The most famous landmark in the entire country, the CN Tower stands high above Toronto and provides fantastic views of the city and the surrounding area.

 

The CN Tower in Toronto

It’s impossible to picture the Toronto skyline without including the CN Tower. Formerly the tallest freestanding structure on the planet, it might not hold that crown today but it remains a very impressive building. Standing over 550 metres tall, the different observation areas inside the tower provide unparalleled views.

As one of the premier attractions in Canada, the CN Tower offers a variety of ways to experience the heights. These include a glass floor, a revolving restaurant and the ability to walk along the outside of the building. Nearly 2 million people visit the tower each year. It also continues to serve as a broadcast tower for TV and radio stations.

 

Where is the CN Tower

The CN Tower is Toronto’s most recognizable landmark. It’s visible from miles around. The structure’s physical address is 290 Bremner Boulevard. It’s in the south/central part of the city not far from the waterfront near Roger’s Centre. Also close by are the Toronto Railway Museum and Ripley’s Aquarium.

 

Hours and Admission

The CN Tower is located at 290 Bremner Boulevard, close to Lake Ontario in downtown Toronto. The tower is open daily from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm. That said, not all of it is open all day. The 360 Restaurant opens at 11:30 am, and the EdgeWalk is only available until 5:00 pm. (Note: As of early February, 2024, the EdgeWalk is closed until the March break.)

Below are the prices for the standard “tower experience” ticket.

• Adults (ages 14 to 64): between $43 and $45
• Seniors (ages 65+) and Youth (ages 6 to 13): between $30 and $32
• Children (ages 3 to 5): between $14 and $16

Children under 3 years old get in for free. That ticket gives access to the two main observation decks. To go up even higher, to the SkyPod, costs an extra $10 or so. The cost to do the EdgeWalk, when it re-opens in March, is between $199 and $225.

Those who eat at the 360 Restaurant do not have to pay for a regular ticket. Restaurant guests who want to visit the main observation decks must spend a minimum of $75 per person on a meal to gain access to the CN Tower’s observation areas. Accompanying children between the ages of 4 and 12 who want to visit the CN Tower’s observation levels need a minimum $40 spend eating at the 360 Restaurant.

 

Viewing Platforms

The main observation deck is known as the LookOut Level, and it’s just under 350 metres in the air. The LookOut is serviced by six elevators with glass doors. These elevators give you a view of the outside as you zoom up the tower at a fairly high speed. It takes just under a minute to reach the top, travelling at a peak speed of 22 kilometres an hour.

The LookOut has floor to ceiling windows wrapped all the way around the deck. On clear days you can see incredibly far from the top of the tower, and its location right in downtown gives you a great view of all the other major attractions in the city. When the sun goes down you get a different experience as the city lights take over. Even when it’s dark, seeing Toronto lit up below you is still a spectacle.

 

Other Levels

There is also a glass floor installed a floor below the LookOut Level. This small section of the building allows you to look straight down hundreds of metres. It can be a bit of an unnerving experience, but in a good way!

It’s possible to go much higher than the main deck, as the SkyPod sits nearly 450 metres above the ground. As mentioned above, going to the SkyPod costs extra and visitors take a separate elevator up the inside of the building. From this uppermost deck it’s possible to see all the way to New York State on the clearest days. The SkyPod also contains various informative exhibits on topics like what happens when the tower gets struck by lightning.

 

 

The CN Tower Stair Climbs

Visitors are not normally allowed to climb up the staircase that winds its way through the building. However, twice each year the CN Tower holds a fundraising event where competitors can sign up to make their way to the top of the tower by foot. There is a stair climb event in the spring to raise money for the WWF, and one in the fall to raise money for the United Way of Greater Toronto. Thousands of people take part in these events each year.

There are 1,776 stairs from the ground to the LookOut Level. The average time for a climber is around 30 to 40 minutes. The record is held by Shaun Stephens-Whale who made it to the top in just under 10 minutes. That’s an average of almost a full flight of stairs every 4 seconds!

 

The EdgeWalk

For the thrill-seekers, the most exciting way to experience the CN Tower is by taking part in an EdgeWalk. Open since 2011, it’s the tallest attraction of its kind in the world. Participants are securely strapped into harnesses and then allowed to walk around a fully outdoor platform over 350 metres in the air. There are no guardrails or anything to hold onto, so it’s definitely not recommended for the faint of heart.

A designated bodysuit is provided that is worn over each person’s clothes, and accessories like hats and gloves can also be provided depending on the weather. The EdgeWalk still runs in the rain, although it does close during more high-danger conditions like large storms or fast winds. (Note. The EdgeWalk is closed until March break in 2024.)

 

360 Restaurant

Another way to experience the entire view without stepping outside the building is with the 360 Restaurant. This establishment is still contained within the tower, although it does operate slightly separately. Restaurant patrons don’t have to buy regular tickets, but they also can’t explore the different observation decks unless they buy a meal for a minimum of $75 per person.

The 360 Restaurant is both the largest and highest revolving restaurant in the world. It completes a full revolution every 72 minutes, which means that over the course of a meal you can see the entire view without leaving your seat. The food is pretty expensive as you’re still paying for the view as much as (if not more so than) the meal, so visiting the restaurant rather than buying a standard ticket shouldn’t be seen as a money-saving move.

There are a couple other places to grab a bite to eat at the CN Tower. There’s VUE Bistros, located on the LookOut Level, and Le Café located on the ground floor. Neither is as elegant as the 360 Restaurant, but if you’re planning on visiting mainly the observation decks then they are decent options.

 

A Brief History of the Building

The initial concept of what eventually became the CN Tower was put forward by the Canadian National Railway in the 1960s. The company wanted to construct a new, grandiose communication tower, and over time it evolved into also serving as a tourist attraction.

The eventual completed building was over 100 metres taller than the original design. The resulting 553-metre tall tower passed the Ostankino Tower in Moscow to claim the title of the tallest freestanding structure in the world. The CN Tower held that distinction from 1976 until 2007, when it was passed by the 830-metre tall Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Today, the CN Tower is the 9th tallest freestanding structure, although it remains the tallest in the western hemisphere.

The CN in the tower’s name originally stood for Canadian National, but after the tower was sold to the Canada Lands Company in 1995, the official name was changed to Canada’s National Tower. From the 1990s to the early 2010s the tower received a few expansions, with the installation of the glass floors, an increased number of elevators and the EdgeWalk attraction.

In 2007 over a thousand new LED lights were installed on the tower, allowing it to be lit up brightly at night. The tower shines with various colour patterns on holidays and commemorates a number of important events. There is also a standard light show held at the top of each hour on regular days.

The CN Tower remains in high-demand for broadcasting companies. The 102-metre tall antenna on top of the building gives it quite a wide reach. Companies including CBC, CTV, Global, Rogers and Bell all use the tower for some of their TV and/or radio broadcasts.

 

Other Information

To learn more about the tower, visit the CN Tower website.

For a list of the best places to visit in Toronto, see our article about Toronto’s Top Attractions.

To learn about places of interest in Canada’s capital city click Top Attractions in Ottawa.