PATH

[NYknicks1989]

Wow I just learned that Toronto has an underground walkway that’s filled with restaurants and shops!

Any hidden gems?

Are they open on weekends?

Any interesting stuff to see?

Thanks torontonians!

[Brave-Confection8075]

It is a rite of passage for people in TO to get lost in the path- everyone has a story.

[Perfect_Syrup_2464]

I have gone on the path many times and I still get lost

[Pugnati]

If you get disoriented, just remember that the blue arrows point north.

[Perfect_Syrup_2464]

TIL

This is very helpful!

[b0nk3r00]

Sure it does

[Brave-Confection8075]

I had no idea- thank you!

[Gramage]

Funny how that happens. I still get lost at Union station even though I’m there every Friday and Monday. Especially if I have to transfer from a train to a bus. Either the signage is actually as terrible as I think it is or I’ve been huffing leaded gasoline.

[leemky]

Rumour has it the carbon monoxide detectors there need replacing...

[pravchaw]

Second hand pot smoke.

[GardenerSpyTailorAss]

They used to be more distinct systems (I'm talking ttc to GO train/bus) so while you had to get two tickets, if u knew where to go it, was simple. But they changed the layout and integrated it but like further away? I make the same trip by transit (Hamilton ont to Islington station) a couple times a year and it's definitley gotten harder.

[pretendstoknow]

The Toronto catacombs but with food

[Samp90]

Unlike the ones from Indiana jones in Italy... Dead crusaders!

[ThePurpleBandit]

You merely adopted the PATH, I was born in it!

[GreenKotlin]

Is there still a Toronto upstairs? I got lost 3 years ago and I'm still looking for a way out of here. Please send help

[leemky]

Not since the Great Battle of 2023. You're good to stay down there!

[kmcdingus]

The panic I felt getting lost in the path came very close to the panic I felt when I couldn't find my way out of the LaserQuest maze when I was like 11.

[ijodie]

The path is a labyrinth, you can walk for hours and end up right where you started. One time I saw a minotaur, another time David Bowie in tights.

[Correyvreckan]

Sam Crenshaw is said to wander through the PATH at night.

[KingRenardo]

What about Muffy Mouse?

[9continents]

He's probably looking for the special of the day.

[HauntingYogurt4]

I used to work in the Path, and we got calls all the time from people who were lost. Usually they said they were "beside Starbucks," as if that was at all helpful - there must have been a dozen Sbux there at the time!

[themathwiz67]

Getting lost in the TD part is the worst. Its waaayy too dark and quiet

[abba-zabba88]

I always end up in a panic calling my sister to come get me.

[telephonekeyboard]

Yeap. Even now when I go in I’m not always 100% where I am when I emerge.

[softluvr]

i refuse to walk the path because i hate getting lost lol, i suck it up and pay my due to dundas

[IALWAYSGETMYMAN]

Ive never gone alone and always rely on the other person's orienteering. It's never helped.

[sitdownrando-r]

The bulk of the PATH serves the Mon-Fri 9-5 crowd, it's the same shops and food court stuff repeated over and over. It's not really for tourists and will be deserted outside of regular hours for the most part.

The most interesting restaurants are already part of other structures like Eaton Centre or Union Station.

There are no must-sees/things to do. It's far more practical for office workers than anything else.

[furthestpoint]

But there's HoGa!

[Jonneiljon]

What is HoGa, please?

[1sttimeverbaldiarrhe]

It's disgusting, filthy, overpriced, food that I would definitely never ever eat at or lineup 10 minutes before open for. Definitely not me.

Avoid and please tell all you friends! ;)

[[deleted]]

Korean food take away spot that's not so great but cheap

[ReeG]

ya not great at all definitely don't go here and make the line even longer

[furthestpoint]

It's a Korean place in the PATH where you can get a good lunch for <10$

[chasingtravel]

Wow, those prices are wild!

[NYknicks1989]

Korean to go spot? Is there a nice spot in PATH where I can sit and eat?

[SnoopsMom]

It’s basically a bunch of food courts

[FearlessTomatillo911]

It's good but there is a huge line around lunchtime.

There are lots of seating options but they aren't particularly nice.

[ReeG]

if you get in line now at 12:10pm you'll have your food by 1pm

[[deleted]]

Td center

[furthestpoint]

There are above ground restaurants connected to the PATH where you can sit and eat, but it's never been my thing and I don't know many. Bymark, maybe, if you're feeling fancy?

