Graffiti in Toronto Walking Tour

Discover Toronto’s Graffiti Alley, learn graffiti slang, and explore the rich history of street art on this popular walking tour.

Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • MEC - This is our meeting spot! MEC (Mountain Equipment Company) is a large, well-known, 2 storey store in the area and should be easy to find. Meet your guide beside the store near the bike racks.
  • Queen Street and West Queen West - Most of the tour is centred around Queen Street West and the alleys on either side!
  • Graffiti Alley - Learn about the history of graffiti and the main types found throughout the world.

While strolling and viewing the graffiti your guide will discuss the many sides of the graffiti issue and viewpoints of property owners, the police, the City of Toronto, the general public, and the graffiti artists themselves. This tour encourages debate and discussion – it’s more than just looking at painted walls. Even “haters” will agree that much of the art on this tour is incredible!

You’ll also hear about some of the more notable graffiti writers in Toronto and some of the street artists that mingle with the graffiti purists, sometimes competing for the same space.

What's Included
  • English-speaking Tour Guide
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

This original Tour Guys walking tour has introduced Graffiti Alley and graffiti culture to thousands of people since we started running this tour in 2011. On this walk you’ll learn graffiti slang and terminology, understand the history of graffiti, and discover that there’s more to graffiti than just writing on the wall.

This is one of our most popular public tours, and it has been featured in travel publications, and on travel television shows featuring what’s cool in Toronto.

Be sure to tip your guide what you feel their effort was worth at the end! Most guests tip $10-$10 per person, but the exact amount is up to you!

  • This tour leaves on time. If you are late, the guide cannot wait.
Location
MEC Toronto
Queen Street West
Look for your guide with the "Tour Guys" sign, button, or name tag outside the Mountain Equipment Company (MEC) at the corner of Queen St W and Soho St.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(45 Ratings)
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Rovert28
Jun 7, 2024
Walking tour of Toronto's Graffiti Alley - An amazing 90 minute + tour by Kieran to our PROBUS group. He introduced us to the difference of street art vs graffiti art, the subculture and the meaning and purpose of the art and writing on the walls. We were most impressed with the work of 1) Uber 5000 and the his small yellow birds appearing in many of his pieces, and Kevin Ludo's portrait of David Suzuki. The tour of Kensington was also informative. Providing us with the history of this neighbourhood and he introduced us to the King of Kensington in the way of a statue of Al Waxman and Kensington Market's garden car - our City's smallest park! Highly recommend the Tour Guys fun and informative walking tours.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Annette_w
Oct 29, 2023
Good Info On Local Graffiti - Good info on the history of the artists and tagging/throws. Look for the Uber birds! 🕵🏼‍♀️. Walk returns you to starting point which is nice.
Review provided by Viator
Celine_h
Sep 30, 2023
A lovely 2h tour, ever... - A lovely 2h tour, ever evolving art, beautiful pieces, lovely guide, very knowledgeable. Get ready for a lot of pictures!
Review provided by Viator
Anna_m
Sep 27, 2023
So much talent and artistry ! - Our tour guide Robert was very informative on the history of the alley and the various artists .. I would highly recommend taking a tour rather than visiting on your own.
Review provided by Viator
Karensg3579qq
Sep 25, 2023
A great experience for a great price! - Robert was not your every day tour guide. He travelled quite a bit and it was apparent that he was knowledgeable in world history and art. He was able to connect news events with many of artist’s work in the alley. This tour was interesting. We will never look at graffiti the same again!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jansb5318es
Sep 22, 2023
Awesome graffiti tour in Toronto - I had a great time on the graffiti tour in Toronto with Jennifer. As someone with zero experience in graffiti, I wasn't sure what to expect on the tour. However, Jennifer’s engaging personality and welcoming approach makes it accessible to anyone, regardless of their prior knowledge of street art. She effortlessly shared her deep knowledge and passion for graffiti and street art, and shared insightful stories about the artists, their techniques, and the cultural significance of the pieces we encountered. Jennifer’s enthusiasm is infectious, and her insights added depth and meaning to every piece we encountered. Highly recommended!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
199nafeesahw
Sep 10, 2023
Great Street Art Tour! - The tour guide was amazing. Full of history and info about the art and the area. I would highly recommend this tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
652richiep
Jul 30, 2023
Very interesting tour! - We did the Toronto Graffiti tour, and it was a lot of fun. Our tour guide Michael was great, very knowledgeable about graffiti. We learned a lot about it. There's so much more to graffiti than I knew. I highly recommend this tour as something different, unique, fun and interesting to do in Toronto.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tina_m
Jul 19, 2023
Fun, Aesthetic, and Educational - We had a great time appreciating the graffiti and learning all about the graffiti culture from our knowledgeable tour guide. It was a great day!
Review provided by Viator
Patjlow
Jul 18, 2023
"Graffiti and History of Toronto" - We met Kieran for the Graffiti Tour and he introduced us to so much about Toronto beyond the story of graffiti in the city. He was really open to and patient with our questions and we learned a lot from him not only about the history of graffiti in Toronto but about the social and political history and climate of Toronto and what makes it such a cosmopolitan and creative city.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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