Victorian Architectural Tour
When Queen Victoria came to the throne in June of 1837, Toronto was a small and somewhat disreputable city, with a population of about 10,000 people. There was nothing, really, in the way of grand architecture, and even the sidewalks – where they even existed – were nothing more than boards lying across the worst of the mud filled potholes in the streets. Queen Victoria reigned for 63 years and 7 months, long enough by far for Canadians to develop an obsessive love affair with her, and long enough for Toronto to grow from a muddy backwater into “The Imperial City”.
Toronto grew up during Victoria’s reign, and by the late 1890s, when the British Empire was at its height, some eager city planners had nicknamed Toronto “the Paris by the Lake”. In this tour, you’ll learn about some of the finest Victorian architecture that Toronto had to offer. Some of it still exists, while other parts of it were wiped out, either during a massive fire in 1904, or in the ill-fated urban renewal of the 1960s, which saw the demolition of thousands of historic Toronto buildings.
More than a century after Queen Victoria died, there are still some remnants and reminders of the great city that was built here during her reign. You may have walked past some of these graceful landmarks dozens of times, without ever taking them in. Sign up for our Victorian Architectural tour, and rediscover the built gems that Toronto has to offer!
Victorian Toronto
Shown below are some snapshots from Victorian Toronto
Things You will Need to Know About this Tour
This tour takes place in the Old Town Toronto / St. Lawrence Market and Toronto Financial District neighbourhoods, and takes about 2 hours.
Please email richard@muddyyorktours.com or telephone (416) 487-9017 to make reservations for this tour. Once your tour reservation is confirmed, you will receive all the information on exactly where the tour starts, where it ends, how long it is, and other important information.
We recommend booking ahead to guarantee availability. Our calendar can often fill up in advance. Although it can be difficult for us to arrange last minute tours, it’s possible that we may already have a tour booked that you can join. Please feel free to contact us by email at richard@muddyyorktours.com or by telephone at (416) 487-9017.
We usually require a minimum of four people for a tour. However, if you have fewer people than that, feel free to contact us by email at richard@muddyyorktours.com or by telephone at (416) 487-9017, to see if there is a tour that you can join.
The tour cost is based on the number of people in your group.
A tour for four people costs $25 per person.
A tour for five, six or seven people costs $20 per person.
Tours of eight people or more cost $15 per person.
Do you have a large group of grade school or high school students, or other large numbers? We can usually arrange a lower rate for some groups, depending on the situation.