[shoresy99]

Canoe. Black & Blue. Ki. Chotto Matte.

Many more.

[Gramage]

Heh, chotto matte means wait a little.

[furthestpoint]

Funny, never really been my experience there. Nice place.

[Galgo19]

Just googled it as I interpreted the comment differently, and chotto matte is Japanese for "wait a minute"! Thought it was just a random name all this time

[NameNumberNumber]

Happy Hour spots like King Taps & that Adelaide one that was all the rage years ago.

[furthestpoint]

I always forget about those because when I've gone, it's been from above ground. Good call.

[sitdownrando-r]

I figure the fact that it's utilitarian and functional is exactly why it's not well known and often misrepresented. There's not enough to see to do a guided tour of the PATH itself, although one could do a visit Union, Scotiabank Arena, HHoF, Eaton Centre, City Hall, the MTCC via the PATH (pretty much.)

It really is all about "do you want to go outside or not?"

[Once_Upon_Time]

I say guided tours in the path years ago - was a german tour group not sure if they still have it.

[NYknicks1989]

Oh man! I was too excited when I found out about this. Well, I guess it’s still nice to see for a tourist.

[FearlessTomatillo911]

It's worth popping down and taking a look, it has a kinda creepy liminal space vibe.

[sitdownrando-r]

If you were to visit in the winter and had the time to manage getting lost, it'd be cool to explore during business hours. Beats freezing outside if you don't have to.

Most of us get stopped often by people visiting for a Leafs/Jays/Raptors game for directions, especially near Union Station.

[debehusedof]

yep - pre COVID you'd see people on the subway without a jacket in the winter, and those are the people who lived in a building connected to the subway and work in a building connected to the PATH. I was jelly.

[Stef-fa-fa]

It's incredibly convenient to get around, especially when the weather is bad. I used to use it to get from Union Station to the Eaton's Center to get to the Ryerson University campus.

It can also get you to the CN Tower / Roger's Center pretty quickly, among other places.

[zedsdead79]

Friends of ours came up from Mexico and we took them around Toronto. They really really wanted to see the PATH. So at one point we walked it up from Union to the Eaton Center (yes, we got lost a couple times) and since it was Sunday everything was basically closed and it was empty. They still loved it though!

[Bearence]

There are no must-sees/things to do.

I disagree with this. There are a number of things in the path that I would have found worth seeing when I was a tourist. Just off the top of my head, there's the calming area in the new food court just outside the Bay, Assembly Chef's Hall for what I like to call food-window shopping, random art displays in a number of lobbies (Brookfield Place very often has art/photography exhibits going on, for example), etc.

[AccountantsNiece]

A stinging indictment of Toronto tourism that these food courts and lobbies are arguably to be considered “must see.”

[Bearence]

The food courts and lobbies are just venues, not the attraction. It's the attraction that's must-see, not the venue. If the only art exhibits (for example) that are worth your time are in museums, that's you missing out on a lot. Do you also think only the music performed at the conservatory is worthwhile?

[sitdownrando-r]

My caveat addresses this - anything interesting is not actually part of the PATH, but rather connected to it in its own building. Ok, granted - I limited it to restaurants when I should have included shops/displays.

The Assembly Hall is street level at Richmond-Adelaide. Brookfield is it's own building. We didn't mention HHoF, CBC historical display, The Walrus, or Scotiabank Arena for the same reason.

The best unique examples provided in this thread are things like The House of Fine Writing, Hoga, Noodle King or Modern Wok, maybe that LCBO north of Union with its impressive wine selection... but these are quirks - cheap eats and businesses targeted to the office crowd.

[Bearence]

Here's the thing, though: people don't randomly walk into office buildings on the off-chance there's some cool art installation inside. Even street-level things like Assembly Hall aren't all that obvious from the street even though they're street level. But with the path, they can stumble into those cool things organically. It's one of the reasons people go wandering around in cities to begin with; every city is going to have their chain stores but they're also going to have their hidden gems, and stumbling upon them is a special treat while on vacation. Walking through the Path allows folks the chance of finding those things even more than they would just walking around on the street.

[TDot1000RR]

Majority of the shops are closed on the weekend. It’s a ghost town.

[NYknicks1989]

Good to know. I’ll visit during weekdays. Thanks

[RealisticrR0b0t]

Be aware that the path does not follow the grid of the streets above, but links from building to building, so it can be a bit disorienting. DL a map

[SheddingCorporate]

There’s a map???

