CN Tower, Ripley's Aquarium and Harbourfront in One Afternoon: Order, Timing and Pickups

The CN Tower, Ripley's Aquarium of Canada and Harbourfront Centre are in the same corner of downtown, and visitors often try to do all three in a single outing. It works, if you respect three things: the entrance for each attraction is on a different street, the CN Tower and the aquarium are timed experiences, and the waterfront is where the day should end, not begin. A car does not shorten the distance. It takes care of the arrival and the departure, which is where most of the friction is.

This is the plan from the curb: where to be dropped, how long each place takes, how to move between them, and when a chauffeur is better than the subway and a walk. If you are visiting Toronto and want a private tour with a driver, the same logic extends to a longer day.

How do you see the CN Tower, Ripley's and Harbourfront in one afternoon?

Here is why that order works. Ripley's Aquarium opens daily at 9:00 a.m., according to Destination Ontario's visitor guide, and recommends allowing about two to three hours. The CN Tower is a view, so you want to choose its slot after you have checked the weather, not before. Harbourfront is open air and flexible, and it is the best place to wind down while you wait for a pickup. Reverse the order and you are queueing for the aquarium in the afternoon crowd, with tired children.

The map: three attractions, one block, one waterfront

The geography is simple once you see it.

• The CN Tower has its main entrance at 290 Bremner Boulevard, between Rogers Centre and Ripley's Aquarium of Canada.
• Ripley's Aquarium of Canada is at 288 Bremner Boulevard, next door.
• Harbourfront Centre is at 235 Queens Quay West. Its directions page puts the campus a 3 to 5 minute walk south of Union Station, at the foot of Lower Simcoe Street.
• Union Station is the hub for everything: the subway, GO Transit, UP Express and VIA Rail all lead there.

From Union Station to the CN Tower is roughly 1 km, and the same distance again to the water. Everything is walkable. The reason to bring a car is not distance, it is luggage, children, mobility, weather or a tight schedule.

The best order and a timeline

Here is a plan that assumes you arrive around 9:30 a.m. and want to be done by early evening. Shift it to match your day.

1. 9:30 a.m. Drop on Bremner Boulevard, walk to Ripley's. Tickets bought in advance let you skip the ticket line.
2. 9:30 to 12:30. The aquarium. Allow the full two to three hours if you have children. Ripley's Aquarium has a moving walkway through its underwater tunnel and a live dive show at Rainbow Reef.
3. 12:30 p.m. Lunch, either in the Entertainment District or at the 360 Restaurant if you have booked it (see below).
4. 1:30 p.m. The CN Tower. If the sky is clear, take the Main Observation Level and The Top. If the sky is low, consider swapping the day.
5. 3:30 p.m. Walk or ride south to Harbourfront Centre. Browse, walk the water, have a coffee.
6. 5:00 p.m. Pickup, from a point agreed with your chauffeur, or a short walk back to Union Station for the train.

If you are fitting this around a flight or a train, our Union Station car service page explains how we meet rail arrivals, and the Billy Bishop airport page covers the closest airport.

Getting there by car: Pearson, Billy Bishop and the hotels

From Pearson to Union Station is about 27 km and usually 30 to 50 minutes, so the CN Tower is about the same. If you are arriving at Pearson and heading straight to the attractions, our Pearson airport limo page explains the pickup, and the airport limo Toronto hub compares all the airports. Flight tracking is included on every airport pickup, and on international arrivals we include 60 minutes of free waiting after landing (30 minutes on domestic).

Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is the closest airport to the attractions, only a few kilometres away, though waterfront traffic can slow the last stretch. A downtown hotel is the easiest start of all, because the Entertainment District and the Financial District are close to Bremner Boulevard.

On a day with an event at Rogers Centre or the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, the area around Bremner Boulevard fills. See Blue Jays game day at Rogers Centre and Metro Toronto Convention Centre arrivals for what happens at the curb on those days, and check the event schedules before you choose the time.

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Bremner Boulevard: the drop-off reality

The CN Tower's directions page is specific and useful. It says guests may be dropped off and picked up on Bremner Boulevard, and that Bremner Boulevard is the most convenient spot for access and drop-off (cntower.ca). That is where your chauffeur will stop, briefly and legally. Three notes:

• Stops are short. A drop-off zone is for unloading, not for waiting. The chauffeur does not park there.
• Plan the pickup away from the entrance. After a crowded attraction, a pickup a block or two away is easier than one at the door. Agree the point before you go in.
• Take what you need. Bags are an inconvenience at both attractions. Ask the chauffeur to hold larger luggage in the car if you will return to it.

The Tower's accessible drop-off and pick-up is also on Bremner Boulevard, just south of the Tower and east of Rogers Centre, and a Wheel-Trans designated stop is at Gate 7 of Rogers Centre.

