Toronto has quietly become one of the best cities in North America, Canada included, for a Harry Potter day out with kids. There is no theme park here and no official studio tour, but there is a Diagon Alley style shop, a campus that looks like it was lifted straight out of the films, a restaurant inside a haunted looking mansion, and a Timmies that went all in for the 25th anniversary. String them together and you have a full day that costs a fraction of a theme park ticket.
Below is the exact Harry Potter Toronto itinerary we did with our two kids, in order, with what to look for and what to order at each stop. We did the whole thing without getting in the car once, and I want to talk about that first, because it changed the day more than I expected.
What's in this guide
How to do this Harry Potter Toronto itinerary without a car
We haven't sat in Toronto traffic all summer. Our family has been getting around on two e-bikes, and it's the most fun we've ever had doing it.
The first is the Urban Arrow FamilyNext Pro, which is the kid and everything carrier. Both kids ride up front in the box along with the snacks, the backpacks, the water bottles and one cute dog named Frodo. The second is the Gazelle Ultimate, which is the parent bike. It's a classic Dutch commuter, upright and comfortable, with a belt drive instead of a chain, so there's no grease on your pants and basically no maintenance. It's the bike you grab when you just need to get somewhere fast.
Both run the same Bosch motor, which matters more than it sounds like it should. It means nobody arrives sweaty and nobody gets left behind, even when one adult is hauling two kids and a dog. One of us captains the Urban Arrow with the kids, the other takes the Gazelle, and then we switch on the way home.
For a downtown route like this one, the bikes solve the two things that usually ruin a day out with kids. You lock up right at the door of every stop instead of circling the block hunting for parking, and the kids stay happy between stops instead of melting down in the back seat. No gas, no parking, no second car.
1. Curiosa - the closest thing Toronto has to Diagon Alley
📍 320 Harbord St · curiosasociety.com
This Harry Potter themed store is a must see and the right place to start, because it sets the tone for the whole day. It really feels like you've been transported to Diagon Alley, with a huge collection of unique merchandise including notebooks, quills, games, toys and other trinkets, wand boxes reminiscent of Ollivanders, an antique metal typer that the kids loved using, and lots of other magical touches like self stirring cauldrons.
2. Tim Hortons - the Back to Hogwarts menu
📍 Locations across Toronto · See the Back to Hogwarts menu
Timmies went full Hogwarts for the 25th anniversary, and it's the easiest stop to work into your route because there's one on basically every corner.
The menu has four house donuts, a Gryffindor strawberry cheesecake, a Slytherin chocolate pistachio, a Ravenclaw blueberry and a Hufflepuff lemon meringue, plus Golden Snitch caramel Timbits and Patronus Quenchers that come in a cup that changes colour. There's also a Golden Snitch Timbits holder and a colour changing stir wand if your kids want the merch. It's a limited time thing while supplies last, so don't build your whole day around it, but if it's still on, it's a perfect mid morning sugar stop.
3. Prehistoria Museum & SkullStore - Care of Magical Creatures
📍 1106 Queen St W · prehistoria.ca · skullstore.ca
Worth knowing before you go: they've moved. Ignore the old Yonge Street address and head to 1106 Queen St W instead, where the oddity shop is on the main level and the museum level has partially reopened.
Between the two you get fossils, real skulls, taxidermy, crystals and antiquities packed wall to wall. It's the closest thing Toronto has to Care of Magical Creatures, and it lands somewhere between fascinating and slightly creepy, which is exactly the register kids love. If you have a child who asks a hundred questions, this is their stop.
4. Hart House - Toronto's Hogwarts
📍 7 Hart House Circle · harthouse.ca
The University of Toronto campus legitimately looks like Hogwarts, and Hart House is the heart of it. The kids loved roaming the halls and stairways.
Don't miss the Great Hall with its incredible low hanging candle chandeliers and timbered ceilings, or the Quad, which is a beautiful outdoor space to let everyone run around for ten minutes. If you're timing lunch here, there's dining at Gallery Grill or a casual snack and coffee at The Arbor Room.
5. Storm Crow Manor - potions class
📍 580 Church St · stormcrow.com
This place is absolutely insane and my video doesn't even scratch the surface. It's inside a gorgeous Church Street mansion and it's a wild adventure of themed rooms, crazy decor, catacombs and more detail than you can take in on one visit. Do not skip the bathrooms.
For the kids, order the bubbling mocktails and the dry ice treasure chest. There are lots of vegetarian and vegan options and a children's menu, so it works as a real dinner and not just a novelty.
6. Grand Order of Divine Sweets
📍 1162 Queen St W shop.thegoodsweets.com
Just down the street from the new Prehistoria Museum & SkullStore location is Grand Order of Divine Sweets, a quirky bakery and cafe known for its fandom inspired creations. For Harry Potter fans, this place is a dream come true. You can order custom desserts like a Happee Birthdae Harry cake or Sorting Hat cupcakes, or enjoy a Hogwarts invitation letter cookie with a refreshing glass of sparkling Butterbeer or Stardust Lemonade. The desserts are as delightful as they are delicious, making it a perfect end to a magical day.
7. Wizard Market
📍 346B Dundas St W, lower level
A tiny Harry Potter shop tucked into a lower level space on Dundas St W near the AGO, and getting there means heading down a set of steps into what feels like a grotto. It's small, so it's a quick stop rather than a long browse, but it's a good one to pair with anything else you're doing in that pocket of downtown.
8. Toronto's First Post Office
📍 260 Adelaide St E · townofyork.com
Canada's oldest surviving purpose built post office is still operating on Adelaide St E, and you can sit down with a quill and ink to write a letter and seal it with wax. Very Hogwarts acceptance letter, and one of the few stops on this list where kids are actually making something. It's a working post office too, so you can mail what they write.
Get the full 25 page Harry Potter Toronto guide
Want the whole magical day mapped out for you? My self guided Harry Potter inspired tour of Toronto is now a 40+ page PDF with 23 kid friendly stops split into five walkable itineraries, one for each part of the city. Every stop gets a full page of what to see, do and eat, with kid friendly tips, nearby playgrounds and public transit options. Think Potions class lunches with bubbling dry ice drinks, a library guarded by griffins, a reptile cafe where kids hold frogs like Neville, a perfume studio where they bottle their own potion, and a 30 foot owl to climb inside. It's the tour I built for my own kids, and it's been a huge hit with them and their friends.