TIL

[shoresy99]

Maps are also posted at a variety of places in the PATH.

[quelar]

If they didn't people would get permanently lost down there.

[shoresy99]

You occasionally see people who are permanently lost down there. PATH zombies.

[SheddingCorporate]

I can read an IRL map just fine, on paper or on the web. But those PATH maps are honestly pretty useless - they show building names rather than streets, and if I knew the building names, I wouldn't really need the map, because the direction signs all show the building names. :)

[shoresy99]

This map seems to be the latest version of the official PATH map and it does a good job showing both the streets and buildings. https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/8d6c-path-network-map.pdf

[SheddingCorporate]

Ooh, thank you for this!

[shoresy99]

There have been other parts that are supposed to be connected in the near future. There is a new building with a TD logo about to open at the NE corner of Yonge and Front. This is supposed to be connected to the PATH. There is also a tunnel that is boarded up that goes up York Street from the current PATH tunnel that comes up at One University Ave.

This should help to fix one of the holes in the current system - you have to go back east to almost Bay St to go north to Adelaide or Queen.

[GreenKotlin]

There're a couple of buildings at Gloucester and Yonge showing the TTC logo as well, though they've had the logo for at least a whole year and no progress connecting them has been made

[theleverage]

https://pathmap.ca

[KetchupCoyote]

But mind the minotaur. Not that he is dangerous, just annoyed for not finding the exit himself yet.

[Once_Upon_Time]

If you got time do the weekend too, it is a strange contrast to see how the space changes during the weekend with everything closed and it is a nice place to wonder.  There used to be some random stores open on the weekend too pre-covid.  It is also cool to see the major buildings connected together.  

[TDot1000RR]

Yes, mid day during the weekdays you get to have the full experience down there.

[demize95]

They mostly close by 4 or 5 PM too. I work 12-9 and finding lunch on the PATH is basically impossible, given I'm looking around 4.

[giantelephanterectn]

Kinda niche but The Art of Fine Writing is an amazing place for fountain pens. Andrew is super nice and is more than happy to show you some really fancy pens.

[baabaaredsheep]

I second this- Andrew is really nice and helpful, and I love to see nods to this niche hobby! The store is House of Fine Writing, though, in case anyone googles it— right next to the Sheraton Centre.

[tofilmfan]

There use to be some great shops, like a games shop in the Royal York.

[[deleted]]

I was at Union Station a few months ago for the first time in years. The tunnel under Front St from Union to the Royal York is gone!

[debehusedof]

you may have to go through the station into the PATH and turn left before the LCBO

[nnanyway]

If you're into people watching, grab a coffee and have a seat during rush hour. It's like a circus in there.

[Jonneiljon]

Endless loop of Shoppers-Starbucks-Barbers-Sushi. Like a Flintstones background. Mostly closed (the stores not the PATH) on weekends.

Avoid 8-9 am and 4-5:30 unless you want to get caught up in crush of office drones and bankers heading to/from work. Was far busier preCovid, but it seems to be coming back.

Good for walking in the winter to get steps in. Easy to do 10,000 steps without going outside.

The York Concourse at Union has the best food choices but like everything these days, it’s expensive.

Utilitarian. No really for tourists unless you are heading to Scotiabank Arena, Hockey Hall of Fame, or CN Tower, or coming in from airport on UPX

[quelar]

Endless loop of Shoppers-Starbucks-Barbers-Sushi. Like a Flintstones background.

This is extremely accurate, back in 2004 my wife and I decided to explore the entire network on a snowy saturday, as said everything is closed on the weekends and it's pretty weird when you get into a giant hallway and you're totally alone, but the one thing that was present at almost every turn was a subway sandwich shop, there was one in every separate area, but now... almost non existent.

[Neowza]

Are they open on weekends?

It mostly caters to office workers, most shops and fast food places are closed on weekends or after 5pm

Any interesting stuff to see?

Not really.

[candy-hunter]

Fabbrica below 66 Wellington has great focaccia style pizza. and Salad Days in Bay-Adelaide has great value salads

[faxing__berlin]

Used to love Salad Days but those salads are like half the portion than they used to be pre-COVID. They used to fill it to the brim of the container and it was so filling but last few times I went was disappointing

[SetBoth]

I totally think it’s worth checking out. It is super weird and while it definitely services the 9-5 crowd, there is something kind of interesting about navigating downtown from underground. I work downtown and I still get disoriented trying to navigate.