If you drive yourself: the paid parking

The CN Tower names two paid lots: the south lot of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, entered off Lower Simcoe Street from Bremner Boulevard or Lake Shore Boulevard, and an Impark lot on Navy Wharf Court on the west side of Rogers Centre, just north of Bremner Boulevard. Ripley's has no on-site parking, according to Destination Ontario, which mentions limited street parking and nearby underground lots. Harbourfront Centre runs its own underground parking at 235 Queens Quay West, entered at the foot of Lower Simcoe Street, and two lots on Queens Quay. Rates change, so check the operator's page. If the day includes a drink, a long walk or a family, leaving the car at the hotel and being driven is easier than managing three parking decisions.

At the CN Tower: levels, the EdgeWalk and lunch

The CN Tower's own site describes the main experiences:

• Main Observation Level and Lower Observation Level, reached by the Tower's high-speed elevators.
• The Top, which the Tower describes as the highest viewing platform in the Western Hemisphere, 33 storeys above the Main Observation Level.
• The EdgeWalk, described as a full-circle, hands-free walk around the exterior of the main pod, 116 storeys up. It is booked separately through the Tower's site.
• 360 Restaurant, which completes one rotation every 72 minutes. Reservations are made through an OpenTable link on the site, and 360 guests do not need a separate admission ticket. Meals carry a minimum food spend per person, which covers the elevator and observation access.

Check the Tower's hours for the day you plan to go, because hours and partial closures change (cntower.ca). If you are planning a dinner there instead of a lunch, our Valentine's Day guide explains how a car fits around a 360 reservation.

At Ripley's Aquarium of Canada

Ripley's Aquarium of Canada, at 288 Bremner Boulevard, has an underwater tunnel with a slow-moving conveyor beneath sharks and stingrays, and a Rainbow Reef gallery with live dive shows. The visitor guide recommends buying tickets in advance to skip the line, particularly in peak season and on holidays, and allowing about two to three hours. The aquarium's own page lists today's hours on its listing (ripleys.com), so check them on the day.

The visitor guide singles out peak season and holidays as the times to book ahead. If your day allows, go on a weekday morning and put the aquarium first.

Harbourfront Centre and the waterfront walk

Harbourfront Centre, at 235 Queens Quay West, is a campus on the water. Its directions page says it is a 3 to 5 minute walk south of Union Station at the foot of Lower Simcoe Street, and that the 509 Harbourfront streetcar has its nearest stop at the campus (harbourfrontcentre.com). The page does not describe a drop-off area, so the chauffeur confirms the exact spot on the day and may suggest a side street for the meeting point.

The waterfront is the right end to the afternoon. You can walk, sit and watch the lake without a ticket. If the afternoon extends to a trip to the islands, see our guide to the Toronto Island ferry day.

Families, groups and accessibility

For a family of four or five, the Luxury SUV takes up to six passengers with five to six large bags, and an Executive Sedan takes up to three passengers. For a bigger party, the Executive Sprinter takes 12 to 14 passengers. Child, toddler and booster seats are available when requested at booking; see the car seat limo page.

Accessibility is documented well at the CN Tower. Its accessibility page describes a restricted-mobility entrance on the south side of the main entrance to the security building, reached from Bremner Boulevard, courtesy wheelchairs on a first-come basis (you leave government-issued ID), and complimentary admission to The Top for wheelchair users, though the second level of The Top requires climbing 12 stairs (accessibility). The Tower also runs Low Sensory Mornings on scheduled days. Tell us about any mobility needs at booking so the pickup point is as close as the curb allows.

Honest alternatives: transit, walking and a streetcar

For many visitors, the best answer to "how do I get there" is the train to Union Station and a walk. The CN Tower says TTC, GO Transit and UP Express all lead to Union Station, that signage inside the station directs you to the Tower, and that the SkyWalk connects directly from Union Station, an indoor alternative to the outdoor walk.

If you are staying near Union Station, walking is the better choice for the short links. The car earns its place at the start and end of the day, and for the long legs from Pearson, a suburban hotel or another city.

The pickup at the end of the day

After a busy attraction, everyone leaves at the same time. A good pickup plan has three steps:

1. Set the meeting point before you go in. It should be a street the car can reach legally, usually near Bremner Boulevard or a quiet side street.
2. Message when you are ten minutes from the exit. That gives the chauffeur time to be there.
3. Walk away from the entrance. One block of walking often saves ten minutes of waiting.

If your plan runs past one stop, an hourly chauffeur booking keeps the vehicle with you rather than rebooking for each leg. For a wider look at the city, see the Toronto limo service page and our attraction guides.

Booking the afternoon

Tell the booker the pickup address, the number of passengers and bags, whether children need seats, whether anyone has mobility needs, and when you want to finish. The online booker shows the exact all-in fare for your address and vehicle before you confirm, and the fare is fixed. Our vehicles and chauffeurs are licensed and commercially insured, and dispatch runs 24/7.

Cancellation terms: more than 72 hours' notice no charge; 72 hours or less 10%; 48 hours or less 50%; 24 hours or less or no-show 100%, measured from the scheduled pickup time.

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