Streetcar runs from Union Station south to Queen's Quay in the Harbourfront neighbourhood, along which it runs west to Spadina, it then runs north on Spadina to Spadina Subway Station where it connects to the Bloor-Danforth line. The 510 runs entirely in its own right-of-way. The 511 Streetcar runs from Exhibition Place in the Harbourfront neighbourhood, along Fleet Street to Bathurst, it then runs north on Bathurst to Bathurst Subway Station. The 511 runs with traffic for most of its route.

Route 506 runs along College, Carlton and Gerrard Streets from High Park to the west to Main Street station to the east. It runs across the southern edge of the University of Toronto and connects with the subway line 1 (Yonge-University) at College Park and Queen's Park.

By bus
Route 94 runs along Wellesley, Hoskin and Harbord from Castle Frank station to Ossington station and connects with the Yonge line at Wellesley station. It runs straight through the U of T campus and stops at the north end of Queen's Park.

Route 5 runs along University Avenue and Avenue Road from the coach terminal to Eglinton station, connecting with the University-Spadina line at Queen's Park and Museum. This route runs straight through Queen's Park.

Route 6 runs along Bay Street from Queen's Quay to Yorkville, stopping at Union station and Bay station as well as the coach terminal. This route runs along the eastern edge of the U of T campus.

By bike
There are bike lanes running east-west on Harbord and College Streets. Bloor St is also quite bike friendly despite not having a bike lane. There are poles reserved for bike locking along all major streets, including Bloor.

Get around
This area is very walkable and cyclists can easily navigate around the neighbourhoods. It is well served by public transit. Driving is not advised due to expensive parking, many one-way streets and turn restrictions. Park your car and walk.

Yorkville
Yorkville has a mix of Victorian and modern buildings with many Victorian houses having been converted to shops, eateries and offices. On summer days, the neighborhood is crowded with locals and visitors alike.

University of Toronto
The University of Toronto St George Campus lies immediately south of Yorkville and The Annex. With its green spaces and many interlocking courtyards, the campus forms an urban park of 71 ha. Most buildings on the eastern and central portions of the campus were built between 1858 and 1929 using a combination of Romanesque and Gothic Revival architecture.

Central campus
The central campus lies between Queens Park Crescent and St George Street, and can be reached by taking the 506 Streetcar to McCaul St. The courtyards within the surrounding walls of the University College and Knox College buildings may make you feel that you are within Harry Potter's Hogwarts.

Eastern campus
The eastern campus lies on the east side of Queens Park separating it from the rest of the university. It contains two colleges with several older buildings. Museum Subway Station is adjacent to the eastern campus.

Western campus
The western campus lies between St. George Street and Spadina Avenue and contains a mix of old and modern buildings. It can be reached by the 506 streetcar at Beverley Street or St George Street, or by the 510 streetcar to Willcocks Street.

Do

 * Annex Neighbourhood Stroll. If you're interested in Victorian architecture, the Annex is a great place to just wander. The area includes countless detached and semi-detached homes, most built in the elegant Victorian style at the turn of the century. North of Bloor are the mansions, south of Bloor are the rowhouses; both are equally worth a look. Admiral Road and Elgin Avenue are particularly attractive.

The Annex
True to its bohemian character, The Annex is dotted with small bookshops and independent record stores centred around Bloor and Bathurst. You'll find the predictable headshops and ethnic/tribal stores, but there are also some truly exceptional places to shop.

Bloor-Yorkville
Bloor Street between Avenue Road and Yonge Street is often called "the Mink Mile" because of its cluster of expensive, high-end stores. Along Cumberland Street and Yorkville Avenue, one and two blocks north of Bloor Street respectively, there are rows of shops, restaurants and art galleries.



The Annex
The Annex has more restaurants packed in per square metre than any other part of the city. Keeping true to Toronto's multicultural flavour, you're likely to find sushi restaurants, pizzerias and falafel stands within a few steps of each other. Whatever you crave, you can find it in the Annex.

Splurge
The expensive restaurants tend to be found in Yorkville just north of the Mink Mile.

Go next
Here is a list of adjacent districts:
 * Downtown East: Church-Wellesley Village, Cabbagetown.
 * Kensington-Chinatown: Kensington Market, Chinatown, Art Gallery of Ontario.
 * Midtown: Casa Loma
 * West End: Koreatown, Little Italy, High Park
 * Yonge-Dundas: Yonge-Dundas Square, City Hall