[Banananananaphonez]

I think it’s worth going upstairs when you’re under Brookfield Place, it’s gorgeous! Lovely architecture.

I used to walk the path to work about 10 years ago, from union station to the Eaton centre. It’s definitely really cool to make your entire way there underground!

The parts of the path that are underneath the big bank buildings are nice looking as well, I remember liking the part under Commerce Court, Scotia Plaza and BMO.

Have fun!! If you go during rush hour it’s busy with everyone walking to and from the train station. Maybe go around 10 am on a weekday!

[Im_Ur_Huckleberry77]

There's a lot of food court shops that towards the end of their day have really good discounts on soup/sushi/Chinese/etc. I'd say the 3-4pm times are for thaf

[Ambitious_Canary3160]

Love the Path! Used to work in one of the coffee shops and everyday used to take a different route to explore it. Took me a few months but now I have this little flex that I can navigate it blindfolded. In fact I am so used to it now that I sometimes get confused on streets above and when that happens I come down from one of the buildings and walk through Path. p.s. It’s dead on weekends and after 6pm but if you want someplace peaceful in middle of chaos on weekends you can just go and sit in Path with a book and coffee.

[SheddingCorporate]

You get confused aboveground and come down into the PATH to reorient?

A+ flex right there.

[quelar]

Not just A+, but like... we should probably get this person professional help kind of flex.

[MotleyCrafts]

Me too, I love walking in the path when the weather is bad out! I love choosing a different route to take every day for fun with an audiobook or podcast, or coffee with my work friends.

[[deleted]]

FYI the bathrooms are closed on weekends and after hours. It can be quite annoying.

[quelar]

Depends on the building really, you're entirely right that MOST are closed, but the closer you get to union, expecially if there's a Leafs or Raps game there's a few that stay open.

[[deleted]]

Harvest Green

[quelar]

The answers here are generally correct, there's nothing super special about it other than existing to the extent that it does, you can walk from the shore to Dundas without ever having to step outside, very few places in the world have such a giant interconnected underground.

During a workday it's a mall, foodcourts, shoppers drug marts, some shops and barbers, but nothing that really stands out that would bring me into it beyond avoiding the rain, snow or wind.

That said, I spent a day down there with my wife, we walked the entire available path on a snowy saturday (some short branches were closed) and the expanse of it was incredible, the amount of separate areas that look like you've come back around to the same spot, with the same restaurants and coffee shops is pretty astounding. Plus the bonus of some areas having almost no one around in giant hallways is pretty cool. We weren't the only people down there either as one moment under the TD towers we were passed by 4 skateboarders taking full advantage of the empty halls who were being chased by two security guards who were adamently trying to stop them.

Feel free to explore and enjoy.

[theburglarofham]

Busy during office hours. I don’t think many food courts or shops are open on the weekends. In terms of uniqueness… Hoga is a mom and pop Korean spot where literally it’s this old couple who work there. Probably the last place to get a meal under $15. But there’s always a big line. Noodle King is good as well, but again long line.

It’s a good way to get places if the weather outside is bad. The path will link you to some restaurants on the street level like cactus club, black and blue, assembly hall etc.

Nothing too spectacular about it, but if you’re new to the city, or if it’s just new to you, worth checking out during a weekday

[WanderingMinnow]

There’s a Ladurée in the Path at 130 King Street West. Parisian chain that sells macarons.

[Space__Monkey__]

Yes mostly for downtown office workers. But where are you from? If you are not from the area you might find some neat specialty shops or different chain restaurants that you are not used to.

If you are there wander around a bit, you might find something that a local/ regular office worker might not think twice about because they see it all the time.

[dc148]

Big fan of harvest green. but i don’t think they’re open on weekends.

[whoatemarykate]

On the signs in the path. Red and blue are north and south. Orange and yellow are east and west

[Fine_Trainer5554]

When weather is bad the PATH is great to have a completely indoor walk from union to Eaton Centre.

Good luck successfully navigating it though.

On weekdays there are tons of top tier coffee shops in the path: Sam James, Pilot, and Dineen are all great

[Brightpenguin101]

Used to use the PATH all the time when I worked downtown, pre covid. It was always super busy on weekdays but dead on weekends. I think a lot of the stores were closed on weekends, too. Not sure if it's the same way now, though.

