Neighborhood 48H guide
Queen West & Kensington: Where to Stay & What to Do in 48 Hours
The Drake, the AGO and Kensington Market.
Queen Street West runs through the city’s art and design strip, with the Art Gallery of Ontario and Kensington Market’s vintage shops just north.
Photo gallery
Photo: Dillan Payne · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Jeff Hitchcock from Seattle, WA, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Arild Vågen · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Why stay here
Bars, galleries and indie shops, with the 501 streetcar to downtown.
Who it's for: Creatives, night owls and vintage shoppers.
Pros
- Indie shops
- Nightlife
- Art
Cons
- Streetcar-dependent
- Loud on weekends
- Few hotels
48H on Queen West
Art, market, a night at the Drake.
10:30 – Art Gallery of Ontario
Frank Gehry’s redesign on Dundas Street.
13:30 – Kensington Market
Vintage and food shops; car-free Pedestrian Sunday October 25.
20:00 – The Drake
Drinks on the rooftop or a show downstairs.
Named recommendations
Real places with links to their official site or a Maps place page. We do not invent hours, prices, or ratings.
Shop
Shop
Kensington Market
Augusta Ave & Kensington Ave
A tangle of vintage stores, cafés and grocers.
Photo: Arild Vågen · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Official site / map →
See / do
See / do
Art Gallery of Ontario
317 Dundas St W
Canadian and European art in a Frank Gehry redesign.
Photo: Jeff Hitchcock from Seattle, WA, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons Official site / map →
Where to stay
Specific named properties—not vague city-wide searches. Expedia stays use tracked Creator links; others open the hotel's official site.
Roam48 may earn a commission when you book a stay through Expedia or Vrbo links on this page, at no extra cost to you. All commercial stay links use rel="sponsored nofollow".
Hotel · Expedia
The Drake Hotel
1150 Queen St W
51-room art hotel with a rooftop terrace and live music.
Check rates on Expedia →
Vacation rentals
Prefer an apartment or whole home in this neighborhood? Browse Vrbo listings for Queen West & Kensington.
Toronto short-term rentals must be registered with the City. Look for the registration number on the listing before you book.
Browse vacation rentals in Queen West & Kensington on Vrbo →Other ways to spend 48 hours in Toronto
- Entertainment District & Union Station — The CN Tower, Ripley’s Aquarium and the Royal York.
- Old Town & St. Lawrence — St. Lawrence Market, the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Distillery District.
- Harbourfront & the Islands — Island ferries, Harbourfront Centre and lake views.
- Downtown Yonge & Eaton Centre — The Eaton Centre and the Elgin & Winter Garden theatres.
- Yorkville — The ROM, the Bata Shoe Museum and Bloor Street shopping.
- The Annex & Casa Loma — Victorian houses, Bloor Street West and the Casa Loma castle.
- Riverside & Leslieville — The Broadview rooftop, Riverdale Farm and Queen East.
- Niagara Falls (overnight) — Horseshoe Falls by boat, from behind and lit up at night.