Harbourfront Centre

Harbourfront Centre is a non-profit cultural campus on the shore of Lake Ontario, covering about ten acres on Queens Quay West. It draws around 12 million visitors a year, and much of what happens here is free, which makes it one of the easiest places in the city to drop into without a plan.

The centre mixes visual art, craft, performance and festivals. The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery shows changing exhibitions of contemporary art. The Craft and Design studios cover ceramics, glass, metal and textiles, and the centre runs craft and design workshops for the public. Performances take place in the Fleck Dance Theatre and the 420-seat Harbourfront Centre Theatre, and the outdoor Harbourfront Stage beside the water hosts concerts.

The programme changes with the seasons. Summer festivals run from May to October, many of them with free admission, while the World Stage series runs from February to May. In October the International Festival of Authors brings writers from around the world. The Jumpstart Community Rink is also part of the campus. Check the events calendar before you go, as the line-up changes week by week.

The location is one of its strengths. The Toronto Music Garden, designed by the cellist Yo-Yo Ma with the landscape designer Julie Moir Messervy, is nearby on the waterfront.

The organisation has its roots in 1972, when the federal government set up a Crown corporation to create a waterfront park and revive the industrial harbour, and it became an independent non-profit in 1991. Its scale is larger than it first appears: more than 4,000 events a year with over 450 community partners, supported by around 2,000 volunteers. The site has its own small stories too; the top section of the CN Tower was kept here in 1975 and signed by schoolchildren before it was installed, and Canada's first WOMAD festival was held here in 1988. To get there, take the 509 Exhibition or 510 Spadina streetcar from Union Station. Smaller spaces such as the Lakeview Market, the World Café, the Studio Theatre and Miss Lou's Room are spread around the campus, so it is worth checking which venue an event is in.

Harbourfront Centre suits families, culture lovers and anyone exploring the waterfront on foot. You can spend an hour looking at a gallery and the studios or a full evening at a festival or show. For directions and transit details, use the centre's own directions link before setting out.