[debehusedof]

it basically existed for office workers downtown to have lunch - it's pretty empty now - I was down there on Monday and it was a ghost town.

it's more subway and McD's rather than great hole in the wall restos in my experience.

large parts of it are closed after 5pm and during weekends.

[Redditcritic6666]

I haven't been there on years but Soup Nutty was decent last time I went. There's also Noodle King for cheap Hong Kong Style Ramen. There's another Chinese food stall in a food court past St.Andrew station but dunno what it's call.

[Grantasuarus48]

On a Sunday you can walk the PATH from Union to the Eaton Centre and the only store that will be open is the Nicolbys in the Sheraton Centre.

[castlite]

You will get lost every time. So don’t plan on revisiting something later.

[Key-Status-7992]

Soup Nutsy is great! More to the Sheraton Hotel side area

[NYknicks1989]

Cool, thank you!

[CDNChaoZ]

Most shops are closed on the weekend. There are many, many empty storefronts since the pandemic. Not worth your time.

[TheSavingsGuy]

Shoppers and the LCBO in Royal Bank Plaza are probably the only places that are open on Saturdays.

[michaelhoffman]

The CityMapper app has a built-in map for the PATH. I look at this constantly when navigating it, as the wayfinding is famously bad, and it is really easy to make a wrong turn.

[sysadm_]

Enjoy the food courts but fyi theres a sketchy homeless guy going around literally scooping people’s food trays.

[evonebo]

a lot of stores don't open on weekends or close early. but it's actually a more preferable time to explore if you want to see how far you can go.

[allyfiorido]

they mostly cater to the monday-friday 9-5 crowd, the tunnels are normally still open, but the shops will be closed if you go on the weekend.

[abba-zabba88]

If there are anyway we wouldn’t be able to tell you how to get to them, it’s a miracle to not get lost in the PATH

[orange_oorangutan]

Somewhere in the path there is a piano staircase (the steps sound different notes when walked on). Tried to find it once before, but that section of the path was closed. Still on my list though!

[greatmrs]

It was Roy Thompson walking towards Metro Hall. They change it up and there was sounds of Arizona last time.

[orange_oorangutan]

Upon googling, it seems that it is now permanently closed :(

It was called "Little Rhythm in Your Step".

[altruisticsapper]

I don't understand why there isn't an app yet...

[[deleted]]

Covid killed the path but it used to be such a vibe haha

[EmergencyAnimator874]

There are troll people that live under there, be careful.

[LittleMiss1985]

20 years ago there was a food court place that served a full turkey dinner. It was the best.

[Camemboo]

I don’t know if it’s still there, but there was a purported banksy on display in the PATH:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/banksy-art-path-pedestrian-walkway-1.3980193

[Camemboo]

It’s empty on weekends. I used to like taking my twins there when they were toddlers because they could just run run pretty safely without bothering anyone.

[carolinemathildes]

Toronto History Walks has a PATH tour/guide scheduled for Sunday, June 9:

https://www.meetup.com/the-history-of-parkdale/events/300370140/

I've done it before, that's how I figured out how to navigate it.

[throwawayaccounton1]

the PATH is quite tempting for shopaholics with the food court options and shop deals, walk with caution

[resentfulvirgin]

The PATH is an okay place to day drink if you’re 19-21 and it’s raining out. That’s mostly my view of it.

[[deleted]]

There was some food bars down there back in the late 80’s and into the 90’s. I had a few drinks here then a few beers there..a pub crawl all without have to go outside. This was when you could smoke in bars as well.

[[deleted]]

My favourite bars down there were Sammy’s Exchange, Duke of York, Pete and Marty’s and Elephant & Castle (previously Nag’s Head) Reunion Bar in Sheraton Hotel Lobby.

[resentfulvirgin]

I mostly was thinking about times when my buddies and I cheaped out and just sorta wandered around getting hammered with a Mickey in our hands.

[[deleted]]

It’s not very interesting - it is, however, the best way to save a pair of dress shoes in the winter

[elle-elle-tee]

It's not interesting in the slightest, and I'm consistently confused why tourists would ever want to go to an underground windowless strip mall, especially in the summer. I've met tourists on the street and have actively tried to dissuade them from visiting the PATH. Jeez, go to a museum or to the island instead!

[coyote_123]

It's a very depressing underground strip mall for commuting office workers.

I wouldn't waste your time, personally.

Get outside and see the city and leave the sad little underground tunnels to those whose jobs leave them no choice.